Other top award winners were songwriters Amund Bjørklund and Espen Lind (both members of Norwegian performing right society TONO and represented in the U.S. by BMI), along with Ne-Yo, who received the prestigious Robert S. Musel Award for Song of the Year for Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable.” The song is published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd./Stellar Songs Ltd.; the song and songwriters also received the BMI Urban Song of the Year prize earlier this year.

Modest Mouse’s “Dashboard” earned BMI’s College Song of the Year crown for tallying the most performances on American college radio. The infectious lead single off the band’s We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank album, “Dashboard” was co-written by Johnny Marr (PRS), Tom "King Sour" Peloso and Joe Plummer and published by Chrysalis Music.

The BMI Dance Award went to Ian Dench and Amanda Ghost (PRS) for “Beautiful Liar,” recorded by genre-bending combo Beyoncé and Shakira. “Beautiful Liar” was published by Bucks Music Group Ltd. (PRS), EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS) and Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS).

Prestigious “Million-Air” certificates were also presented throughout the evening in recognition of those songs that have achieved more than three million U.S. radio and television performances — the equivalent of more than 17 years of continuous airplay. The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” co-penned by Sir Mick Jagger (PRS) and Keith Richards (PRS), and Eric Clapton’s (PRS) “Layla,” co-written by Clapton and Jim Gordon, both topped the list with seven million performances each, while John Lennon’s (PRS) self-penned “Imagine” was recognized for six million performances. Five-million performance honorees included “Higher Love” co-penned by Steve Winwood (PRS) and Will Jennings; Graham Lyle’s (PRS) “What’s Love Got To Do With It”; and “You Really Got Me,” composed by BMI Icon Ray Davies (PRS). BMI Icon Steve Winwood also composed two more songs in the list: “Gimme Some Loving” (4 million) co-written by Muff Winwood and Spencer Davies (both PRS), and “Valerie” (3 million) which was also co-written by Will Jennings.

Additional award-winners whose compositions soared past the three million performance mark included Shania Twain (PRS), Graham Gouldman (PRS), The Bee Gees’ Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb (all PRS), Sir Paul McCartney (PRS), Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Roxette’s Per Gessle (STIM), Mats Persson (STIM), Paul Herman (PRS), Mort Shuman (SACEM), Wally Badarou (SACEM), Stig Anderson (STIM), and ABBA’s Benny Andersson (STIM) and Björn Ulvaeus (BUMA).

In addition to winning Dance Song of the Year, “Beautiful Liar” garnered BMI Pop and Urban Awards for writers Ian Dench and Amanda Ghost (both PRS); Dench and Ghost also scored Pop Awards for Jordin Sparks’ “Tattoo,” and College Song of the Year “Dashboard” garnered Pop Awards for its creative hive. Kanye West’s “Stronger,” co-written by West, Thomas Bangalter (PRS), Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (PRS) and Michael Dean, earned awards in both Pop and Urban categories as well, as did Song of the Year “Irreplaceable.” Iconic rocker Pete Townsend (PRS) garnered three awards in the TV Music Awards field, while KT Tunstall (PRS) and Julieta Venegas (SGAE) each secured two awards in the Pop and Latin fields, respectively. Composers Rupert Gregson-Williams and George Fenton (both PRS), also earned two awards each: Gregson-Williams in the Film category and Fenton in Film and Emmy Award-winning divisions.

A complete list of award winners is available here.

After garnering her first hit single as a teenager (T.G. Sheppard and Karen Brooks' "Faking Love"), gilt-edged songwriter Matraca Berg proceeded to pen some of contemporary country music's most poignant hits. Deanna Carter's "Strawberry Wine"; Patty Loveless' "I'm That Kind of Girl" and "You Can Feel Bad"; Reba McEntire's "The Last One to Know"; the Dixie Chicks' "If I Fall You're Going Down With Me"; Gretchen Wilson's "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today"; and Trisha Yearwood's "Wrong Side of Memphis" and current single "They Call It Falling for a Reason" skim the surface of her catalog lined with more than a dozen BMI Country Awards and Million-Air winners. Also an esteemed vocal stylist and performer, Berg released albums on RCA and Rising Tide labels in the 90s.

Four-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Tom Shapiro has composed more than twenty no. 1 songs throughout an exceedingly prodigious career. Hits penned by Shapiro include "Ain't Nothin' 'Bout You" (Brooks & Dunn); "Wink" (Neal McCoy); "Thinkin' 'Bout You" (Trisha Yearwood); "That Ain't My Truck" (Rhett Akins); "Watch Me" (Lorrie Morgan); "Perfect" (Sara Evans); "My Give A Damn's Busted" (Jo Dee Messina); "You'll Always Be My Baby" (Sara Evans) and "I Miss My Friend" (Darryl Worley). Along with receiving BMI's Country Songwriter of the Year three times in a five year period ('93,'96,'97), he was named Music Row magazine's top country songwriter in 1995, NSAI Songwriter of the Decade for the 1990s, and won the CMA Triple Play award in 1995 and 1997. The owner of more than 30 BMI Pop and Country Awards, Shapiro earned his fourth BMI Songwriter of the Year crown in 2002.

John Hiatt's long career grounded in uncanny creative dexterity and sheer productivity has influenced generations of songwriter/artists treading steadily in his wake. The purveyor of more than 20 albums, Hiatt has also penned compositions recorded by a who's who of the rock canon: Three Dog Night ("Sure As I'm Sittin' Here"); Joe Cocker ("Have a Little Faith in Me"); Rosanne Cash ("The Way We Make a Broken Heart"); The Jeff Healy Band ("Angel Eyes"); Suzy Bogguss ("Drive South"); Earl Thomas Conley ("Bring Back Your Love to Me"); B.B. King & Eric Clapton ("Ridin' With the King"); The Neville Brothers ("Washable Ink"); Bonnie Raitt ("Thing Called Love"); and Elvis Costello ("She Loves the Jerk") make up the list of famous Hiatt fans. Named 1987's Rock Male Vocalist of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine, he has also amassed multiple BMI Pop, Country and Million-Air honors. Currently touring in support of his critically acclaimed new album Same Old Man, Hiatt will receive the Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the organization's award ceremony this month.

Shown are (l to r): BMI's Malik Levy and Charlie Feldman, son Cheaa Mayfield, Altheida Mayfield, BMI's Phil Graham and son Kirk Mayfield, with BMI's Catherine Brewton, David Claassen and Nicole Plantin.

Founded in 1985, Hollywood's RockWalk at the Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard is the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of rock and roll, blues and r&b. The handprints and signatures of inductees will reside in bronze alongside other equally accomplished musicians and innovators including Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Brian Wilson, Aerosmith, Herbie Hancock, Elvis Presley, Queen, the Black Crowes, Dick Clark, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Les Paul, John Lee Hooker and Smokey Robinson.

Altheida Mayfield, flanked by sons Cheaa (left) and Kirk (right), praises her late husband's achievements.

Photos by Marlene Meraz

John Hiatt's deep catalog includes many American staples. A true writer's writer, Hiatt has penned songs recorded by legends including Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Three Dog Night, Iggy Pop, Rosanne Cash, Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Willie Nelson. Hiatt has joined Guy Clark, Joe Ely and Lyle Lovett on an acoustic tour, and his upcoming album Same Old Man promises more signature Hiatt observations and inviting self-reflections.

The Americana Honors and Awards ceremony will toast the eclectic genre's best, feature live performances and serve as the resounding conclusion of the Americana Music Conference and Festival, September 17-20 in Nashville.

For more information on the Americana Music Association, please visit www.americanamusic.org.

The Americana Music Association is a professional trade organization whose mission is to provide a forum for the advocacy of Americana music and to promote public awareness of the genre. The Americana Music Association works closely with artists, labels, radio stations, retailers, print media, festivals, agents, publishers and more to help organize and build the infrastructure necessary for the Americana genre to achieve success both creatively and financially.

Founded in 1985, Hollywood's RockWalk on Sunset Boulevard is the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of rock and roll, blues and r&b. Their handprints and signatures will reside alongside other equally accomplished musicians and innovators including Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Brian Wilson, Aerosmith, Herbie Hancock, Elvis Presley, Queen, the Black Crowes, Dick Clark, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Les Paul, John Lee Hooker, Smokey Robinson and others.

The Festival will also have a Guitar Village. The Village will be comprised of interactive guitar exhibits, hands-on demonstrations and classic guitars on display, including three of the world’s most infamous originals – Eric Clapton’s “Blackie,” his Gibson “335” guitar and Clapton/Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Lenny."

For more information, click here.

Frances W. Preston has come a long way since her position as receptionist at WSM radio station, which she left in 1958 to open a southern regional office of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) in Nashville. There Preston issued performing rights licenses for songwriters and music publishers, and she quickly led BMI to a position of preeminence in the south. In 1964, the year the BMI building opened on Music Row, Preston became a Vice President. Quickly moving up the ranks, she served as President and CEO of BMI from 1986 to 2004, during which time the company’s revenue more than tripled to over $673 million. Under her leadership, BMI enjoyed a consistent record of increasing revenues and royalty distributions to its more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. She has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and a Trustees Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Recording Academy, the President’s Award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International, the President's Award from the National Music Publishers' Association, and the City of Hope "Spirit of Life" Award. She has twice received a Humanitarian Award from the International Achievement in Arts Awards in New York. Photos highlighting Frances Preston’s prolific career can be enjoyed above.

In a career that has spanned nearly five decades, and with millions of records sold, The Crickets are unquestionably "The American Rock and Roll Band." The group was formed in 1957 in Lubbock, Texas by Buddy Holly, J. I. Allison, Niki Sullivan and Joe B. Mauldin. After Sullivan and Holly left the group, Sonny Curtis joined to form the ever-popular trio. Their hits "That’ll Be the Day," "Peggy Sue," "Maybe Baby" and "I Fought the Law" are rock classics considered by many to be primary lessons in how rock music should be written and played. In the mid '70s, the three moved to Tennessee where they continued their long association with Waylon Jennings and began touring and recording with him. Their latest release, The Crickets and Their Buddies, was partly recorded in Nashville and features Eric Clapton, Rodney Crowell, Nanci Griffith, Waylon Jennings and John Prine, to name a few. This induction is a fitting tribute to a band who literally defined rock and roll music, and who today, after 50 years, continues to set the standard of excellence by which it should be judged.

John Hiatt wrote his first top-40 hit, "Sure as I'm Sitting Here," while working as a songwriter for Tree Music Publishing in Nashville. The song was covered by Three Dog Night, and in 1974 the band took the song to No. 16 on the Billboard chart. Since then, Hiatt's songs have been recorded by a number of artists including Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet and Rosanne Cash, to name a few. Hiatt has released 18 studio albums and two live albums, and he has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards. His 1987 hit "Have a Little Faith in Me" brought him national attention and was covered by several artists, with the most notable versions being recorded by Jewel, Mandy Moore and Joe Cocker. Hiatt has written and recorded duets with respected vocalists like Bonnie Raitt ("Thing Called Love"), Emmylou Harris ("Icy Blue Heart"), Rosanne Cash ("The Way We Make a Broken Heart"), Suzy Boggus ("Drive South") and B.B. King & Eric Clapton ("Riding with the King"). A musician's musician, Hiatt has proven to everyone that he has what it takes to be an all-around great singer/songwriter.

Created in the fall of 2006, the Music City Walk of Fame on Nashville's Music Mile will be a landmark tribute to those from all genres of music who have made significant contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and have contributed to the world through song or other industry collaboration.

Permanent sidewalk medallions made of stainless steel and terrazzo, with each honoree's name displayed in a star-and-guitar design, will be installed in the sidewalk along the Music Mile, the roughly one-mile stretch of Demonbreun Street from 4th Avenue South to the Music Row Roundabout at 16th Avenue South. The plaques for this class of inductees will be inlaid in Hall of Fame Park on Demonbreun, between 4th and 5th Avenues South.

About the Music City Walk of Fame The Music City Walk of Fame is an official project of Music City, Inc., the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau's 501(c)(3) foundation; Sandra Fulton, chair. The Music City Walk of Fame is produced with the support of Gibson Guitar, Great American Country, the City of Nashville and Metro Parks.

But devoted followers of the artist called “The Killer” know the score: As a singer, he is so adept and commanding that he gets to the emotional heart of any song he sings, no matter the genre, and carves his personal stamp on any number he performs. As a pianist, he rolls out everything from irresistibly driving boogie-woogie to almost classicist melodic balladry and tosses off stunningly imaginative glissandos with seemingly casual brilliance. And he wrote such iconic No. 1 hits as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” His mastery on stage prompted Roy Orbison to rightly describe Lewis as “the best raw performer in rock & roll.” Hence, few, if any, musical talents are as deserving of the career revival that has been sparked by Last Man Standing (which will be followed by more albums and a television special).

Raised in Ferriday, La., where he learned to play alongside his piano-pounding cousins Mickey Gilley and the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, Lewis released his first record — a rollicking version of the Ray Price hit “Crazy Arms” — in 1957. He was soon topping the charts and causing a sensation with his onstage antics of kicking back his piano stool, sliding his leg down the piano keys and, on occasion, setting his piano on fire to end his show with a flourish.

His run at the top was derailed in 1958 when it was revealed that he was married to his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gale. But Lewis kept on performing and recording, returning to the charts in the 1960s and ’70s as a country artist. He continued to create an unparalleled body of work and, on his best nights, perform shows that were both thrilling and moving. In 1989, Dennis Quaid portrayed Lewis in the biopic Great Balls of Fire, for which Lewis performed his music.

At the 2005 Grammy Awards, Lewis was given a Lifetime Achievement award. Now, Last Man Standing continues those achievements, bringing Lewis back into the upper reaches of the charts, including a two-week run atop Billboard’s Indie chart.

And as his talent gets the recognition he has long deserved, Lewis has set aside his rowdy ways. “Age has tamed me,” he says.