Nick Niespodziani	Allison Scola

Started in 2005, the program features a performance by an emerging BMI singer/songwriter every Monday at the Rockwood. March's line-up includes Nick Niespodziani from the band Y-O-U (3/6), Allison Scola (3/13), Lauren Flaherty (3/20) and Laura Monaco (3/27).

Lauren Flaherty	Laura Monaco

Nick Niespodziani, lead singer of the Atlanta-based band Y-O-U, is taking a day or two off from recording his band's new record to come perform new material, old favorites and other surprises. One of Atlanta's hometown heroes, Niespodziani's set will be a special night.

With a voice that's been described as "all embracing" and "comforting," Allison Scola's musical presence is that of a long-lost best friend. An indomitable free spirit, her organic, captivating songwriting will be a delight to Rockwood audiences.

Boston's Lauren Flaherty takes the stage March 20 to show New York audiences just what Beantown's music scene is discovering. This Berklee School of Music grad has an intricate yet involving songwriting style that is winning her fans and followers.

Laura Monaco is a young songwriter and vocalist in the romantic tradition of Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. She is presently in the studio recording an album that she wrote with Billboard charting writers Ray Balconis (Jocelyn Enriquez) and Dee Robert (Deborah Cox).

Chairman/CEO Hal David commented: "Carole King has been a tour de force in our industry ever since I can remember. She is a gifted songwriter and performer who epitomized a wonderful era of music. I am so pleased that the Songwriters Hall of Fame will be recognizing her outstanding accomplishments at this year's event."

Pop music as we know it would not be the same without Carole King. She began her career during the famed "Brill Building" era in the late 50s and early 60s, creating hit after hit. She composed her first #1 hit "Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow," with Gerry Goffin for the Shirelles at age 17. The #1 and Top 10 hits she and Goffin (whom she later married) wrote during this period are part of music legend. In the early 70s, King once again led the way, opening the doors for a brand new genre of artist: the singer/songwriter. Carole released her first solo album, Writer in 1970, but it was 1971's Tapestry that took her to the pinnacle. It spoke personally to every one of her contemporaries, women in particular, and provided the spiritual musical backdrop to the decade. Tapestry remains on the charts some 30 years later, having grabbed the first Grammy grand-slam for a woman: Best Record, Best Song, Best Album and Best Female Vocalist. The album has also received the Diamond Award from the RIAA for sales of over 25 million units and remained the best selling album by a woman for 25 years. King has also amassed three other Platinum records as well as six Gold records in a career that spans nearly half a century.

Carole is one of the first musical performers to move into acting, highlighted by her starring role in "Blood Brothers" on Broadway in 1994. Her acting skills will once again be tested as she will be introduced during May sweeps on the "Gilmore Girls," in a role that she will reprise in the Fall. King also writes for film and television. Recent credits include writing and singing the theme (with daughter Louise Goffin) for "Gilmore Girls," and her 2000 Emmy nomination for "Song of Freedom" (the title track to "Freedom Song," a TNT original movie produced by and starring Danny Glover and executive produced and written by Phil Alden Robinson). Other credits include the films "You've Got Mail," "A League of Their Own" and "Murphy's Romance." In this, her 60th year, the ever prolific King has released her 24th album of timeless pop music with all the bravura of her indomitable female spirit.

The National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame, the organization dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world, is one of the most prestigious in the industry. At last year's event, the stars came out to honor each other, with Dolly Parton, songwriter Diane Warren, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, singer/songwriter Paul Williams, Billy Joel (Johnny Mercer Award), Gloria & Emilio Estefan (Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award), Dionne Warwick (Hitmaker Award), Ralph Peer (Abe Olman Publishers Award) and Iris Cantor (Patron of the Arts Award) being honored. Songwriters Rob Thomas, Dave Matthews, Clive Davis, Paul Shaffer, Elvis Costello, Judy Collins, Jimmy Webb, Emmylou Harris, Deborah Cox, Marc Anthony, Maria Elena Holly (Buddy Holly's widow), Blu Cantrell, Richard Belzer, Tony Randall, Jon Secada, and even Kermit the Frog came out to present or perform for the honorees. A highlight of the evening was the grand finale performance of "Not Fade Away" that featured all of the artists onstage together.

The National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters' Hall of Fame was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The NAPM/SHOF is also devoted to the development of new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases and scholarships. Over the past 32 years, some key Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees have included Burt Bachrach, Jim Croce, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, James Brown and Curtis Mayfield, among many, many others.

Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame are $750 each and are available through Buckley Hall Events at (212) 573-6933. Net proceeds from the event will go towards the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s educational programs.

"To me, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis really started popular music the way it is now," says Tim. "They brought a different flare and style to r&b that made young producers think, 'I can write and I can produce, too.' They made us aspire to be them. Their music was young and contemporary and they wrote it, produced and played all the instruments."

Using r&b, pop, techno, gospel and other styles of music, the duo is setting trends and, in their words, doing their best to create original, creative music. And it's working. Their credits include a who's who of the urban world: Sisqo's summer smash "Thong Song," Jon B's "They Don't Know," Tamia's "So Into You," as well as songs for Boyz II Men, TLC, Monica, Deborah Cox, Joe and many more. Collectively, Tim and Bob's work has resulted in more than 37 million albums sold, and with upcoming projects including Case, Tyrese, Me'shell N'degeocello, Ginuwine, Shante Moore and Dru Hill, that number will surely increase.

"We both write and play eight different instruments and we also arrange," Tim says. "We write everything we do - we don't do much co-writing. When you come to us you want a whole song and a finished production piece. We really tailor it to the artist. We talk about how the song should feel and what the artist is like; we do our homework."

Hailing from Peoria, IL, Tim grew up on r&b via his father's band and was heavily influenced by pop radio, while Bob's deep roots in the church brought a wealth of gospel music to the duo. They got their start in a recording studio in Detroit and from there, moved to Atlanta where they eventually went to work for producer Dallas Austin.

The duo has just signed a publishing deal with DreamWorks and started a record label, Pure Entertainment, with co-owner Nate Smith. So far, they have signed production deals with five labels, and their first Pure Entertainment/Priority Records release is Athena Cage's single, "Let Me Know."

"A diva radiates confidence, yet is humble," she says. "I'm really a settled, down-to-earth person."

Though her feet stand securely on terra firma, Cox has a career that has broken into the stratosphere. Born of Guyanese parents and raised in Canada, she was weaned on soul greats like Gladys Knight, Joe Tex, Lou Rawls and Al Green. By her early teens she was tracking commercials and singing in bands in her native Toronto. With such extensive woodshedding, all it took was a four-song demo for her to catch the attention of Arista President and CEO Clive Davis, who serves as executive producer on Cox's albums.

The 26-year-old singer has already won two Juno Awards in her native Canada, and with her second album, One Wish, even greater accolades are sure to come soon. With her recent single, "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here," she's already set a record for the longest-running number one single on Billboard's modern R&B chart, topping it for an amazing 14 weeks.

"It's a bit overwhelming at times," says Cox of her rise to prominence. "But when you think of all the time, hard work, blood, sweat and tears I put into this, I'm definitely not complaining."