Pictured (l to r): Bluebird Café's Amy Kurland, NSAI Board President Steve Bogard and NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison announce NSAI's Bluebird ownership.

To celebrate the new arrangement, venerable songwriters Stephen Bruton, Chris Gantry, Billy Swan, Donnie Fritts and Kris Kristofferson treated a small, immeasurably lucky crowd to a song swap of giants.

Pictured (l to r): Chris Gantry, Stephen Bruton, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Swan and Donnie Fritts perform together for the first time in nearly two decades at The Bluebird Café.

The BMI Country Awards turned a spry 55 years old as they were held tonight, Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the performing right organization's Music Row offices in Nashville. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) - the first home for country music - was also the first U.S. organization to honor the genre's songwriters and publishers with their own awards show in 1953. BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Jody Williams, Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville, hosted the black-tie ceremony toasting the writers and publishers of the past year's 50 most-performed country songs in the BMI repertoire.

2007 BMI Country Awards: Award Winning Songs

Jeffrey Steele received his second Country Songwriter of the Year title, while his poignant composition "What Hurts The Most" earned the coveted Song of the Year crown. Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville snagged Publisher of the Year bragging rights for the sixth consecutive year, and a tribute to Willie Nelson recognized the newest BMI Icon's unifying music and humble dignity.

"What Hurts The Most," co-written by Jeffrey Steele and published by Gottahaveable Music and Bug Music/Songs of Windswept, landed the 39th Robert J. Burton Award, presented to the most performed country song of the year. Recorded by crossover titans Rascal Flatts, the nostalgic ballad earned a slew of accolades including two Grammy nominations, and became the group's fifth no. 1 single.

Nashville's best-selling artists have come to rely on 2007 Country Songwriter of the Year Jeffrey Steele's uncanny hitmaking prowess. Steele secured his first Country Songwriter of the Year win in 2003, and has spent the past four years enriching his bejeweled catalog, which includes five of this year's most performed songs: Rascal Flatts' "My Wish," "Me and My Gang," and "What Hurts the Most," Steve Holy's "Brand New Girlfriend" and Keith Anderson's "Every Time I Hear Your Name."

With 17 songs among this year's top 50, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville (through its companies Sony/ATV Acuff Rose, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, Sony/ATV Melody and Sony/ATV Tree) picked up its sixth consecutive Publisher of the Year win. The publishing powerhouse accumulated the highest percentage of copyright ownership thanks to award songs including "Give It Away," "Would You Go With Me," "Every Mile A Memory," "Tim McGraw" and "Kerosene."

The capstone of the evening took the form of the Icon tribute to beloved legend Willie Nelson, featuring performances by fellow pioneers Kris Kristofferson and Emmylou Harris, along with contemporary country trendsetters Toby Keith, Josh Turner and Keith Urban. Willie Nelson's ascendance to internationally-renowned treasure is a singular path marked by self-belief and musical brilliance. As a BMI Icon, Nelson will perhaps be recognized most for his songwriting, which has long enraptured the entire world. His love of the offbeat and heedlessness of conventional time signatures have made Nelson an innovative and inimitable guitarist. As a singer, his deft phrasing and naked sincerity are irresistible. A romantic aesthete, Willie Nelson makes all that he touches beautiful. The Texas native's "Crazy," "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground," "Funny How Time Slips Away," "On the Road Again" and "Good Hearted Woman" merely skim the surface of a catalog stacked with unvarnished classics. Famous for his ceaseless touring, Nelson is an untiring philanthropist and humanitarian, most visibly through Willie-coined events including Farm Aid.

The 2007 BMI Country Awards also honored hit songwriters Brett Beavers, Rodney Clawson, Jamey Johnson, Tony Martin, Bill Anderson, Steve Bogard, Scotty Emerick, Toby Keith, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Bobby Pinson and the Warren Brothers, who each supplied two or more songs to the top 50 list.

Publishers EMI Blackwood Music, Inc; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.; Jeffrey Steele Music Group; Bug Music/Songs of Windswept; Universal Music Publishing Group; Big Gassed Hitties; Brett Beavers Music Group; Gold Watch Music; Music of Stage Three and StyleSonic Music each took home three or more awards.

“I was about to leave town,” explains Ed. “It’s just so hard when you start out, and I didn’t really have a Plan B. But I just kept my head down like a farmer, like my daddy, and kept working hard. And if you do that, eventually you’ll work your way into some luck.”

Ed had plenty of experience to draw on from his early years as part of the ’70’s Bakersfield scene. He played five nights a week at a club where legends like Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson would sit in with the band, and later joined the famed Palomino Club house band in L.A. Ed became so adept on the keys while out West that he was nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s Piano Player of the Year in 1980 and ’82.

Arriving in Nashville in 1986, Ed joined AMR/New Haven Music, and was soon getting cuts by Reba McEntire (“Til Love Comes Again”), Faith Hill (“It Matters to Me”), and John Michael Montgomery (“Be My Baby Tonight”). He also scored hits with Trace Adkins’s “Songs About Me,” and Martina McBride’s “Whatever You Say,” and is currently on the charts with Tracy Lawrence’s comeback hit, “Find Out Who Your Friends Are.” And he has a track on Reba’s upcoming duets album with LeAnn Rimes, “When You Love Somebody Like That.”

Known to write a song a week on average, Ed never knows where inspiration will strike, so he follows one strict rule of thumb: “I always make my wife buy me shirts with front pockets on them, and I carry a pen and pad in that pocket, no matter where I go. That way I can just pull it out when I get an idea, which could be at any time. I always have my antennas out…it’s fun!”

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/534255 Alabama, Anderson, Bill, Cline, Patsy, Daniels, Charlie, Flatt, Lester, Gill, Vince, Haggard, Merle, Hill, Faith, Howard, Harlan, Keith, Toby, Kristofferson, Kris, Lynn, Loretta, McGraw, Tim, Nelson, Willie, Owens, Buck, Parton, Dolly, Scruggs, Earl, Twain, Shania, Williams, Hank, Country Country music began to rise to national prominence soon after BMI opened its doors in 1939. A number of publishers who recognized the genre’s potential were affiliated with BMI, like Hill and Range and Acuff-Rose, the latter co-founded by country music legend Roy Acuff. They recognized the importance of songwriting and quickly took advantage of the interest by artists outside their own field to have material “covered,” thereby increasing the benefits to writers for their work. Hank Williams, one of the most important creators in this field and one of the most-performed songwriters of the 20th century, created some of the most indelible songs in the national imagination, like “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Hey Good Lookin’” and “Cold, Cold Heart.”

BMI recognized too that the emerging center of country music—Nashville—was to become one of the hubs of the music industry. An office was started there in 1958, and permanent facilities were constructed for BMI on Music Row in 1964 just in time for the emergence of some of “Music City U.S.A.’s” most legendary writers. That list includes writers like Willie Nelson, who before he became a star in his own right, created hits like “Crazy” for Patsy Cline and “Hello Walls” for Ray Price, and the late Harlan Howard, who penned a string of songs over more than five decades that many of country’s major stars recorded, including “I Fall to Pieces” and “Heartaches by the Number.” From that day on, BMI has assisted in the careers of many of country’s creative legends and recognized that this genre was no flash in the pan, but instead, an indisputable piece of America’s musical fabric. The fact that 87% of the members of the Country Music Hall of Fame are BMI songwriters attests to that fact.

BMI’s list of songwriters and composers also includes such country giants as Hank Williams Jr., Loretta Lynn, Felice & Boudleaux Bryant, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Maybelle Carter, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, the Stanley Brothers, Bob Wills, Bill Anderson, Doc Watson, Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Buck Owens, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Alabama, Shania Twain, Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels, Don Gibson, Curly Putman, Bill Monroe, Brooks & Dunn, John Michael Montgomery and Alison Krauss.

Founded in l939 as a non-profit-making organization, BMI opened the door to performing rights representation for songwriters and composers of all types of music, many of whom were not eligible under the membership guidelines of the older American PROs. BMI offered first-time representation to songwriters of blues, jazz, r&b, gospel, folk, country and Spanish-language music, and as several of these musical trends converged to produce a new music called “rock & roll,” BMI became the preeminent performing right organization for songwriters of this new genre. The company quickly made reciprocal agreements with sister societies around the world.

The success of BMI’s songwriters and composers is unequaled, as evidenced by their dominance of the industry’s most prestigious awards and honors over the years, representing 51% of the Grammy Awards, 67% of the Country Music Association Awards, 69% of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, 87% of the R&B Foundation’s Pioneer Awards and 95% of the Blues Music Awards.

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/news/entry/334850 Artists, Bell, Thom, Bryant, Del, Davis, Mac, DeGraw, Gavin, Jennings, Will, Kristofferson, Kris, Manilow, Barry, Menken, Alan, Moy, Sylvia, Presley, Elvis, Preston, Frances, Winwood, Steve, Awards, Industry Awards, Songwriters Hall of Fame Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony pulled out all the stops as SHOF Chairman/CEO Hal David and President Linda Moran helped honor BMI songwriting heavyweights Thom Bell, Mac Davis, Will Jennings, Sylvia Moy and Kris Kristofferson. The 37th annual induction ceremony, which also saluted songwriters Henry Cosby, John Mayer, Peter, Paul & Mary, and ABKCO Publishing's Allen Klein, took place June 15 at New York's Marriott Marquis Hotel.

BMI President & CEO Del Bryant, Kris Kristofferson, and SHOF Curator Oscar Brand

The evening was full of special moments, including one from music impresario Paul Shaffer, who honored inductee Thom Bell with a medley of some of his most famous songs, including "I'll Be Around," "You Make Me Feel Brand New," "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time" and "You Are Everything."

Inductee Will Jennings, SHOF President Linda Moran, Kris Kristofferson, Frances Preston, and inductee Mac Davis

Hal David gave the introduction to Johnny Mercer Award honoree Kris Kristofferson: "Tonight's honoree is a Rhodes Scholar and former United States Army helicopter pilot who, in 1965, resigned his commission, gave up a teaching post at West Point, and moved to Nashville to fulfill his dream of becoming a successful songwriter."

Country star Trace Adkins did Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" proud and presented the honor to his old friend. Kristofferson then thrilled the packed audience with a performance of "Help Me Make It Through the Night."

SHOF Chairman/CEO Hal David, inductee Sylvia Moy, and Will Jennings

BMI composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) came out to help induct fellow BMI affiliate Will Jennings, citing Jennings' amazing songwriting record, which includes co-writing Barry Manilow's first No. 1 smash, "Looks Like We Made It," as well as his extremely successful partnership with Steve Winwood. Broadway vocalist Linda Eder performed his blockbuster hit, "My Heart Will Go On," from Titanic.

Trace Adkins, Will Jennings, ASCAP's John LoFrumento, Paul Shaffer, Mac Davis, Lise Davis, Sylvia Moy, Del Bryant, inductee Thom Bell, and Hal David

Former BMI President & CEO Frances Preston helped induct her longtime friend, Mac Davis. "My first remembrance of Mac Davis was from a very early Nashville music festival," Preston reminisced. "I knew at that moment that Mac Davis was going to be one of America's greatest songwriters."

Thom Bell accepts his award

Davis, who signed his own recording contract in 1970, topped the charts in 1972 with his song, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me," and wrote the Elvis Presley classics "A Little Less Conversation," "Memories" and "In the Ghetto," which he performed to a standing ovation.

Publishing giant Allen Klein was honored with the Abe Olman Publishing Award, presented by EMI Music Publishing's Martin Bandier and Carlin America, Inc.'s Freddy Bienstock, both previous recipients of the award. Klein's close friend, Yoko Ono, sent a congratulatory letter, which Bandier read. BMI artist Gavin DeGraw then performed an amazing rendition of ABKCO artist Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come."

Kris Kristofferson performs

The induction of BMI writer Sylvia Moy and the late Henry Cosby closed the show, presented by their longtime Motown collaborator, Stevie Wonder. The pair co-wrote many of Wonder's most famous early hits, including "I Was Made to Love Her," "Shoo Bee Doo Bee Da Day" and "My Cherie Amour," which Wonder performed during the ceremony.

Mac Davis performs

Dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world, 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. BMI is a long-time supporter of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

True, his hair and beard have long gone gray, and his singing voice is grittier than ever. But when he's on stage now, in his black work shirt with its tails hanging over his black denim pants, accompanying himself solo on guitar and harmonica, he's never looked or sounded better.

Indeed, ladies more than half his age still shriek when he eases into "Help Me Make it Through the Night," the Sammi Smith country crossover pop hit from 1971 — the same year Janis Joplin made Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" a posthumous No. 1.

And based on his latest album, This Old Road, Kristofferson is also more musically alive and lyrically vital than ever, too. His first studio set of new songs since 1995's A Moment of Forever (likewise produced by Don Was) not only continues the singular mix of personal and political work that virtually redefined the practice of songwriting in Nashville in the 1960s (for which he has been justly rewarded with inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame), but brings him up-to-date: "I want nothing but the endin' of the war," he sings in "In the News." On "Wild American," he singles out personal heroes like Steve Earle and Native American activist John Trudell while declaring, "When they burn your brother down in the name of freedom/I don't care if it's left or right/It's wrong."

Of course, Kristofferson himself has long ago achieved hero status, both as singer/songwriter and humanitarian. This stature has now been further certified with the release of The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson, a 17-track compilation of classic Kristofferson songs sung by Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash and Shooter Jennings, among others.

Meanwhile, his movie stardom, which commenced in the 1970s with hits like Barbra Streisand's A Star is Born, maintains full throttle with key roles in films like last year's The Jacket with Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley. And after a hiatus from concert performing, he has returned to the road to find adoring audiences hanging on every word, be it song lyric or off-the-cuff commentary.

"I'm not going to dazzle you with fireworks," he acknowledged at a nevertheless electrifying recent acoustic show, fittingly held at New York's Ethical Culture Center. He followed with the typically Kristoffersonian wisdom of "Heart" and its closing line, "The heart is all that matters in the end."

As none other than former BMI President Frances Preston once said, "You really have to see Kris Kristofferson every time you can. He sings the truth."]]> 2006-06-12T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334825 Artists, Aldean, Jason, Brooks & Dunn, Dickens, Little Jimmy, DiPiero, Bob, Dunn, Ronnie, Evans, Sara, Gibbons, Billy, Gill, Vince, Kristofferson, Kris, Lambert, Miranda, Marcos, Andy, Monroe, Bill, Mullins, Tony, Niebank, Justin, Parton, Dolly, Rascal Flatts, Scruggs, Earl, Steele, Jeffrey, Sugarland, Urban, Keith, Yudkin, Jonathan, Awards, Industry Awards, ACM Awards, Musical Styles, Country Academy of Country Music Awards provided a welcome excuse for Music City to invade Sin City Tuesday night (5/23), and there were plenty of experiences that, luckily, won't stay in Vegas.

Top Male Vocalist Keith Urban (left) shares the stage with 21-time ACM winning duo Brooks & Dunn

BMI country stars boasted both repeat wins in top slots and initiations into the winner's circle. Superstar Keith Urban took home his second consecutive Top Male Vocalist trophy, while Sara Evans earned the Top Female Vocalist award-the first ACM award of her flourishing career.

Hot up-and-comer Miranda Lambert performs

The unwaveringly eminent Brooks and Dunn snagged two awards-Top Vocal Duo and Song of the Year for "Believe"-bringing the grand total of ACM trophies for the duo to an impressive 21, including six consecutive Top Vocal Duo wins. Fan favorites Rascal Flatts kept their all-encompassing triumphant streak alive and scored their fourth Top Vocal Group award in a row.

Four-time Top Vocal Group winners Rascal Flatts perform with “American Idol” star Kelly Clarkson

BMI newcomers won big as well, acquiring top honors in all three new artist categories. The angelically voiced Carrie Underwood seized trophies for Top New Female Vocalist and Single Record of the Year ("Jesus, Take the Wheel"), while rowdy hitmaker Jason Aldean scored this year's Top New Male Vocalist title. Top New Duo or Vocal Group honors were bestowed on the fresh and charismatic Sugarland.

Keith Urban and Ronnie Dunn

Vince Gill was recognized for his charitable endeavors as he received the fifth ever Academy of Country Music/Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Gill, overwhelmingly admired as both a musician and philanthropist, chose to give his award to a young girl named Caitlin he met through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

BMI’s Shelby Kennedy congratulates Carrie Underwood on her two ACM Awards at the Sony BMG after-party

Before the show, BMI legends Earl Scruggs, Kris Kristofferson, Little Jimmy Dickens and Bill Monroe were honored as ACM Pioneer recipients. The four honorees are all Country Music Hall of Famer inductees.

The night also featured a stirring tribute to the late country legend Buck Owens. A diverse assembly of musicians was introduced by Vince Vaughn and included Owens' protégé Dwight Yoakum, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, country star Brad Paisley, Buddy Alan Owens (son of Buck and Bonnie Owens), Buck Owens and the Buckaroos' original steel guitar player Tom Brumley, the Byrds' Chris Hillman and blink182/+44 rock drummer Travis Barker. The hodgepodge of musical genres participating reflected both the roots and impact of the "Bakersfield sound" Buck Owens cultivated and shared with millions.

The heroes behind the hit songs received wholly deserved attention the day before the awards. Monday night hosted behind the scenes entertainment as the first ever ACM Songwriters-in-the-Round event lent the spotlight to some of this year's hottest BMI songwriters: Jeffrey Steele, Bob DiPiero and Tony Mullins; Craig Wiseman was also featured. The four tunesmiths performed on the top floor of the MGM Grand Convention Center overlooking the Las Vegas strip.

The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 with a mission to support, promote and enhance the advancement of the country music industry worldwide. The Academy, which is comprised of more than 4,000 professional members and more than 35,000 associate members, is headquartered in Burbank, Calif.

BMI's 41st Annual ACM Winners:

Top Male Vocalist
Keith Urban

Top Female Vocalist
Sara Evans

Top Vocal Group
Rascal Flatts

Top Vocal Duo
Brooks & Dunn

Top New Male Vocalist
Jason Aldean

Top New Female Vocalist
Carrie Underwood

Top New Duo or Vocal Group
Sugarland

Song of the Year
"Believe"
Brooks & Dunn
Ronnie Dunn, writer
Sony/ATV Tree Publishing Co. and Showbilly Music

Vocal Event Of The Year
When I Get Where I’m Going
Dolly Parton

Video Of The Year
When I Get Where I’m Going
Dolly Parton

Audio Engineer of the Year
Justin Niebank

Fiddle Player of the Year
Jonathan Yudkin

Citations of Achievement will be presented to the writers and publishers of the top 50 country songs, with the evening's highest honors going to BMI's Songwriter of the Year, Publisher of the Year and Most Performed Country Song of the Year (the Robert J. Burton Award).

The evening will culminate in a tribute to a new BMI Icon, acknowledging songwriters who have had "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." Past BMI Icons from the country music community include Loretta Lynn, Bill Anderson and Dolly Parton, and most recently, Charlie Daniels.

Among the distinguished talents who have previously been crowned BMI Country Songwriter of the Year are last year's winners Harley Allen, Big & Rich's Big Kenny and Lonestar frontman Richie McDonald, and previous winners Harlan Howard, Don Gibson, Roger Miller, John D. Loudermilk, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Dennis Morgan, Paul Overstreet, Vince Gill, Shania Twain, Tom Shapiro, Troy Verges, Dixie Chick Martie Maguire, Ronnie Dunn, Jeffrey Steele, Bobby Braddock and eight-time victor Billy Sherrill.]]> 2006-05-22T18:00:00-05:00