The girl-at-the-piano has been seen and done. This isn’t Brooke. Less than twenty seconds into “Hush If You Must”, the first track on her EP “Fresh Pair of Eyes”, it is clear that Brooke is miles beyond just being a girl at a piano. She wrote and orchestrated all of the string arrangements found on her EP. One doesn’t need to look any further than “Wonder-Dummied” and “My Legionnaire” to hear the scope of Brooke’s talents in orchestration and songwriting. “I am Mine” exhibits her diverse and simplistic, yet powerful capabilities and an incredible sense of melody.

Brooke’s musical role models can be found throughout her music and arrangements. Citing Chopin, Simon & Garfunkel, ELO, as well as Rodger & Hammerstein musicals as influences with an Asian fingerprint washing over many of the tunes.

With these powerful capabilities and talents as a musician, writer and composer, comes a humbled and genuine person of character. Brooke’s personality is one of sincerity. It’s this sincerity, emotion and character that comes together and spills over into her music.

• 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."

Nashville A Teamer Jerry Kennedy was one of the night's inductees. Music runs wild through the Kennedy bloodline: All of Jerry's three sons are hit songwriters, while Shelby Kennedy is also a Writer/Publisher Relations representative in the Nashville office. Pictured are (l to r): Gordon Kennedy, Jerry Kennedy, Bryan Kennedy and BMI's Shelby Kennedy.

The vast majority of 2007's inductees are BMI affiliates, veterans and virtual architects of the American popular music canon. Nashville's A Team lent their gifts to studio recordings by Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Brenda Lee, Marty Robbins and countless others. The Blue Moon Boys and the Tennessee Two helped shape the sounds of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, respectively. The Wrecking Crew's musicianship finessed legendary singles for The Ronettes, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Carpenters and more. Detroit's Funk Brothers were a tour de force in Motown, playing on Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It through the Grapevine," singles by Smokey Robison & The Miracles and a smorgasbord of others. The Memphis Boys picked, strummed and drummed through major hits for icons including Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson.

Pictured at the event are (l to r): host Creed Batton, the Musicians Hall of Fame's Joe Chambers, guitar legend Scotty Moore and BMI's Jody Williams.

Joe Chambers, gatekeeper of the Musicians Hall of Fame, took great care in organizing the event, which brought due recognition to behind the scenes virtuosos. Peter Frampton, Vince Gill, George Jones, Brenda Lee, Mandy Barnett, The Jordanaires, Dobie Gray, The Supremes' Mary Wilson, Amy Grant, Keith Anderson, Ray Scott, Garth Brooks, John Carter Cash and Rodney Crowell presented, performed and reiterated glowing praise. Actor/musician Creed Bratton, beloved character of the same name on The Office, proved an able host; before gaining attention for his television and film work, Batton played guitar in popular 60s group The Grass Roots.

Photos by Beth Gwinn

Pictured are (l-r): producer Bob Johnston, Harper Simon, Bijou Philips and BMI's Shelby Kennedy.

The session was produced by the legendary Bob Johnston, the producer responsible for such classic albums as Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and the first four Simon & Garfunkel records.]]> 2006-08-10T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234450 3 Doors Down, Adams, Yolanda, Anderson, Bill, Arnold, Brad, Berry, Chuck, Black Eyed Peas, Branch, Michelle, Brown, James, Bryant, Del, Diddley, Bo, Evanescence, Five For Fighting, Fountains of Wayne, Green, Al, Hayes, Isaac, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Kelly, R., Lennon, John, Lil Jon, Lil' Kim, Linkin Park, Little Richard, Los Lonely Boys, Lynn, Loretta, Mann, Barry, Maroon 5, McLachlan, Sarah, Morrison, Van, Nickelback, Parton, Dolly, Price, Sydney, Roberts, Matt, Santana, Carlos, Seal, Sham, Simon & Garfunkel, Simon, Paul, Stone, Joss, Townshend, Pete, Twain, Shania, Usher1, Weil, Cynthia, White Stripes, The, Wilshire, Wilson, Brian, Winans, Mario, Ying Yang Twins, Pop, Rock, Feature, BMI Pop Awards BMI announced its 53rd Annual BMI Pop Awards on May 17, with top honors given to 3 Doors Down's "Here Without You" as Song of the Year, Lil Jon as Songwriter of the Year, and EMI Music Publishing as Publisher of the Year.

Pop Awards Photo Slideshow

2005 BMI Pop Awards Song List

Paul Simon's BMI Awards List

2005 Lennon Scholarship Winners

Del Bryant, President & CEO, and Barbara Cane, Vice President & General Manager, Writer/Publisher Relations, Los Angeles, hosted the dinner event. The writers and publishers of the 50 most performed songs of the past year were recognized, plus the overall song, songwriter and publisher winners. A highlight of the gala, staged at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, was a tribute to songwriter/artist Paul Simon, who was named a BMI Icon.

3 Doors Down	Lil Jon

"Here Without You" won the title of BMI Pop Song of the Year, with songwriters Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson and Matt Roberts of the group 3 Doors Down accepting; this distinction is given to the song tallying the most feature broadcast performances during the eligibility period. Published by Escatawpa Songs and Songs of Universal, Inc. and included on 3 Doors Down's Republic/Universal CD Away From the Sun, "Here Without You" has already been certified as a BMI Million-Air (with two million broadcast performances) and was previously honored as BMI's 2004 Most Performed Song on College Radio. Lead singer Brad Arnold was also named Songwriter of the Year at the 2002 BMI Pop Awards.

Nickelback	Paul Simon

Lil Jon wrote four songs on the Most Performed List of 50 to collect the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year crown. The songs earning him the title were "Damn!" (YoungBloodZ featuring Lil Jon), "Freek-A-Leek" (Petey Pablo), "Get Low" (Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring the Ying Yang Twins) and "Yeah!" (Usher featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon).

Of the 88 songwriters who received 2005 BMI Pop Awards, two were triple winners: Chad Kroeger (SOCAN) of Nickelback and Sham. Other writer/artists earning awards included Michelle Branch, Five for Fighting, Linkin Park, Sarah McLachlan, Pete Townshend (PRS), Shania Twain, Maroon 5, Los Lonely Boys, R. Kelly, Seal (PRS), Lil' Kim, Evanescence, the White Stripes, Fountains of Wayne, Mario Winans and the Black Eyed Peas.

Paul Simon was saluted as a BMI Icon for his "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." In a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Simon has established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era. His songs have bookmarked moments in the lives of millions, whether with words of love, longing, humor, politics or, above all, hope. He has incorporated the rhythms of his native New York with those from as far away as Brazil and South Africa.

For his efforts, he is a 12-time Grammy winner, a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (as Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist), the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Oscar nominee, an Emmy Award winner, and the much-honored co-founder of the Children's Health Fund. His songwriting catalog has earned 39 BMI Awards -- including multiple citations for "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Mrs. Robinson," "Scarborough Fair" and "The Sound of Silence" -- and amassed nearly 75 million broadcast airplays, according to BMI surveys.

After a video tribute, the musical salute to Simon featured performances by 2004 Icon recipient Brian Wilson (who sang "The Sound of Silence"), British sensation Joss Stone ("Mother and Child Reunion"), Adam Levine and James Valentine of the Grammy-winning band Maroon 5 ("Homeward Bound") and soul gospel diva Yolanda Adams ("Bridge Over Troubled Water").

Simon enters the elite company of previously praised BMI Icons, including Bill Anderson, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Loretta Lynn, Carlos Santana, Dolly Parton, Al Green, Van Morrison and Brian Wilson.

EMI Music Publishing (EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc./EMI-Stone Agate Music), with 11 award songs, claimed the BMI Pop Publisher of the Year prize, given to the publishing concern with the highest percentage of copyright ownership in award songs. EMI's winning songs were "100 Years," "Bright Lights," "Damn!," "Freek-A-Leek," "Get Low," "Heaven," "I Don't Wanna Know," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Into You," "Unwell" and "Where Is the Love." EMI Chairman & CEO Martin Bandier accepted the crystal trophy.

Other publishers garnering three or more awards were Universal Music Publishing (Irving Music/Songs of Universal, Inc./Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.); Warner/Chappell Music Group (Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and Rick's Music, Inc.); Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc./Loco De Amor Music/Zomba Songs Inc.; and White Rhino Music.

In addition to Song of the Year "Here Without You," BMI recognized the performance achievements of two other songs. "Someday" by Nickelback earned Most Performed Song on College Radio kudos for songwriters Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and Ryan Vikedal of the group and publisher Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," the most performed composition in BMI's repertoire of 6.5 million musical works, was certified as a 10 Million-Air, meaning it has been broadcast 10 million times. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and published by ABKCO Music, Inc., Mother Bertha Music, Inc., and Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc.

Phil Spector	Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

Another special presentation was the announcement of the First Place winner of the 2005 John Lennon Scholarship Awards. Sydney Price, a 17-year-old junior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in

The Icon designation is given to a creator who has been "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." Simon, a multiple Grammy winner and a double inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist), joins a distinguished list of previous BMI Icons, including James Brown, Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson, Van Morrison, Little Richard, Dolly Parton and Carlos Santana, who will be honored as an Icon at the BMI Latin Awards on April 21 in Las Vegas.

The BMI Pop Awards recognize the songwriters and publishers of the most performed songs on U.S. radio and television from the company's repertoire of approximately 4.5 million musical works from around the world. A Pop Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Publisher of the Year will be announced during the evening, as will the winner of the BMI Foundation's John Lennon Scholarship.

Pop Award winners from previous years include 3 Doors Down, Lauren Christy and Scott Spock of the Matrix, Evanescence, Pharrell Williams, Michelle Branch, the Foo Fighters, Gregg Alexander, R. Kelly, Dallas Austin, Linkin Park, Vanessa Carlton and Sheryl Crow.

High school pals Adam Levine (vocals and guitar), Jesse Carmichael (keyboards), Mickey Madden (bass) and Ryan Dusick (drums) previously released one major-label album as Kara's Flowers while still teens and were subsequently dropped. "We were like, 'Okay, what do we do now?'," recalls Levine. "So we ran away to college to figure it out." He and Carmichael landed at a school in New York where "we were staying in this housing place that was primarily black.

"The halls would be blasting Gospel music and people would be listening to stuff that we'd never actually listened to, like Biggie Smalls, Missy Elliot and Jay-Z. The Aaliyah record had come out around then, and we were just blown away. When I think of songwriting, I think of The Beatles, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel -- the stuff that I grew up on -- but then I was like, 'I want to do this.' Stevie Wonder came into my life at that point," says Levine, "and I just found a knack for doing it."

On arriving back in L.A., they added guitarist James Valentine and became Maroon 5, "a soul band, but with five white dudes," according to Levine. "We just wanted to do something different. Just to do the thing that is expected, we were getting kind of bored with it. We were into doing something that was against the grain, taking something out of context."

"Harder To Breathe" came about when the band thought their debut, Songs About Jane , was done, but their label insisted on another crack at songwriting. "It was the 11th hour, and the label wanted more songs," Levine recalls. "It was the last crack. I was just pissed. I wanted to make a record and the label was applying a lot of pressure, but I'm glad they did."

It has been estimated that the 800 recorded titles written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant have sold more than a half billion copies worldwide. Among their hits are "Wake Up Little Susie" and "Bye Bye Love" recorded by the Everly Brothers, "Raining In My Heart" recorded by Buddy Holly, and the Tennessee state song "Rocky Top."

Visitation for Felice Bryant will be held in Sevierville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, April 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Atchley Funeral Home [865/453-2835] and then in Nashville on Thursday, April 24, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Woodlawn Funeral Home [615/383-4754]. The family will also receive visitors on Friday, April 25 from 1 to 1:30 p.m. before the 2 p.m. memorial service, also at Woodlawn. Survivors include two sons, real estate executive Dane Bryant and BMI Executive Vice President Del Bryant; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a sister.

From their first hit in 1948 throughout the next four decades, the Bryants proved themselves to be among the most pioneering and influential music creators of the 20th century. They supplied songs to an astounding variety of voices -- Eddy Arnold, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Tony Bennett, Simon & Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan, the Grateful Dead, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Elvis Costello, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Ruth Brown, Cher, R.E.M. and Ray Charles, among dozens – and launched the career of the Everly Brothers with several signature records.

Felice Bryant was born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto on August 7, 1925 in Milwaukee, into a music-loving Italian family. As a child she began composing lyrics set to traditional Italian tunes, and in her teens sang in and directed shows at the local USO. In 1945, while working as an elevator attendant at Milwaukee’s Schroeder Hotel, she struck up a conversation with a visiting musician from Georgia named Boudleaux Bryant. They eloped two days later.

In the early years of their marriage, Boudleaux and Felice (a pet name from her husband) traveled around the country while Boudleaux, a classically trained-violinist, played with various jazz and country bands. Eventually, they settled in his native Moultrie, Georgia, and began to dabble in songwriting. After writing 80 songs and suffering months of rejection, they secured their first hit when legendary publisher Fred Rose heard “Country Boy.” Rose placed the song with Grand Ole Opry newcomer Little Jimmy Dickens, who recorded “Country Boy” in 1948 and took it to the Country Top 10 in June 1949. At the urging of their mentor Rose, the Bryants moved to Nashville in 1950; they are generally considered the first people who came to the country music capital to make their living solely as songwriters.

The Bryants were also early pioneers of song promotion and self-publishing in Music City, forming Showcase Music (1954-56) before entering an innovative contract with Acuff-Rose Music Publishing [negotiating for then-unheard-of reversionary rights]. They found success with a string of country singles for Dickens (“Out Behind the Barn,” “I’m Little But I’m Loud”), Carl Smith (“Hey Joe” [also a pop hit for Frankie Laine], “It’s A Lovely, Lovely World,” “This Orchid Means The End”), Eddy Arnold (“The Richest Man In the World,” “I’ve Been Thinkin’”) and Jim Reeves (“Blue Boy”).

Mrs. Bryant usually collaborated with her husband, but earned a huge hit on her own with “We Could,” appropriately a song she had written as a birthday gift to Boudleaux. Among the artists who have recorded “We Could” are Jim Reeves, Little Jimmy Dickens, George Jones & Tammy Wynette, Kitty Wells, George Morgan, the Louvin Brothers, Charley Pride, Al Martino and John Prine.

The Bryants’ considerable success in the country arena would soon be surpassed when, in 1957, they scored two #1 pop hits on up-and-comers the Everly Brothers with “Bye Bye Love” and “Wake Up Little Susie.” The partnership between the pairs would result in numerous Rock & Roll classics; the Bryants provided the Everlys with virtually all of their early hits, including the Boudleaux/Felice co-writes “Problems,” “Poor Jenny” and “Take A Message To Mary.” (“All I Have To Do Is Dream,” “Devoted To You” and “Love Hurts”’ are credited solely to Boudleaux.) “Raining In My Heart,” first offered to the Everlys, was passed on to Buddy Holly and recorded at his final session in 1958.

The Bryant classics continued with “I Got A Hole In My Pocket,” “She Wears My Ring,” “Have A Good Time,” “Sleepless Nights,” “Come Live With Me” and “Rocky Top” (adopted as a Tennessee state song in 1982). In 1966 the duo’s contract with Acuff-Rose ended and, with the publishing rights reverted to their ownership, they established House of Bryant Publications.

The couple moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 1978, where they owned and operated the Rocky Top Village Inn in the Great Smoky Mountains. In 1979 Boudleaux produced their only album as performers, A Touch of Bryant.

Boudleaux Bryant died June 26, 1987, at the age of 67.

Among the Bryants' many industry honors are membership in the Country
Music Hall of Fame (1991), the National Academy of Popular Music
Songwriters Hall of Fame (1986) and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of
Fame (1972). Affiliated with performing rights organization BMI
throughout their careers, Felice & Boudleaux Bryant earned a total of 59
BMI Pop, Country and R&B Awards.

FROM THE CATALOG OF FELICE & BOUDLEAUX BRYANT

- “All I Have To Do Is Dream” (Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers, Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell
- “Baltimore” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Sonny James
- “Bird Dog” (Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers, The Bellamy Brothers
- “Bye Bye Love” (Felice & Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
- “Come Live With Me” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Roy Clark, Ray Charles
- “Country Gentleman” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Chet Atkins
- “Devoted To You” (Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers, Carly Simon & James Taylor,
The Beach Boys
- “Got A Hole In My Pocket” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Little Jimmy Dickens, Ricky Van Shelton
- “Have A Good Time” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Tony Bennett, Ruth Brown, Billy Eckstein
- “Hey Joe” (Boudleaux) – Carl Smith, Frankie Laine, Kitty Wells
- “How’s The World Treating You” (Boudleaux) – Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley
- “Let’s Think About Living” (Boudleaux) – Bob Luman, Trini Lopez
- “Like Strangers” (Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers
- “Love Hurts” (Boudleaux) – Roy Orbison, Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, Nazareth
- “Mexico” (Boudleaux) – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, The Ventures
- “Poor Jenny” (Felice & Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers
- “Problems” (Felice & Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers
- “Raining In My Heart” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Buddy Holly, Ray Price, Dean Martin
- “Richest Man In The World” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Eddy Arnold
- “Rocky Top” (Felice & Boudleaux) – Osborne Brothers, Buck Owens
- “Sleepless Nights” (Felice & Boudleaux) – The Judds, Emmylou Harris, The Everly Brothers
- “Take A Message To Mary” (Felice & Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan
- “Wake Up Little Susie” (Felice & Boudleaux) – The Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel
- “We Could” (Felice) – Jim Reeves, Al Martino, Kitty Wells, George Jones & Tammy Wynette

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium while the Trustees Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity.

One of popular music's great divas, Etta James, born Jamesetta Hawkins, was a performer virtually as soon as she was able to speak. Like many r&b singers, she began in the church choir, then had her first hit as a teenager. Her career has spanned more than five decades and her fearless experimentation is evident in her recordings, from chart-topping r&b ballads including "At Last," "Trust In Me," and "All I Could Do Was Cry," to the gospel-infused "Something's Got A Hold On Me," the bluesy "In The Basement," and the Southern soul of "Tell Mama." James took home a Best Jazz Vocal Performance Grammy at the 37th Annual Awards for her album Mystery Lady (Songs Of Billie Holiday), and in 1999, "At Last" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. She published an autobiography, "Rage To Survive," which won a Ralph J. Gleason book award from BMI-Rolling Stone-New York University. She was also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Arguably the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s, Simon & Garfunkel grew up together in the Forest Hills district of New York City. They had an appeal that spanned both the pop and rock audience, and spoke to all age groups. Their songs - written primarily by Simon and enhanced by Garfunkel's soaring tenor - authentically reflected the zeitgeist of their time. Together they have won six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for Bridge Over Troubled Water and Record of the Year for its title single, and Record of the Year for "Mrs. Robinson." "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. "Mrs. Robinson" was inducted in 1999, as was their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme.

Alan Lomax is one of those individuals who may not be a household name, yet whose influence on American music is every bit as substantive as those who create hit records or land on the covers of popular magazines. Lomax began to research American music with his father, John, in the early 1930s. Between 1933 and 1942, either together or apart, father and son traveled the country and amassed some of the most important recordings of vernacular musicians, including Leadbelly, whom they discovered in a Texas prison. Lomax also masterminded the 1938 recordings of the jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton, and, in the 1940s, moved on to radio and helped lay the groundwork for the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s by popularizing vernacular material over the airwaves. He also was instrumental in the career of Woody Guthrie. Lomax went on in the 1990s to document the nation in song on the PBS series "American Patchwork." Lomax brought a retrospective arc to his career with the 1993 volume "The Land Where Blues Began," which won a Ralph J. Gleason Award.]]> 2002-12-08T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/233463 Artists, Simon & Garfunkel, Simon, Paul, Musical Styles, Pop, Musicworld, Feature Paul Simon's new album, You're the One, is both his first musical project since his ambitious 1997 Broadway musical The Capeman and his first non-concept album since 1983's Hearts and Bones.

You're the One is an affectingly eloquent song cycle that meditates poignantly on love, life and growing older, delivered with the artist's usual blend of emotional insight and wry, self-deprecating humor. Such impressive new compositions as "Darling Lorraine," "Old" and the album's title track showcase the veteran troubadour's unique abilities as both a vivid storyteller and a compelling performer.

Employing a relatively straightforward, understated pop sound rather than the African and Brazilian influences that Simon explored, respectively, on 1986's Graceland and 1990's Rhythm of the Saints, You're the One has the air of an artist coming full circle and reembracing the longstanding strengths that first caught the public ear with his '60s hits as half of Simon & Garfunkel, and subsequently in his productive solo career.

"It's not about another culture this time. It's about songwriting and storytelling," Simon recently told The Boston Globe. "If you live long enough and you've seen enough stuff, you begin to accumulate experiences and start to tell of those experiences. Everybody loves a story, and stories are the theme of this record."

One of the album's main themes is the aging process. "I've been getting old ever since I hit 30," Simon comments. "But, you know, the truth of the matter is that it takes a long time to get really good. A long time. You can see that in the adjacent fields of blues and jazz-and the same will be true in rock, too, I think."

Longtime Simon admirers might be surprised to learn most of You're the One's songs began with music rather than words. "The process is fundamentally the same as the one that started with Graceland," explains Simon. "That is, I write the songs by creating the music tracks first. In fact, if you take my voice out of this album, you would find that most of the tracks stand up as instrumental pieces."

As a four-decade musical survivor, Simon is philosophical about the ups and downs of stardom in an ever-changing pop landscape. As he told New York magazine: "Out of my generation, there's a handful of people who were big stars once and maybe now they're not going to be big stars. Well, what did you think was going to happen? That everything was going to stay the same? You were a big star and you were going to be a big star forever? No, nothing stays the same. And being a star is of zero importance. Get past that.

"You can't change what popular culture is by talking about it," Simon continues, adding, "You can change it by embodying something that's real, that's meaningful, that's a powerful idea that can sweep the world. That idea can come from any age, and most of those ideas do come from people who are older."