• Who, in 1958 at the age of 14, joined the Royal Teens (Top Five hitmakers with "Short Shorts")?


• Who, in 1960, began his career as a BMI songwriter with a number called "My Kinda Love," which was recorded by Anastasia?


• Who has written hundreds of songs, all part of his BMI catalog?


• Who co-wrote "This Diamond Ring," the 1965 pop chart-topper for Gary Lewis and the Playboys? The song, incidentally, is approaching four million radio performances.


• Who, also in '65, helped create Bob Dylan's hard, radically new rock & roll sound (and, by extension, what came to be known as “folk rock") when he played the organ — for his very first time on a released recording — on Dylan's epochal single, "Like a Rolling Stone"?

• Who, in the mid-'60s, was a member of the Blues Project, the New York-based band that was among the first in this country to spread the joy (and pain) of black-influenced white electric blues?


• Who, in 1967, founded Blood, Sweat & Tears, the pioneering ensemble that melded rock with the hippest horn arrangements?


• Who, in 1968, came up with the concept of "Super Session," and produced the hit LP on which he co-starred with guitarists Michael Bloomfield and Stephen Stills?


• Who has recorded as a sideman with, among many others and in addition to Dylan ("Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde on Blonde"): the Rolling Stones (piano, organ and French horn on "You Can't Always Get What You Want"); Jimi Hendrix (piano on "Long, Hot Summer Night"; The Who (on the LP "The Who Sell Out"); George Harrison (arranged and played keys on the hit "All Those Years Ago"); Simon & Garfunkel; Alice Cooper; the Butterfield Blues Band; Moby Grape; Taj Mahal; B.B. King; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Judy Collins; Joan Baez; Phil Ochs; Roger McGuinn; Tom Petty; Joe Cocker; Betty Wright; Rita Coolidge; ex-Rolling Stone Bill Wyman; and Trisha Yearwood? In an issue devoted to the 500 Greatest Recordings of All Time, Rolling Stone magazine included 12 albums with serious participation by our mystery man.


• Who has produced commercially successful and publicly acclaimed discs by Bob Dylan, Lynyrd Skynyrd (he discovered them and produced their first three albums, which spawned the mega-hits "Sweet Home Alabama," "Free Bird," and "Saturday Night Special"), B.B. King, Rick Nelson, the Tubes (who gave the world the timeless "White Punks On Dope"), Shuggie Otis, Don Ellis, Nils Lofgren, and Joe Ely?


• Who has written original soundtrack music for films like Hal Ashby's The Landlord and John Waters's Cry Baby, as well as Michael Mann's television series Crime Story, and was music director for the 1991 cable TV special "Ray Charles: 50 Years in Music"?


• Whose songs have been recorded by a diverse roster of artists that includes Freddie Cannon; Lorraine Ellison; Keely Smith; "Gene Pitney ("I Must Be Seeing Things"); Bobby Vee; Lulu; Billy Fury; the Rockin' Berries; the Blues Project ("Flute Thing" and "Wake Me, Shake Me"); Ten Years After ("I Can't Keep from Cryin' Sometimes"); the Staple Singers and Rufus; Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Mississippi Kid" and "Cheatin' Woman"); Roger McGuinn; the Beastie Boys; Jay-Z; Alchemist; Dakota Staton; and Betty Wright? Then there is "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," the heart-tugging soul ballad that was recorded by more than 25 artists, including Donny Hathaway, Kenny Lattimore, and Carmen McRae).

Answer: Al Kooper.

Any way one looks at it, Brooklyn-born (in 1944) Al Kooper has had an unusually variegated, extraordinary career. He credits Bob Gaudio for giving him his start. Gaudio later found international fame as a member and chief songwriter for the Four Seasons before producing LPs (including Frank Sinatra's Watertown, the songs for which he also co-composed) and, more recently, for writing the music for the smash Broadway, multi-Tony-winning, Jersey Boys. "He was the Royal Teens," recalls Kooper of Gaudio, "and without him hiring me I never would have begun as early as I did."

In 2008, as he celebrates his first half-century in music, that career is still moving forward. Kooper is the consummately versatile music business pro. He is, of course, a singer/songwriter. He's a multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, guitars, mandolin, synthesizers, French horn), and a producer and an engineer. Kooper also has nearly 20 albums as leader to his credit, including the excellent two-disc retrospective from Sony Music, Rare and Well Done.

Further, he warrants induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman, if only for the instantly recognizable approach to the organ he created during Dylan's paradigm-shattering work of the mid-1960s. And changing the subject slightly, he's hosted and imaginatively programmed his own spot on Britain's Radio Caroline.

Kooper continues to tour with two different bands, as well as presenting a one-man show that is by turns, affecting and witty, surveying his life in music through song and anecdote. First and foremost, though is the Funky Faculty, at which he's been at the helm for the past decade. The Faculty, a sextet, is made up of veteran instructors at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, and their specialty is an engaging mix of rock, blues and jazz. Kooper himself formerly taught at Berklee and in 2001 he received, along with the late, innovative drummer Elvin Jones, a Doctorate of Music. (He also holds a doctorate from Long Island's Five Towns College.) When in New York, he often fronts an all-star foursome that also features guitarist Jimmy Vivino and bassist Mike Merritt (both from Conan O'Brien's house band) and drummer Anton Fig, from Late Show with David Letterman.

Though a debilitating condition permanently robbed him in 2001 of two-thirds of his sight, it's not stopped Kooper from taking the Funky Faculty to Norway, Denmark, Italy, England, Spain and all sorts of faraway places; late in 2007 the Faculty played for enthusiastic audiences in the Czech Republic and Japan, and more travels are in the works. Also planned for 2008: an updated edition of Dr. Kooper's autobiography, "Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards," which is a fresh, funny, and compelling read. Then there is his forthcoming disc, tentatively titled White Chocolate, due from A Minor Record Company, for which Kooper is CEO. The album is highlighted by two new songs on which he collaborated with the legendary lyricist Gerry Goffin.

During 2007 Kooper also garnered two individual honors: he was honored in New York by the Mix Foundation with the Les Paul Award, receiving an autographed Les Paul guitar from the great man, who was present for the ceremonies. Shortly thereafter, on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, Kooper dipped his hands in cement in the Rock Walk of Fame during festivities that also honored Otis Redding and the Mamas & the Papas.

Perhaps closest to Kooper's heart, however, is the scholarship that Berklee formed in his name: The Al Kooper It Can Happen Fund assists handicapped students in overcoming any difficulties that would prevent them from attending Berklee. "They do a great job," says Kooper, "and I'm very proud of what has been accomplished thus far."

As he prepares to embark on his sixth musical decade, Kooper reflects with typical straightforwardness, and speaks of BMI's significance in his career: "I've been ripped off voluminously by record companies, managers, etc. I always thought of BMI as the cavalry, coming to rescue me from a hand-to-mouth existence. When times were really tight, and it seemed as if the end might be around the corner, that BMI check would come crashing through the mail slot and bring me back to the real world. To this day, I could not exist without it."

The Devon, England native was reared on old school soul and r&b, and was especially enamored with Aretha Franklin. When she started singing herself, Stone discovered she has a deep and rich voice not unlike that of her heroine. After winning the BBC’s “Star For A Night” talent show, she landed a deal with S-Curve Records and headed to Miami to record under the tutelage of soul sister Betty Wright (“Clean Up Woman”). After laying down her own songs, she took a stab at some r&b classics with the crew of veteran players and writers responsible for the 1970s “Miami Sound.” The results were so impressive that S-Curve president Steve Greenberg decided to use them to introduce Stone to the public.

The resulting album, The Soul Sessions — augmented by her take on The White Stripes’ “Fell In Love With The Boy,” waxed in Philadelphia with Angie Stone and The Roots — brought Stone immediate attention on its release in the fall of 2003. It has since gone on to sell two million copies.

Now, a year later, she is following up her phenomenal success with Mind, Body & Soul , writing or co-writing 12 of its 14 tracks. “There’ll be a reggae track on there, and some hip-hop influences in there,” says Stone. “But, it’s still soulful. I can’t sing without soul. I try to keep a little bit of soul in there, because that’s what it’s all about.”

Producer/songwriters Rodney Jerkins, Pharrell Williams, and Dallas Austin, who produced and performed the musical tribute to BMI ICON Award winner James Brown, Brown, BMI's Frances Preston and Catherine Brewton, and producer Chad Hugo

A special highlight of the gala evening featured the presentation of the BMI ICON Award to &quotThe Godfather of Soul" James Brown in recognition of his contributions to music and the music business. He was honored during the dinner with an all-star musical tribute produced by Dallas Austin, Rodney Jerkins and Pharrell Williams that featured Angie Stone and Betty Wright, among others. With songs like &quotPapa's Got a Brand New Bag,"&quotI Got You (I Feel Good)&quotand &quotPlease Please Please,&quotBrown has more honors attached to his name than any other performer in music history. His BMI accolades include an impressive ten R&B Awards, six Pop Awards and three &quotMillion-Air&quotawards, denoting one million or more performances.

BMI's Catherine Brewton, producers Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes, and BMI's Frances Preston

The Songwriter of the Year trophy, shared this year by six, is given to the writer having the most songs on the BMI awards list for the evening. They are: Irv Gotti and Ja Rule for &quotI'm Real"(Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule) and &quotPut It On Me"(Ja Rule featuring Lil' Mo and Vita), Jay-Z for his song &quotIzzo (H.O.V.A.)&quotand &quotFiesta"(R. Kelly featuring Jay-Z), R. Kelly also for &quotFiesta&quotand &quotContagious"(Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley), Pharrell Williams for &quotDanger (Been So Long)"(Mystikal featuring Nivea) and &quotSouthern Hospitality"(Ludacris) and Mario Winans for &quotEmotional" (Carl Thomas) and &quotPeaches & Cream"(112).

BMI Songwriters Tre'vant J. Hardson, Nastacia Cherise Kendall, and J-Sw!ft show off their medallions.

Famed Neptunes' producer Pharrell Williams, who took home his second Songwriter of the Year award, was also honored as Songwriter/Producer of the Year. Rapper N.O.R.E. performed in his honor. Other Top Producer awards went to fellow Songwriters of the Year Irv Gotti, R. Kelly and Mario Winans, as well as to Mike City, Steve Huff, Mannie Fresh, Organized Noize (Pat &quotSleepy&quotBrown, Ray Murray and Rico Wade), Poke and Cory Rooney.

BMI ICON Award winner James Brown celebrating at the BMI Urban Awards

Song of the Year &quotAll For You,&quotwritten and performed by Janet Jackson and published by Black Ice Publishing, is from the pop diva's Grammy Award-winning album of the same name. Released in the spring of 2001, the title track went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, bringing Jackson's total career #1 hits to ten.

BMI's Catherine Brewton, award-winning producer Rodney Jerkins, and BMI's Del Bryant

EMI Music Publishing, which had the highest percentage of ownership in award-winning songs, picked up its second consecutive Urban Publisher of the Year award. This is the twelfth top BMI Publisher honor awarded to EMI since 1989 in all genres of music. Other multiple award-winning publishers included Zomba Songs Inc. with three songs, and D J Irv Publishing, Ensign Music Corporation, Lil Lu Lu Publishing, R. Kelly Publishing, Inc., Slavery Music, Songs of Universal, Inc. and Waters of Nazareth Publishing with two songs each.

N.O.R.E. and BMI's Frances Preston

In addition to the song and publisher awards, music trade magazine Billboard announced the names of the BMI-affiliated writers who had #1 songs on the R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts during the past year. Rapper CAM'RON was among the double winners, as were two of the evening's top honorees, Irv Gotti and Pharrell Williams. The BMI Urban Awards were held to coincide with Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop Conference and Awards, also in Miami from August 7-9.

James Brown and Angie Stone, who performed "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" in his honor, share a laugh

BMI annually honors the songwriters and music publishers of the most performed songs on American radio in the urban, pop, country, Latin and Christian genres.

Huey (Piano) Smith

The Impressions

Clyde Otis

Other Pioneer Award winners include Betty Wright Johnny Johnson and Stevie Wonder, who will receive a lifetime achievement award. There will be a special tribute to Marvin Gaye.

This year's ceremony will take place in New York on September 6 at the Manhattan Center. Smokey Robinson will once again host the event.