He wrote his first hit song 50 years ago. It was a Ray Price hit called “City Lights,” and he wrote it when he was a disc jockey at a Georgia radio station. He had his first Top 10 record as a solo artist 47 years ago and he joined the Grand Ole Opry 46 years ago.

And he had his last big cut . . . well, what time is it? Anderson continues to be an in-demand songwriter, writing for Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and a slew of other new millennium favorites. His co-written “Give It Away” was a rarity: a No. 1 hit that was co-written by a Country Music Hall of Famer (Anderson) and sung by another Hall of Famer (George Strait). And in 2005, his “Whiskey Lullaby” (written with Jon Randall and sung by Paisley and Alison Krauss) won the Country Music Association’s song of the year prize. BMI’s first country Icon is, as retired former Sony/ATV President Donna Hilley once noted, both an elder statesman and a contemporary talent.

“He’s young for his age,” Randall said. “I think he can go on indefinitely. I want to be Bill Anderson when I grow up.”

For the record, Anderson was born on Nov. 1, 1937. Writing top hits at his age is like Sandy Koufax pitching a no-hitter against a modern-day New York Yankees team. Anderson never figured it would work out this way, exactly, though he also never planned on retiring and fading away.

“I just knew that this is what I wanted to do for my life’s work,” he said. “But I do remember telling people I’d stop if it wasn’t working out.”

It worked out, in spades. He wrote “City Lights” when he was 19, entering the hit parade and launching a remarkable career in music. The songwriting success preceded his triumphs as an idiosyncratic solo artist: Though he didn’t have a classically superior voice, Anderson developed a signature vocal style that led folks to call him “Whispering Bill Anderson.” His breathy, intimate singing helped him to score smashes including “Mama Sang A Song,” “Still,” “I Get The Fever” and “Wild Week-End.”

“In the days when I came along, the style was the thing,” he said. “If you weren’t different, you didn’t stand much of a chance.”

Anderson’s career as a top-draw solo artist cooled in the late 1970s, though he remained a popular fixture on the Opry. He quit writing songs in the 1980s, figuring that his writing well was dry and that it was better to concentrate on other things (such as hosting game shows on ABC and The Nashville Network). But Steve Wariner’s version of Anderson’s “The Tips of My Fingers” became a radio hit in 1992, proving that a classic country song could resonate through the decades, and Wariner and Vince Gill kept pushing him to co-write.

“That’s when the writing thing started to bubble again, and that’s when I got happier than I ever had been in my life,” Anderson said.

And so Bill Anderson’s career entered unprecedented territory. Never before had someone been to the top of an industry as a songwriter in one decade, as a performer in another and then re-emerged as a top songwriter again decades later. His works have been sung at the Opry, at county fairs and at Carnegie Hall. And his longevity and versatility helped Anderson become a common denominator in the careers of a seemingly disparate group of artists: Ernest Tubb, James Brown, Loretta Lynn, Trini Lopez, Aretha Franklin, The Louvin Brothers, Elvis Costello, Merle Haggard, Dean Martin and Waylon Jennings have all recorded his songs.

A friend recently sent Anderson a 50th birthday card, which surprised him since he has long passed 50 and it wasn’t his birthday. But the date was August 27, 2007, and it was the 50th anniversary of the day he wrote “City Lights.” Ray Price recorded it the next year, and a small town disc jockey became a professional songwriter. The day Price recorded “City Lights,” Anderson received a congratulatory call from Roger Miller and then another congratulatory call from a publisher. Later that afternoon, he got a call from a second publisher who said, “If you’ll sign with us, I think I can talk Ray Price into cutting ‘City Lights’.”

“In four hours, I got a good lesson into the realities of the music business,” Anderson said.

In those days, Bill Anderson was still learning lessons. These days, he could teach them.

The new artist categories were reserved for BMI singer/songwriters as well, albeit the respected winners are far from "new" to most listeners. Critic and fan favorite Miranda Lambert earned a Top New Female Vocalist win, while hard-working Rodney Atkins claimed the Top New Male Vocalist crown-10 years after signing his first record deal. Harmony-drenched quartet Little Big Town secured Top New Duo or Vocal Group honors as well.

Perennial favorites Brooks & Dunn won four awards including Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year for "Building Bridges." The song featured fellow BMI members Sheryl Crow and Vince Gill, and both Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks also received nods for their work as producers. Brooks & Dunn now hold the record for most Top Vocal Duo wins with 14. In recognition of their numerous charitable endeavors, the duo was also presented with the Home Depot Humanitarian of the Year honor.

Both Song and Single Record of the Year went to "Give It Away," produced by BMI affiliate Tony Brown and co-written by BMI songwriters Whisperin' Bill Anderson and Jamey Johnson. The staunchly honky tonk tune was a No. 1 hit for recent Country Music Hall of Fame inductee George Strait, and it earned the first ACM award for Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member Bill Anderson.

Megastars Rascal Flatts took home Top Vocal Group honors. The group recently saw their single "Stand" hit No. 1 and were also named Billboard's top-selling act for 2006. Their fifth ACM Top Vocal Group win ties them with Country Music Hall of Famers Alabama for the most consecutive wins in this category.

BMI legends swept the prestigious Pioneer and International Award categories. Peerless songwriter Harlan Howard, American treasure Dolly Parton and rebel icon Waylon Jennings were each honored with Pioneer Awards, while the academy bestowed the International Award on Bakersfield sound architect Buck Owens.

The Academy of Country Music, an artist and industry-driven organization, exists to produce a world-class network television awards show, and its associated events, to provide the financial resources to ensure the on-going philanthropic work of its Charitable Fund. Academy of Country Music Charitable Fund promotes and supports music education and humanitarian programs that transform the human spirit. Through its charitable donations, the ACMCF works towards two main goals: encouraging Learning Through Music and Healing Through Music. The Academy, which is comprised of more than 4,500 professional members and more than 48,000 associate members, was established in 1964 and is headquartered in Encino, Calif.

For more information on the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Academy of Country Music, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

BMI 2007 ACM Winners

Top Female Vocalist
Carrie Underwood

Top Vocal Group
Rascal Flatts

Top Vocal Duo
Brooks & Dunn

Top New Male Vocalist
Rodney Atkins

Top New Female Vocalist
Miranda Lambert

Top New Duo or Vocal Group
Little Big Town

Album of the Year [Award to Producer(s)/ Artist(s)/ Record Company]
Some Hearts
Carrie Underwood
19 Recordings Limited/Arista Records

Single Record of the Year [Award to Artist(s)/ Producer(s)/ Record
Company]
"Give It Away"
Producer: Tony Brown
MCA Nashville

Song of the Year [Award to Composer(s)/ Publisher(s)/ Artist(s)]
"Give It Away"
Writers: Bill Anderson and Jamey Johnson
Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing/Mr. Bubba Music, Inc., Admin. By
Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Blackwood Music, Inc.

Video of the Year [Award to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
"Before He Cheats"
Carrie Underwood

Vocal Event of the Year [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]
"Building Bridges"
Brooks & Dunn with Vince Gill & Sheryl Crow
Producers: Tony Brown, Ronnie Dunn & Kix Brooks
Arista Nashville

Pioneer Award
Harlan Howard
Dolly Parton
Waylon Jennings

International Award
Buck Owens

Musicians

Aubrey Haynie
Fiddle

Brent Mason
Guitar

John Hobbs
Piano/Keyboards

Stuart Duncan
Specialty Instrument

Michael Johnson
Steel Guitar

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.

Brooks & Dunn	Carrie Underwood	Keith Urban

Longtime BMI affiliates and hosts of the event Brooks & Dunn made believers out of the CMA this year by claiming three awards, the most of any nominee. The duo's hit "Believe," co-written by Ronnie Dunn, snagged Single and Song of the Year titles, while their fourteenth Duo of the Year trophy raised their career total to nineteen, officially making Brooks & Dunn the record-holders for the most wins of any artist in CMA history.

Rascal Flatts	Randy Scruggs	Dolly Parton

Carrie Underwood has officially arrived. The 2005 American Idol winner took home both the CMA Horizon Award, given to the year's most promising new artist, and the Female Vocalist of the Year title. Underwood became the first to claim both the Horizon and Female Vocalist wins since Alison Krauss in 1995.

Keith Urban picked up his third consecutive Male Vocalist of the Year trophy. Though unable to attend the ceremony, Urban relayed a heartfelt acceptance speech through good friend Ronnie Dunn, who read a letter from the winner aloud to a cheering audience.

Super group Rascal Flatts secured a fourth consecutive Vocal Group of the Year win, capping off a year packed with record-setting concert attendance and album sales. The trio performed their single "My Wish," which is currently climbing the charts.

Guitarist Randy Scruggs garnered his third CMA Musician of the Year win. The son of bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, Randy's musical prowess has enhanced projects over the years by a range of figures, from Waylon Jennings and Emmy Lou Harris to George Strait. BMI Icon Dolly Parton also earned recognition in the Musical Event of the Year category for her contribution to the poignant hit "When I Get Where I'm Going."

Iconic songwriter Kris Kristofferson presided over Country Music Hall of Fame inductions of Harold Bradley and Sonny James. Bradley, a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team, and James, an esteemed country vocalist and host of the inaugural CMA Awards Banquet and Show in 1967, were both on hand and greeted with standing ovations.

2006 BMI CMA Award Winners

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Rascal Flatts

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn

HORIZON AWARD
Carrie Underwood

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
"Believe"
Brooks & Dunn
Produced by Tony Brown/Kix Brooks/Ronnie Dunn

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Believe"
Co-written by Ronnie Dunn
Sony/ATV Tree/Showbilly Music

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
"When I Get Where I'm Going" featuring Dolly Parton

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
"Believe"
Brooks & Dunn

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Randy Scruggs - Guitar
]]> 2006-11-07T03:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334889 Artists, Black Crowes, The, Burnett, T-Bone, Guy, Buddy, Hancock, Herbie, Hayes, Isaac, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Hooker, John Lee, Jennings, Waylon, Kristofferson, Kris, Musical Styles, Country Kris Kristofferson and the late Waylon Jennings into the Hollywood RockWalk in Los Angeles. BMI country singer/songwriter Jessi Colter, Jennings' wife, accepted the posthumous induction in his honor.

Shown at the induction ceremony are Waylon Jennings' wife Jessi Colter, BMI's Barbara Cane, RockWalk inductee Kris Kristofferson, BMI's Tracie Verlinde, BMI songwriter/producer T-Bone Burnett and BMI's Joe Maggini.

The ceremony included an endearing speech by celebrated BMI singer/songwriter T-Bone Burnett about his long-time friends and colleagues, Kristofferson and Jennings. Kristofferson, one of country music's most influential songwriters, is best known for hits like "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down." Jennings' musical legacy is a staple in American country music, with credits that include the hit "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys." Jennings died in 2002 in his home in Chandler, Ariz.

Founded in 1985, Hollywood's RockWalk is a sidewalk gallery on Sunset Boulevard that pays homage to those musicians and innovators who have made a significant and lasting impact on rock 'n roll, including such creatively diverse individuals and groups as Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Aerosmith, Herbie Hancock, Queen, The Black Crowes, Dick Clark, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Les Paul, John Lee Hooker and Smokey Robinson.]]> 2006-07-09T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/334875 Artists, Alabama, Jennings, Waylon, Murrah Music, Stegall, Keith, Tillis, Mel, White, Phillip, Musical Styles, Country, Gospel, Pop, Rock, Musicworld, Feature Indie Publisher Spotlight:
Mentoring Role Helps Murrah Music Thrive

In the highly competitive world of music publishing, it can sometimes be difficult to find accord on even the most minor question.

Not so when the subject is Roger Murrah. In addition to a songwriting career filled with hits for such luminaries as Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson and Alabama, Murrah’s Nashville-based indie publisher Murrah Music has become one of the country scene’s most important publishers — what Glenn Middleworth, Vice President of Creative for Famous Music-Nashville, calls “perhaps the best independent publishing house in town.”

Adds Karen Conrad, longtime Nashville publisher and consultant to BMG Songs Nashville: “Roger is one of those rare people who has great musical talent and business organizational skills. His contribution to the Nashville music industry as a songwriter and a mentor to other writers has been tremendous.”

“Roger has been a mentor and friend and taught me the difference between a good song and a great song,” says writer/producer Keith Stegall, now the Chief Creative Officer at Broken Bow Records. “Lyrically speaking, he taught me that less is always more.”

Murrah’s own modest demeanor belies his considerable achievements, which includes two consecutive terms as president of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), a term as chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Foundation (NSF, where he currently serves as chairman), a BMI Songwriter of the Year citation, and, for Al Jarreau’s “We’re in This Love Together,” a BMI Million-Air Award recognizing the hit’s one million-plus radio performances.

Not bad for someone who just wanted to be a singer.

Born in Athens, Ala., Murrah taught himself how to play music on a piano his father had traded a pick-up truck for. “I think he felt it was good to have around us — he traded trucks, cattle, everything, but that was definitely his most unusual trade,” he recalls with a laugh. “I learned just enough to write, and since I’d learned by ear I always kept it simple, didn’t ever really get too complicated.”

While serving in the Army in 1968, Murrah signed on as a staff writer with Muscle Shoals music publisher/producer Rick Hall. Following his military service, he and some partners opened a recording studio in Huntsville, Ala., ultimately forming a relationship with industry vet Bobby Bare; by 1972 Murrah had relocated to Nashville to sign with Bare’s Return Music, and a year later had married the former Kitty Goodman and notched his first nationally charted song, “It’s Raining In Seattle,” recorded by Wynn Stewart.

“I actually got into the business to be a singer,” Murrah notes. “I kind of backed into songwriting, but that took off once I was in Nashville. I was successful enough with it to not have to worry about my singing career. In the end it worked out for the best, because I wasn’t really cut out to be on the road all the time.”

Murrah’s ascent as a songwriter started gradually, but quickly picked up speed. “At that stage in your career the least things can be very exciting to you, giving you hope to tide you over for a couple of years,” he says. “It was a long and drawn out process, but it was all necessary to learn how to write. I was also pitching a lot of songs, which I enjoyed.”

So much so, in fact, that by 1987 he was co-publishing his own material with Tom Collins Music. “One day I stood on Tom’s front porch and, both figuratively and literally, looked up and down Music Row and nothing appealed to me that would work. So I decided to step out on a limb and try it myself. It was,” he says, “the best move I ever made in my career.”

Within two years of its 1990 inception, Murrah Music was named Billboard’s Independent Publisher of the Year, due in no small part to Murrah’s own songwriting for such acts as Mel Tillis, Conway Twitty and the Oak Ridge Boys, as well as by such developing writers as Rachel Thibodeau, Mike Mobley, Neal Coty and Jon Henderson.

Murrah’s interest in working with new talent — more than a few Nashville figures describe him as a “mentor” — is something that comes naturally. “I love helping to train new writers and help them come along. Sharing their first success gives me an opportunity to go through that again.”

Such an approach is what separates the independents from the majors, he says. “Big corporations are not so interested in training writers; they want and to some degree need to hit the ground earning. As a result, it’s difficult to impossible for large corporations to maintain a close personal relationship with writers, especially young writers. It’s more about the bottom line and the money. They become bankers, bankrolling writers.

“But a writer needs to feel there’s a contact there, there’s warm bodies. Being a writer myself, I can help them grow quicker, by working closely and helping to nurture them.”

Currently, Murrah Music represents 10 writers besides Murrah himself, and administers about 10,000 copyrights. The company is always on the lookout for catalog acquisitions, and represents songs by Mark Alan Springer, Phillip White, Jimmy Melton and Pat Terry.

And as he continues to work tirelessly with the NSF, whose goal is to build a Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame (he hopes to make a “major announcement” later this year), Murrah’s personality and reputation continue to impress others in the community.

“Roger has always been one of my favorite writers and has written some of my all-time favorite songs,” says Renee Bell, Senior VP, A&R, RCA Label Group, who estimates she’s known Murrah for nearly two decades. “He is an incredible mentor for writers, and this is why he has had one of the most successful independent publishing companies in town over the past 16 years.”

“I used to pop over to Tom Collins Music, which was right across the street from where I worked in the mailroom at RCA Records, back in the early ’80s,” says Famous’ Middleworth. “I loved to hang out and listen to Roger's new songs and Tom's stories and perspective about the publishing biz. I think that's when I decided I wanted to get into publishing.”

“When a songwriter becomes a publisher, very often he doesn’t stick with it and he goes back to being a songwriter,” Murrah reflects. “But I always enjoyed exercising both sides of my brain, as it were: When I’m working the business side I give the creative side a rest, and when I work the creative side I give the business side a rest.”

Discovered in her teens by her future first husband rockabilly guitarist Duane Eddy, Colter wrote and recorded a string of successful songs, including 1961's "Lonesome Road," which Eddy produced, "No Sign of the Living" for Dottie West, the Colter/Eddy duet single "Guitar on My Mind" and the 1975 hit "I'm Not Lisa."

BMI singer/songwriter Jessi Colter (center in hat) is welcomed by the BMI Media Relations team: Kay Clary (Nashville), Jerry Bailey (Nashville), Ellen Ratner (Los Angeles), Brian Tipton (Nashville), Robbin Ahrold (New York), Liane Mori (Los Angeles) and Hanna Pantle (Los Angeles).

After divorcing Eddy, Colter married country legend Waylon Jennings and eventually released the successful Wanted! The Outlaws, a collaboration with Jennings, Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser and the first Nashville album to sell a million copies. Her best-known duets with Jennings are "Suspicious Minds" and her soothing composition "Storms Never Last."

In later years, she let her recording career slip, but remained part of Jennings' stage show. In the '90s, she began writing and performing children's music. She sang on Jennings' live album in 2000, two years before he died, and added a new version of "Storms Never Last" to a Jennings tribute album in 2003. That same year, Capitol Records released the retrospective The Very Best of Jessi Colter: An Outlaw...A Lady.]]> 2005-11-02T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234171 Artists, Alabama, Anderson, Bill, Big & Rich, Black, Clint, Brooks & Dunn, Buffett, Jimmy, Evans, Sara, Gentry, Montgomery, Jennings, Waylon, Jones, Norah, Keith, Toby, Krauss, Alison, Kristofferson, Kris, Lonestar, McBride, Martina, McGraw, Tim, Nichols, Tim, Parton, Dolly, Rascal Flatts, Roberts, Julie, Stegall, Keith, Stevens, Ray, Trick Pony, Uncle Kracker, Urban, Keith, Wright, Mark, Musical Styles, Country Toby Keith led the list of BMI-affiliated nominees for the 38th Annual Country Music Association Awards (announced August 30). Nominated for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Shock'N Y'all, Keith also picked up Single and Music Video mentions for "I Love This Bar." He is also eligible for trophies as co-producer of his nominated album and single.

Toby Keith	Alison Krauss	Mark Wright

Alison Krauss followed Keith with five CMA nods, including a third consecutive Female Vocalist nomination; Single, Video and Musical Event listings for her work on "Whiskey Lullaby;" and a second Musical Event nod for "How's the World Treating You" from Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers.

Brooks & Dunn	Jimmy Buffett

Other BMI talents collecting multiple CMA mentions were Mark Wright and first-time show hosts Brooks & Dunn with three each; and Big & Rich, Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, Joe Scaife and James Stroud with two each.

Big & Rich	Tim McGraw

Multiple BMI-Award winning songwriter/artist Kris Kristofferson. will be inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame during the CMA Award telecast. Artists including Waylon Jennings, Ronnie Milsap, Ray Stevens and Gladys Knight have recorded songs from his catalog, which features "Me and Bobby McGee," "One Day At a Time," and "Sunday Morning Coming Down."

James Stroud	Julie Roberts	Martina McBride

The CMA Awards show will take place November 9 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville and will be broadcast live on CBS-TV.

BMI's 2004 CMA Awards Nominees

Entertainer of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw

Female Vocalist of the Year
Sara Evans
Alison Krauss
Martina McBride

Male Vocalist of the Year
Toby Keith
Keith Urban

Montgomery Gentry	Sara Evans

Horizon Award
Big & Rich
Julie Roberts

Vocal Group of the Year
Alabama
Diamond Rio
Lonestar
Rascal Flatts
Trick Pony

Vocal Duo of the Year
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Montgomery Gentry
The Warren Brothers

The Warren Brothers	Dolly Parton	Norah Jones

Single of the Year
"I Love This Bar"
Toby Keith
Toby Keith and James Stroud, producers

"Live Like You Were Dying"
Tim McGraw
Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw and Darran Smith, producers

"Redneck Woman"
Mark Wright and Joe Scaife, producers

"Remember When"
Keith Stegall,
producer

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Alison Krauss

Album of the Year
Here For The Party
Mark Wright and Joe Scaife, producers

Red Dirt Road
Brooks & Dunn
Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Mark Wright, producers

Shock 'N Y'All
Toby Keith
Toby Keith and James Stroud, producers

Music Video of the Year
"I Love This Bar"
Toby Keith

"It's Five O'Clock Somewhere"
Jimmy Buffett

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Alison Krauss

Musical Event of the Year
"Creepin' In"
Norah Jones with
Dolly Parton

"Hey Good Lookin'"
Jimmy Buffett with Clint Black and Toby Keith

"How's The World Treating You"
Alison Krauss

"When The Sun Goes Down"
Uncle Kracker

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Alison Krauss

Song of the Year
"Live Like You Were Dying"
Tim Nichols, writer
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., publisher

"Whiskey Lullaby"
Bill Anderson and Jon
Randall, writers
Mr. Bubba Music, Inc., Reynsong Publishing Corp., Sony/ATV Tree and Wha
Ya Say Music, publishers

Musician of the Year
Kenny Greenberg
Electric Guitar

Larry Paxton
Bass Guitar

Broadcast Personality of the Year
Eddie Stubbs
Steve McGrew

Hall of Fame
Kris Kristofferson]]> 2004-09-08T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233082 Artists, Anderson, Bill, Charles, Ray, Cline, Patsy, Cochran, Hank, Evans, Sara, Howard, Harlan, Jennings, Waylon, Kristofferson, Kris, lang, k.d., Loveless, Patty, Nelson, Willie, Neville, Aaron, Parton, Dolly, Preston, Frances, Smith, Connie, Tillis, Mel, Wagoner, Porter, Williams, Hank, Awards, Musical Styles, Country, Pop, R&B, BMI Country Awards, BMI Pop Awards By Robert K. Oermann

Legendary BMI writer Harlan Howard, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, died suddenly on Sunday evening , March 3, in Nashville. He was 74.

photo: Beth Gwinn

In a career that spanned six decades, Howard penned more than 100 Top 10 hits. The man behind such timeless songs as "I Fall To Pieces," "Busted," "I've Got a Tiger By the Tail" and "Heartaches By the Number" was once dubbed "the Irving Berlin of country music" because of the size of his catalog of classics. A BMI writer for over 45 years, Harlan Howard provided hit songs to several generations of stars, from Kitty Wells to Patty Loveless, from Patsy Cline to Reba McEntire, from Mel Tillis to Pam Tillis. A who's-who of the country music world has sung his compositions: ? George Jones, Buck Owens, Waylon Jenning, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, the Judds, Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price and Conway Twitty, to name just a few. But his songs have also enjoyed R&B and pop interpretations by a variety of artists such as Ray Charles, Joe Simon, Shirley Caesar, Brenda Lee, The Kingston Trio, Kay Starr and Burl Ives.

At the 1994 BMI Country Awards: Patty Loveless, Kostas, Sony/Tree's Donna Hilley, BMI's Roger Sovine, Harlan Howard, and BMI"s Frances Preston celebrate Song of the Year "Blame It On Your Heart"

Among his numerous accolades were 45 BMI Country Awards, 4 BMI Pop Awards and two BMI R&B Awards. BMI President & CEO Frances Preston, who met Howard almost 40 years ago, remembered, "When Harlan was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame several years ago, he said he was surprised he was being honored by people in New York when he so rarely crossed Tennessee’s Cumberland River. Harlan himself may have stayed close to his Nashville home, but his songs were his ambassadors to the rest of the world and the world loved him for it.

Greeting Roger Miller and Waylon Jennings at the 1990 Harlan Howard Birthday Bash

"He understood the spirit of creative collaboration and was willing to share his melodies and his words with other songwriters -- those who were his contemporaries and those who came to "the master" to learn the art. He was generous with his gifts and another generation of successful songwriters is grateful to him for showing them the way.

"Harlan was my friend and I will miss him," concluded Preston.

With co-host Tammy Wynette and Mark Knopfler at the 1990 Birthday Bash

Harlan Perry Howard was born September 8, 1927 in Detroit, Michigan. After a difficult childhood in a number of foster homes, he dropped out of school in the ninth grade and became a manual laborer. After military service, he settled in Los Angeles in 1955 and began driving a forklift in a printing factory.

At the 1961 BMI Country Awards: BMI's Frances Preston and Robert J. Burton, Harlan Howard, Joe Allison and Buck Owens

As a boy, he'd been captivated by the music of Ernest Tubb and had begun writing song lyrics. In California, he socialized with other country-music lovers; one of his early writing partners was Buck Owens. His first publishing deal came courtesy of cowboy stars Tex Ritter and Johnny Bond.

With Buck Owens at the 1998 Birthday Bash

Grand Ole Opry star Charlie Walker launched Howard's hit writing career in 1958 with "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down." The following year, "Heartaches B y the Number" topped both the country and the pop hit parades in versions by Ray Price and Guy Mitchell.

After writing for Kitty Wells, Warren Smith and Jan Howard (his wife from 1957 to 1967), Harlan Howard moved to Nashville in June 1960. Along with fellow BMI writers Bill Anderson, Boudleaux & Felice Bryant, Willie Nelson, Mel Tillis, Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin, John D. Loudermilk and Roger Miller, he was among the first full-time songwriting professionals in the city.

Working at Pamper Music, he collaborated on songs with Hank Cochran, with whom he cowrote Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces" and George Jones' "You Comb Her Hair." At one point in 1961 Harlan Howard had 15 songs on the country popularity charts at the same time , a feat not equaled since. BMI gave him 10 songwriting awards that year of the 39 songs on the "most performed" list and he was named Billboard magazine's songwriter of the year in 1962 and 1963.

Prominence as a writer led to recording his own albums in 1961, 1965, 1967 and 1971. But the finest collection of his songs came with a 1967 tribute LP by Waylon Jennings, titled Waylon Sings Ol' Harlan. During his career, Jennings recorded more than 40 of Howard's songs, far more than any other artist.

Howard was Jennings' songwriting mentor and his bonds with other artists were equally strong. Harlan Howard helped Bobby Bare obtain an RCA recording contract and lobbied for Conway Twitty's transition from teen pop idol to country superstar. He also opened doors on Music Row for current star Sara Evans.

Howard's peers began calling him "Mr. Songwriter" after Ray Charles won a Grammy Award with "Busted" in 1963. Originally recorded by Johnny Cash, that song is one of a number of Harlan Howard compositions that have been recorded multiple times. Others include "Life Turned Her That Way," "The Chokin' Kind," "Yours Love," "Above and Beyond," "I Fall To Pieces," "The Key 's In the Mailbox" and "Too Many Rivers."

In 1982, Opry star John Conlee revived "Busted" and introduced "I Don' t Remember Loving You" and "Nothing Behind You (Nothing in Sight)". Thereafter, a new generation of Nashville stars began singing his songs. Reba McEntire ("Somebody Should Leave"), The Judds ("Why Not Me"), Highway 101 ("Somewhere Tonight") and others extended Howard's hit streak through the 1980s.

In the 1990s Pam Tillis ("Don't Tell Me What To Do"), Doug Stone ("These Lips Don' t Know How To Say Goodbye"), Collin Raye ("All I Can Be") and more had hits with Harlan Howard songs. Trisha Yearwood and Aaron Neville won a Grammy Award for their 1994 revival of "I Fall To Pieces." At the 1994 BMI Country Awards banquet, Howard's "Blame It O n Your Heart," co-written with Kostas and recorded by Patty Loveless, was named BMI Country Song of the Year.

His presence on Music Row was such that that for a dozen years (1983-95 ) the community celebrated the "Harlan Howard Birthday Bash," an all-star concert staged in the BMI Nashville parking lot as a benefit for songwriter organizations. Declining health forced him to discontinue these events after 1995. He and fifth wife Melanie Howard continued to run his song publishing business, however, and they aided such developing writers as Jackson Leap and Bobbie Cryner.

Harlan Howard was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and, in 1997, both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Survivors, in addition to his wife, Melanie Howard, are sons Perry Howard (BMI Nashville Associate Director, Writer/Publisher Relations) and Carter "Corky" Howard, daughters Clementine Howard and Jennifer Howard Carmella, granddaughter Michele Carmella, and brother Milton Howard.

Visitation at Nashville's Roesch-Patton-Austin-Bracey & Charlton funeral home (1715 Broadway) is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 from 11am - 2pm and 6pm - 8pm and again on Wednesday, March 6 from 11am - 2pm. There will be a private family service on Wednesday.

A memorial service has been set for Tuesday, March 19th, from 2-4 p.m. at the Ryman Auditorium.

The Howard family has requested memorial donations to The Harlan Howard Music Scholarship Fund, SunTrust Bank, 1206 17th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212. (reference account number 7021676536).

Harlan Howard's Hit Songs

1958: "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" ? Charlie Walker
1959: "Heartaches by the Number" ? Ray Price
"Heartaches by the Number" ? Guy Mitchell "Mommy for a Day" ? Kitty Wells
1960: "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)" ? Buck Owens
"Above and Beyond" ? Buck Owens
"I Don't Believe I'll Fall in Love Today" ? Warren Smith
"The One You Slip Around With" ? Jan Howard
"I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today" ? Ray Price
"The Everglades" ? The Kingston Trio
"The Key's in the Mailbox" ? Freddie Hart
1961: "I Fall to Pieces" ? Patsy Cline
"Heartbreak U.S.A." ? Kitty Wells
"Under the Influence of Love" ? Buck Owens
"Foolin' Around" ? Buck Owens
"Foolin' Around" ? Kay Starr
"The Blizzard" ? Jim Reeves
"Odds and Ends" ? Warren Smith
"Three Steps to the Phone" ? George Hamilton IV
1962: "Call Me Mr. In-Between" ? Burl Ives
"Second Hand Rose (Second Hand Heart)" ? Roy Drusky
"Mary Ann Regrets" ? Burl Ives
"Sally Was a Good Old Girl" ? Hank Cochran
1963: "Busted" ? Johnny Cash
"Busted" ? Ray Charles
"You Comb Her Hair" ? George Jones
"You Took Her Off My Hands" ? Ray Price
"Don't Call Me from a Honky-Tonk" ? Johnny & Jonie Mosby
"Another Bridge to Burn" ? Jimmy Dickens
"The Deepening Snow" ? Johnny Darrell
1964: "I Won't Forget You" ? Hank Snow
"Your Heart Turned Left" ? George Jones
"Go Cat Go" ? Norma Jean
"Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming In" ? Johnny & Jonie Mosby
"It Takes One to Know One" ? Jimmy Martin
"Life Turned Her That Way" ? Jimmy Dickens
1965: "Too Many Rivers" ? Brenda Lee
"I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" ? Buck Owens
"I Wouldn't Buy a Used Car from Him" ? Norma Jean
"Someone's Gotta Cry" ? Jean Shepard
"She's Gone, Gone, Gone" ? Lefty Frizzell
"What Makes a Man Wander?" ? Jan Howard
"Take Him Fishing" ? Tex Ritter
"Meanwhile Down at Joe's" ? Kitty Wells
1966: "The Hurtin's All Over" ? Connie Smith
"The Minute Men" ? Stonewall Jackson
"Evil on Your Mind" ? Jan Howard
"Streets of Baltimore" ? Bobby Bare
"Look Into My Teardrops" ? Conway Twitty
"Time to Bum Again" ? Waylon Jennings
"Green River" ? Waylon Jennings
"It's All Over But the Crying" ? Kitty Wells
"I've Cried a Mile" ? Hank Snow
1967: "Heaven Help the Working Girl" ? Norma Jean
"The Chokin' Kind" ? Waylon Jennings
"Life Turned Her That Way" ? Mel Tillis
"Any Old Way You Do" ? Jan Howard
1968: "It's All Over But the Crying" ? Hank Williams Jr.
"He's a Good Old Boy" ? Arlene Hardin
"Baby Me, Baby" ? Johnny Duncan
"California Sunshine" ? Waylon Jennings
"Yours Love" ? Waylon Jennings
"I Wish I Felt This Way at Home" ? Dolly Parton
1969: "The Chokin' Kind" ?Joe Simon
"Yours Love" ? Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton
"Thinking �Bout You Babe" ? Billy Walker
"Odds and Ends" ? Tompall & The Glaser Brothers
1970: "Watermelon Time in Georgia" ? Lefty Frizzell
"She's a Little Bit Country" ? George Hamilton IV
1971: "Sunday Morning Christian" ? Harlan Howard
"He Called Me Baby" ? Candi Staton
1972: "The Key's in the Mailbox" ? Tony Booth
1973: "Streets of Baltimore" ? Gram Parsons
1974: "No Charge" ? Melba Montgomery
"She Called Me Baby" ? Charlie Rich
1975: "No Charge" ? Shirley Caesar
1978: "Toddy for the Body" ? Bobby Bare
1980: "Sally Was a Good Old Girl" ? Hank Cochran
"She's Gone, Gone, Gone" ? The New South
1981: "All Fall Down" ? Kris Kristofferson
1982: "Busted" ? John Conlee
"I Don't Remember Loving You" ? John Conlee
"Nothing Behind You (Nothing in Sight)" ? John Conlee
1984: "I Don't Know a Thing About Love" ? Conway Twitty
"You're a Hard Dog to Keep Under the Porch" ? Gail Davies
1985: "Why Not Me?" ? The Judds
"Somebody Should Leave" ? Reba McEntire
1987: "Somewhere Tonight" ? Highway 101
"Too Many Rivers" ? The Forester Sisters
"Never Mind" ? Nanci Griffith
1988: "Life Turned Her That Way" ? Ricky Van Shelton
"I Wish That I Could Fall in Love Today" ? Barbara Mandrell
"I'm Down to My Last Cigarette" ? k.d. lang
1989: "Above and Beyond" ? Rodney Crowell
"She's Gone, Gone, Gone" ? Glen Campbell
1991: "These Lips Don't Know How to Say Goodbye" ? Doug Stone
"Don't Tell Me What to Do" ? Pam Tillis
"The Key's in the Mailbox" ? Barbara Mandrell
"All I Can Be (Is a Sweet Memory)" ? Collin Raye
1993: "Blame it on Your Heart" ? Patty Loveless
1994: "I Fall to Pieces" ? Trisha Yearwood & Aaron Neville
1997: "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" ? Sara Evans
1999: "I Fall to Pieces" ? LeAnn Rimes