BMI Senior Director, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville Thomas Cain will number among the elite recipients of the 2008 Heroes And Legends (HAL) Awards Sunday, September 28 at the star-studded ceremony in Beverly Hills. Cain will be honored alongside legendary Motown musicians The Funk Brothers, television and film actor Ernie Hudson, New Orleans music icon Allen Toussaint, platinum-selling songwriter/producer Harold Lilly, educator, artist and author Dr. Samella Lewis, Motown and gospel songwriter/producer Frank Wilson and renowned recording artist Martha Reeves.

An accomplished musician, songwriter, publisher and industry executive, Mr. Cain will receive the Cornerstone Award, an accolade designed to spotlight key role models in the arts industries whose accomplishments inspire their peers and guide generations. During the ceremony, the HAL Scholarship Foundation will also award financial aid to gifted students who aspire to careers in the performing arts sphere.

A native of Athens, Alabama, Thomas Cain began his musical odyssey early, picking up the trumpet and learning piano as a young boy. After graduating from Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in musical education, Cain commenced what would become an eclectic and creatively prolific career. A diverse coalition of crossover stars and gospel staples including Kenny Rogers, Ronnie Milsap, Diamond Rio, Trace Atkins, The Mighty Clouds of Joy and Albertina Walker have recorded Cain’s songs, while corporate conglomerates including McDonald’s, Rubbermaid, Oscar Meyer and Golden Flake Potato Chips have utilized Cain’s versatile compositions as jingles for national advertising campaigns. As a composer, his triumphs include penning the original theme and musical score for the award-winning documentary Waiting in the Wings: African Americans in Country Music, while as a musician, career highlights include appearing with legend Johnny Mathis on the national PBS television special, Johnny Mathis: Wonderful, Wonderful.

Dexterously able to switch from creative artist to creative executive, Cain also founded publishing company Candy Cane Music, originally Sweet Baby Music, which boasts a deep catalog containing country no. 1 smashes, blues recordings, and original jazz, r&b and gospel compositions.

As Director of Writer/Publisher Relations at BMI in Nashville, Mr. Cain spends his days working with and for his peers: composers and publishers. At night, he may often be found with his beloved jazz ensemble, The Thomas Cain Band.

For more information on the HAL Awards, please visit www.halawards.com.

BMI saluted the premier r&b, rap and hip-hop songwriters, producers and publishers at its 2005 BMI Urban Awards, staged August 26 in the Grand Ballroom of the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach.

BMI Urban Awards Event Photos

BMI Urban Awards Song List

Billboard #1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Lil Jon and R. Kelly were named Songwriters of the Year, each receiving four "most performed song" awards. "Yeah!," written by Sean Garrett, Lil Jon and Patrick "j.Que" Smith, was named Song of the Year, Kanye West received Producer of the Year honors, and EMI Music Publishing was awarded the BMI Crystal for Urban Publisher of the Year. The first Urban Ringtone Award went to Lil Jon and Craig D. Love for "Freek-A-Leek." A highlight of the gala was a tribute to urban funk legends Charlie Wilson and The GAP Band, who were named BMI Icons for their "enduring influence on generations of music makers."

Lil Jon	R. Kelly	The GAP Band

The ceremony was hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations Catherine Brewton, who presented awards to the 70 songwriters of the 35 most performed songs of 2004 in the urban music format.

Sean Garrett	Patrick "j.Que" Smith	Kanye West

Lil Jon, who was honored with three major BMI awards - Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year and Urban Ringtone of the Year - was also named one of BMI's top songwriter/producers of the year. He placed four songs on the most-performed song list, including "Freek-A-Leek," "Goodies," "Salt Shaker" and Song of the Year "Yeah!" Lil Jon was also named Songwriter of the Year at BMI's Pop Awards held in May, marking the first time a songwriter earned both Pop and Urban Songwriter of the Year honors in the same year.

Craig D. Love	Cool & Dre	Fat Joe

R. Kelly received his second BMI Crystal as Urban Songwriter of the Year (he also won in 2002) with four songs on the most-performed list - "Gigolo," "Hotel," "Step in the Name of Love" and "Thoia Thoing" - and was also named one of BMI's top songwriter/producers. His latest CD, TP.3 Reloaded, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 the week of its release, instantly becoming his fifth #1 album.

Jazze Pha	John Legend	Mannie Fresh

"Yeah!," recorded by Usher featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon, was named Urban Song of the Year for tallying the most U.S. broadcast performances in 2004. The #1 Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop song earned awards for songwriters Sean Garrett, Lil Jon and Patrick "j.Que" Smith, and music publishers Christopher Matthew Music, Hitco Music and White Rhino Music, Inc.

BMI Producer of the Year honors went to Kanye West for logging the most producer credits on charting songs. The BMI Top Urban Producers list also included Cool & Dre, Eminem, Fat Joe, Jazze Pha, R. Kelly, John Legend, Lil Jon, Mannie Fresh and The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo).

On the list of BMI's 35 most-performed urban songs, four songwriters contributed three songs each: Eminem, Sean Garrett, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. Other writers earning multiple awards were Miri Ben-Ari, Chad Hugo, Lil Flip, Harold Spencer Lilly, Jr., Craig D. Love and Sham.

EMI Music Publishing was named BMI Urban Publisher of the Year by accumulating the highest percentage of copyright ownership in award songs. Big Jon Platt, Executive Vice President, Urban Music, U.S., accepted on behalf of the publisher, which boasted 17 songs on the most-performed list (through its companies EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc., EMI-Hastings Catalog, Inc., EMI-Stone Diamond Music Corporation, and Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc.).

Other publishers with multiple award-winning songs were Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc./Zomba Songs Inc. (8 awards); Universal Music Publishing (Irving Music/Songs of Universal, Inc.) (6); Warner/Chappell Music Group (Foster Frees Music, Inc./Rick's Music, Inc./Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.) (5); R. Kelly Publishing, Inc. and White Rhino Music, Inc. (4 each); Eight Mile Style Music and Waters of Nazareth Publishing (3 each); C'Amore Music, Clover G Music, Embassy Music Corporation, Ensign Music Corporation, Mirimode Music, Please Gimme My Publishing, Inc., Raynchaser Music, Swizole Music and Uncle Bobby Music (2 each).

The evening culminated with Charlie Wilson and The GAP Band being honored as BMI Icons. One of the most influential groups in the history of r&b, Charlie and his brothers Robert and Ronnie Wilson, who got their name from the streets in the black business hub of their native Tulsa, Oklahoma (Greenwood, Archer, Pine), dominated the r&b charts with their hard-driving funk grooves from the late '70s to early '80s. Four of the band's nine albums were certified Platinum plus (The GAP Band II, The GAP Band III, The GAP Band IV and GAP Band V - Jammin') and featured 15 Top Ten and four #1 r&b hits, including "You Dropped a Bomb On Me," "Party Train," "Burn Rubber," "Outstanding," "Oops Upside Your Head," "Early in the Morning," and the smooth love song, "Yearning for Your Love." "Outstanding" alone remains one of the most sampled songs in history and has, astonishingly, been used by over 150 artists.

Prior to being named BMI Icons, Wilson and The GAP Band were saluted with an all-star musical tribute that included performances by 112 and Guy. BMI President and CEO Del Bryant, along with Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg and will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas), presented the award to the group.

In addition to the BMI performance awards, music trade magazine Billboard recognized the BMI-affiliated writers who had #1 songs on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Tracks, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Hot 100 charts during the past year. Chad Hugo, Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams led with "Drop It Like It's Hot," which topped all four lists.

Six years ago, Harold Lilly Jr. was working at a warehouse near the airport in Richmond, Virginia. Harold, now 27, would pass time by making up songs. He would sing about his steel-toe boots. He’d sing about his work goggles. He’d sing about mandatory overtime on Saturdays. Then, the young man decided that he would stop fighting destiny and get serious. Though he’d played keyboard and piano since age 12, Lilly says he suddenly “really decided that I needed to go hard with music,” he said. “It was one of those now or never moments.”

One of his demos, a duet with Missy Elliott protégée Nicole Wray, ended up in the hands of Big Jon Platt at EMI. On the strength of that one song, Lilly became the subject of intense interest from the executive. With only a short stint at a community college under his belt, the former assembly worker abruptly found himself at the helm of a lucrative recording career.

“I’ve been blessed,” says the songwriter and producer, who won his first Grammy this year for co-writing the Alicia Keys hit, “You Don’t Know My Name.”

Though he’s consistently created hits for some of music’s hottest names, including Luther Vandross (“Take You Out”), Angie Stone (“Brother”), Brandy (“Talk About Our Love”), and Fantasia ("Baby Mama"), Lilly’s sound doesn’t stay the same; it varies from track to track, ensuring the young talent will only continue to hone his skills and grow as an artist. His "Just Gotta Make It," recorded by Trey Songz, is currently climbing the charts.

“I care about the craft,” says the decidedly low-key musician. “Everybody doesn’t go to the club, everybody is not about blinging. People want to hear music they can relate to. That’s where I come in and carve out a niche for myself.”

Vanessa Carlton	Sean Garrett	Harold Lilly

Sponsored by BMI, the Kauai Music Festival is a four-day celebration of the craft of popular songwriting. The Festival, tempered throughout with Kauai's "Aloha Spirit," provides an opportunity for aspiring songwriters to hone their craft under the tutelage of some of the best songwriters in the world. The KMF offers a unique combination of small group songwriter workshops, master classes, instructional panels and seminars on a variety of pertinent subjects, a songwriting contest, and concerts on the Garden Island of Kauai in Hawaii.

The Kauai Music Festival will be held May 26-29.]]> 2005-03-03T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234336 Artists, Adams, John, Arnold, Eddy, Basement Jaxx, Ben-Ari, Miri, Black Eyed Peas, Blanchard, Terence, Blind Boys of Alabama, The, Cachao, Chapman, Steven Curtis, Charles, Ray, D'Rivera, Paquito, Dixie Chicks, Douglas, Jerry, Frisell, Bill, Garza, David Lee, Guzman, Joel, Hancock, Herbie, Intocable, James, Etta, Jones, Norah, Lennon, John, Lil Jon, Lilly, Harold, Los Lonely Boys, Lynn, Loretta, McBride, Christian, McGraw, Tim, Nichols, Tim, Ozomatli, Sauceda, Sunny, Scruggs, Earl, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Spears, Britney, Usher1, West, Kanye, White, Jack, Wilco, Wilson, Brian, Awards, Industry Awards, Grammy Awards, Musical Styles, Blues, Classical, Country, Dance, Jazz, Latin, Pop, R&B, Rock, Type, Important Ray Charles, whose posthumously-released album of duets Genius Loves Company earned him five trophies at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, leads the list of BMI winners, announced last night (2/13) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Charles' Album of the Year win marked the first time the top album prize has gone to a deceased artist since John Lennon received it in 1982.

Kanye West	Ray Charles

Charles, whose Grammy haul now totals 17, also took home the coveted Record of the Year title as well as Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Here We Go Again," featuring pianist/singer Norah Jones. She won three awards herself, two for her duet with Charles and one for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song "Sunrise" from her sophomore release Feels Like Home.

Norah Jones	John Adams	Loretta Lynn

Genius engineer Al Schmitt won four Grammys, including one for Best Engineered Album (non-classical); the album's producer, Don Mizell, also took home a statuette.

Maroon5	Tim McGraw

Ten-time nominee Kanye West took home three awards, including Best Rap Song for his hit "Jesus Walks" (co-written with Miri Ben-Ari) from his multiplatinum release The College Dropout, which earned the Best Rap Album title. His Best R&B Song win, also a songwriter award, was shared with BMI co-writer Harold Lilly for the smash "You Don't Know My Name."

Blind Boys of Alabama	Brian Wilson

Pop-rockers Maroon5 took home the prestigious Best New Artist Grammy, a surprise to even the band's own members. When lead singer, Adam Levine, accepted the award, he commented: "Kanye West, I want to thank you so much for being unbelievable."

Miri Ben-Ari	Al Schmitt	Harold Lilly

BMI artists once again dominated the Latin category, winning five of the six awards, including Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album (Street Signs) by multicultural, hip-hop outfit Ozomatli and Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album by Tejano-norte�o fusion band Intocable. Cuban bassist Israel "Cachao" L�pez's �Ahora S�! was named Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra won for Best Salsa/Merengue Album. The Best Tejano Album win went to BMI composers David Lee Garza, Joel Guzman and Sunny Sauceda.

Ozomatli

BMI jazz artists also had a strong showing, winning Grammys in four out of six fields, with the Best Jazz Instrumental Album statuette going to McCoy Tyner, Gary Bartz, Terence Blanchard and Christian McBride for Illuminations. Herbie Hancock picked up his ninth career Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Charlie Haden's release Land of the Sun was named Best Latin Jazz Album and Bill Frisell's Unspeakable earned the Best Contemporary Jazz Album title.

Winning two Grammys each were classical composer John Adams and BMI Icon Loretta Lynn. This is legendary country singer's second Grammy; she won in 1971 for her collaboration with Conway Twitty. Her album, Van Lear Rose, earned her the Best Country Album trophy, which she accepted with the album's producer Jack White of the White Stripes. The pair also won Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for the track "Portland Oregon."

Newcomers Los Lonely Boys opened the Grammy show with their #1 breakthrough smash "Heaven," which earned the Tex-Mex brothers the trophy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Hip-hop party band the Black Eyed Peas picked up a Grammy for "Let's Get It Started," named Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group, while crunk rapper Lil Jon received a Grammy nod for his collaboration on the Usher hit "Yeah!".

Other BMI winners included Basement Jaxx [PRS] (Best Electronic/Dance Album), Tim McGraw (Best Male Country Vocal Performance), The Blind Boys Of Alabama (Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album), Brave Combo (Best Polka Album), and BMI Icon Brian Wilson, who also earned his very first Grammy. The Beach Boys leader was also honored on February 11 as the Person of the Year at the annual MusiCares dinner, which cited him as "one of the most important songwriters and recording artists of our time."

BMI's 2005 Grammy Award Winners:

Ray Charles
Record Of The Year
"Here We Go Again"
Album Of The Year
Genius Loves Company
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
"Here We Go Again"
Best Pop Vocal Album
Genius Loves Company
Best Gospel Performance
"Heaven Help Us All"

Al Schmitt
Record Of The Year
"Here We Go Again"
Album Of The Year
Genius Loves Company
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Genius Loves Company
Best Surround Sound Album
Genius Loves Company

Norah Jones
Record Of The Year
"Here We Go Again"
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
"Sunrise"
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
"Here We Go Again"

Kanye West
Best R&B Song
"You Don't Know My Name"
Best Rap Song
"Jesus Walks"
Best Rap Album
College Dropout

John Adams
Best Classical Album
Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls
Best Classical Contemporary Composition
Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls

Loretta Lynn
Best Country Album
Van Lear Rose
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
Portland Oregon"

Maroon5
Best New Artist

Don Mizell
Album Of The Year
Genius Loves Company

Los Lonely Boys
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
"Heaven"

Britney Spears
Best Dance Recording
"Toxic"

Basement Jaxx (PRS)
Best Electronic/Dance Album
Kish Kash

Mot�rhead (PRS)
Best Metal Performance
"Whiplash"

Brian Wilson
Best Rock Instrumental Performance
"Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"

Wilco
Best Alternative Music Album
A Ghost Is Born

Harold Lilly
Best R&B Song
"You Don't Know My Name"

The Black Eyed Peas
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
"Let's Get It Started"

Lil Jon
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"Yeah!"

Miri Ben Ari
Best Rap Song
"Jesus Walks"

Tim McGraw
Best Male Country Vocal Performance
"Live Like You Were Dying"

Dixie Chicks
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
"Top Of The World"

Jack White
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
"Portland Oregon"

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Earl Scruggs
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Randy Scruggs
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Jerry Douglas
Best Country Instrumental Performance
"Earl's Breakdown"

Tim Nichols
Best Country Song
"Live Like You Were Dying"

Will Ackerman
Best New Age Album
Returning

Bill Frisell
Best Contemporary Jazz Album
Unspeakable

Herbie Hancock
Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
"Speak Like A Child"

McCoy Tyner
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Gary Bartz
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Terence Blanchard
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Christian McBride
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Illuminations

Charlie Haden
Best Latin Jazz Album
Land Of The Sun

Steven Curtis Chapman
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album
All Things New

The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album
There Will Be A Light

Ozomatli
Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album
Street Signs

Israel L�pez "Cachao"
Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album
�Ahora S�!

Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Best Salsa/Merengue Album
Across 110th Street

Intocable
Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album
Intimamente

David Lee Garza
Best Tejano Album
Polkas, Gritos y Acorde�nes

Joel Guzman
Best Tejano Album
Polkas, Gritos y Acorde�nes

Sunny Sauceda
Best Tejano Album
Polkas, Gritos y Acorde�nes

Etta James
Best Traditional Blues Album
Blues To The Bone

Keb' Mo'
Best Contemporary Blues Album
Keep It Simple

Bill Miller
Best Native American Music Album
Cedar Dream Songs

Toots & The Maytals
Best Reggae Album
True Love

Brave Combo
Best Polka Album
Let's Kiss: 25th Anniversary Album

Paquito D'Rivera
Best Instrumental Composition
"Merengue"

Slide Hampton (SACEM)
Best Instrumental Arrangement
"Past Present & Future"

Ray Cooper (PRS)
Best Long Form Music Video
Concert For George

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Best Classical Crossover Album
LAGQ's Guitar Heroes

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners:
Eddy Arnold
Art Blakey
The Carter Family
Jerry Lee Lewis
Pinetop Perkins
The Staple Singers

BMI has received commitments from some of its top songwriters and other music professionals that will make up the majority of the songwriting staff, including Cyndi Lauper, Dallas Austin, Harold Lilly, Butch Walker, Hugh Prestwood, Frank Myers, Russ Titelman, David Tickle, Shelley Peiken, Adam Gorgoni, Keith Olsen, Mark Levinsohn and Suzan Koc.

Instruction will be relevant to all genres of music from rock to urban to country to pop to Hawaiian. Each night will provide opportunities for students to perform their own music via open mike sessions. Nightly "guitar pulls" will also be staged where students can join in with the professional staff in playing music and creating new songs. Throughout the four-day event, selected students will be invited to make demo recordings with the assistance of the professional staff. Students who are not making the demo recordings will be invited to attend the sessions as an educational experience.

KMF Songwriting Competition
The Kauai Music Festival will also feature the KMF Songwriting Competition. Each attendee is allowed to submit one song. The finalists will perform in the songwriting competition concert on the second night of the Festival. The top five winners will receive prizes donated by Festival sponsors. The first place winner will receive a guaranteed spot in a BMI showcase in New York City, Los Angeles, or another BMI location. Other prizes include free memberships to TAXI, premium Tannoy speakers, and other home studio equipment. Additional prizes will be announced soon.]]> 2004-03-30T17:00:00-05:00