“I had a pop/doo-wop kind of vocal group that signed with RCA Victor and our first record was released in 1956,” recalls Crutchfield. “It’s amazing to think I’ve been in this crazy business for 50 years!”

Crutchfield’s group never had a hit. But it did start him on a successful songwriting career — and he remains a BMI writer.

“I sent a demo of ‘Little Sparrow’ to Chet Atkins and he cut it with Eddy Arnold — my first major [cover] release,” says Crutchfield, who had to sing the melody part for Atkins on the phone since it was mixed too low on the demo. He would go on to land over 150 covers by the likes of Elvis Presley, Tanya Tucker, Lee Greenwood and Tammy Wynette. His “My Whole World Is Falling Down” became a pop hit for Brenda Lee in 1963 and was also a major European hit for French singing and film star Sylvie Vartan.

But Crutchfield began producing, too. “I really enjoyed the energy of the studio — and musicians making music,” he says, and sure enough, he produced Dave Loggins’s “Please Come to Boston,” one of the most successful pop records ever cut in Nashville — not to mention country hits including Lee Greenwood’s Grammy-winning “I.O.U.”

Crutchfield would serve as Executive Vice President/General Manager of Capitol Records and President of the Nashville division of MCA Music. But he also established MCA Music Publishing (now Universal Music Publishing) as a major Nashville publishing house, and had a hand in signing and developing such top Music Row writers as Loggins, Don Schlitz, Gary Burr and Mark Nesler.

He continues to run the Crutchfield Music Group of publishing companies (its Glitterfish Music catalog has had hits by George Strait, Tim McGraw and Martina McBride) while writing a series of “The Adventures of Dr. Raccoon” children’s books.

His alma mater, Murray State University in Kentucky, is currently exhibiting his memorabilia to commemorate a new scholarship in his name, but Crutchfield looks ahead. “People complain about changes in the business,” he says, “but time marches on and you have to stay with the program.”

As a finalist for the second season of American Idol, Lee was selected by the show's producers to be one of the top 234 contenders of 50,000 auditioned. She is scheduled to play the 99.9FM KISS Country Tailgate Event with Jeff Bates and Sawyer Brown at Jacksonville's Dolphin Stadium on Sunday, December 28.

Pictured are BMI's Paul Corbin, Jesse Lee and BMI's Harry Warner. Photo: Brian Tipton

Pictured are BMI Nashville Vice President Paul Corbin, FDNY Lt. Vincent Louis, NYPD Lt. Stephen Reardon, FDNY Lt. Michael Dilena, BMI President & CEO Frances Preston, and Tennessee Speaker of the House James Naifeh.

Click here to see pictures from the awards ceremony. High-resolution photos from the event are available for downloading at press.bmi.com.

Highlights of the evening included a special tribute to the victims and rescuers of the September 11th disaster. After a video collage, Preston introduced three men who were on duty that day and responded to the call at the World Trade Center: New York Fire Department Lieutenants Michael Dilena and Vincent Louis of Engine Co. 236 in East New York, Brooklyn, and New York Police Department Lieutenant Stephen Reardon of the Emergency Service Unit (ESU) in Brooklyn. The officers, who have been at Ground Zero since the terrorist attacks, were presented with Profile In Courage certificates on behalf of the FDNY and the NYPD. The remembrance tribute continued with a stirring performance by Lee Greenwood of “God Bless The USA”; Greenwood was later honored with the Words of Freedom Award.

“I Hope You Dance” earned writer Tia Sillers the 33rd Robert J. Burton Award as Most Performed Country Song of the Year. A multi-week, multi-format #1 smash for MCA recording artist Lee Ann Womack, “I Hope You Dance” is published by Choice Is Tragic Music (Sillers accepting) and Ensign Music Corporation (Chairman & CEO Irwin Z. Robinson and Vice President Pat Finch of parent The Famous Music Publishing Companies accepting). Sillers, who previously garnered BMI Country accolades for “There’s Your Trouble,” “Lipstick Promises” and “Land Of The Living,” wrote the song with Mark D. Sanders (share not licensed through BMI).

Toby Keith (Read Bio)

Aimee Mayo (Read Bio) and Marv Green (Read Bio)

Tia Sillers (Read Bio)

Pictured (l to r) onstage at BMI Nashville are BMI Country Songwriters of the Year Marv Green and Aimee Mayo, "I Hope You Dance" writer Tia Sillers, Ensign Music's Pat Finch, Lee Greenwood, BMI Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year Toby Keith, BMI President & CEO Frances Preston, Willie Nelson, BMI Country Song of the Ensign Music's Irwin Z. Robinson and Les Bider of BMI Country Publisher of the Year Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.

Toby Keith, Marv Green and Aimee Mayo each contributed three songs to the list of 50 to form a Country Songwriter of the Year triumvirate. Keith was presented with a BMI Crystal inscribed “Songwriter/Artist of the Year,” Green and Mayo with “Songwriter of the Year” Crystals.

Keith took the prize via his recordings of “Country Comes To Town,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!” (co-written with Chuck Cannon) and “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This,” all from his platinum DreamWorks album How Do You Like Me Now?! Keith’s BMI Awards total now stands at 12, including “Wish I Didn’t Know Now,” “You Ain’t Much Fun,” “Dream Walkin,” “Who’s That Man” and “He Ain’t Worth Missing.”

Green and Mayo teamed to write Amazed”> [2nd award] (Lonestar), “Let’s Make Love” (Faith Hill & Tim McGraw) and “It’s Always Something” (Joe Diffie). Last year the writers shared, along with Chris Lindsey, BMI Country Song of the Year honors for “Amazed.” Green’s previous BMI honors came courtesy of “Day In, Day Out” and “True”; Mayo has BMI Citations for “My Best Friend” and “Places I’ve Never Been.”

Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. claimed BMI Country Publisher of the Year by accumulating the highest percentage of copyright ownership in award songs. Accepting the BMI Crystal for the publisher, which placed 11 songs on the most-performed list, were Chairman & CEO Les Bider and Executive VP/GM Tim Wipperman of parent company Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Legendary singer/songwriter Willie Nelson was saluted with the President’s Award. BMI created the President’s Award in 1993 to honor an exceptional person or persons in the entertainment industry deserving of special recognition. Presented tonight for only the fifth time, the honor has previously been bestowed on Harlan Howard, Brian Wilson, Earle Hagen and Alabama.

Of the 64 songwriters recognized, eight, in addition to Keith, Green and Mayo, were multiple winners: Chris Lindsey, Chad Brock, Tom Douglas, Rick Giles, Bill Luther, Bobby Tomberlin, Danny Wells and Darryl Worley.

Additional publishers collecting three or more awards were Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.; EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.; Sony/ATV Tree; Universal Music Publishing Group (Irving Music, Songs of Universal, Inc., and Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.); Golden Wheat Music; Mike Curb Music; Songs of Nashville DreamWorks; and Tokeco Tunes.

“Flowers On The Wall” was recognized with its third BMI Country Award. Written by the late Lew Dewitt of the Statler Brothers, the song was honored in 1966 and 1967 (plus a 1966 Pop Award), and has accumulated more than two million performances. Three songs were cited for the second consecutive year: “Amazed” (2000 BMI Country Song of the Year); “Breathe” (2001 BMI Pop Song of the Year); and “How Do You Like Me Now?!”

Among this year’s honorees, 25 songs have reached the status of BMI Million-Air (accumulating at least one million broadcast performances) for a total of over 30 million performances. Based on an average length of three minutes, one million airplays is the equivalent of 50,000 hours or 5.7 years, continuously; Million-Airs on the 2001 Country list translate into 1.5 million hours or 171 years of continuous airplay.

BMI’s Citations of Achievement are given annually in recognition of popularity in the field of country music, as measured by feature broadcast performances on American radio and television; the 2001 Country Awards eligibility period ran April 1, 2000 through March 31, 2001.

2001 BMI Country Awards

AMAZED (2nd Award)
Marv Green
Chris Lindsey
Aimee Mayo
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
Golden Wheat Music
Silverkiss Music
Songs of Nashville DreamWorks
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Lonestar: BNA

ANOTHER NINE MINUTES
Billy Crain
Tom Douglas
Nick N' Ash Music
Sony/ATV Tree
Yankee Grey: Monument

BEEN THERE
Clint Black
Steve Wariner
Blackened Music
Steve Wariner Music
Clint Black with Steve Wariner: RCA

THE BEST DAY
Carson Chamberlain
Dean Dillon
Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
Everything I Love Music
Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.
George Strait: MCA Nashville

BEST OF INTENTIONS
Travis Tritt
Post Oak Publishing
Travis Tritt: Columbia

BORN TO FLY
Sara Evans
Marcus Hummon
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
Floyd's Dream Music
Sony/ATV Tree
Sara Evans: RCA

BREATHE (2nd Award)
Stephanie Bentley
Hopechest Music
Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.
Faith Hill: Warner Bros.

BURN
Tina Arena (APRA)
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Jo Dee Messina: Curb

BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD
keith urban
Coburn Music, Inc.
keith urban: Capitol Nashville

BUY ME A ROSE
Jim Funk
Erik Hickenlooper
Blue Plate Music Publishing
Rex Benson Music
Kenny Rogers with Alison Krauss & Billy Dean: Dreamcatcher

CARLENE
Charlie Black
Rory Bourke
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Flybridge Tunes
Rory Bourke Music Co.
Phil Vassar: Arista

THE CHAIN OF LOVE
Jonnie Barnett
Pugwash Music
Waterdance Music
Clay Walker: Giant

COULDN'T LAST A MOMENT
Jeffrey Steele
Danny Wells
Irving Music
My Life's Work Music
Songs of Windswept Pacific
Yellow Desert Music
Collin Raye: Epic

COUNTRY COMES TO TOWN
Toby Keith
Tokeco Tunes
Toby Keith: DreamWorks

FEELS LIKE LOVE
Vince Gill
Vinny Mae Music
Vince Gill: MCA Nashville

FLOWERS ON THE WALL (3rd Award)
Lew DeWitt
Wallflower Music
Eric Heatherly: Mercury Nashville

GO ON
Tony Martin
Mark Nesler
Baby Mae Music
Buna Boy Music
Glitterfish Music, Inc.
Hamstein Cumberland Music
George Strait: MCA Nashville

A GOOD DAY TO RUN
Bobby Tomberlin
Darryl Worley
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Hatley Creek Music
Mike Curb Music
Darryl Worley: DreamWorks

HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?! (2nd Award)
Chuck Cannon
Toby Keith
Tokeco Tunes
Wacissa River Music, Inc.
Toby Keith: DreamWorks

I HOPE YOU DANCE
Tia Sillers
Choice Is Tragic Music
Ensign Music Corporation
Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert: MCA Nashville

I LOST IT
Jimmy Olander
Taxicaster Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Kenny Chesney: BNA

IT WAS
Mark Wright
Marketwright Music
Songs of Universal, Inc.
Chely Wright: MCA Nashville

IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHIN'
Marv Green
Aimee Mayo
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
Golden Wheat Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Joe Diffie: Epic

KISS THIS
Aaron Tippin
Thea Tippin
Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
Thea Later Music
Aaron Tippin: Lyric Street

LET'S MAKE LOVE
Marv Green
Chris Lindsey
Bill Luther
Aimee Mayo
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
Golden Wheat Music
Silverkiss Music
Songs of Nashville DreamWorks
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Faith Hill with Tim McGraw: Warner Bros.

LIGHTNING DOES THE WORK
Chad Brock
Kelly Garrett
John Hadley
Bluesabilly Music
John Hadley Songs
Lehsem Songs
Sony/ATV Tree
Chad Brock: Warner Bros.

A LITTLE GASOLINE
Dean Miller
Mighty Nice Music
Terri Clark: Mercury Nashville

THE LITTLE GIRL
Harley Allen
Coburn Music, Inc.
John Michael Montgomery: Atlantic

LOVE'S THE ONLY HOUSE
Tom Douglas
Sony/ATV Tree
Martina McBride: RCA

MAKE UP IN LOVE
Tony Ramey
O-Tex Music
Doug Stone: Atlantic

A MAN AIN'T MADE OF STONE
Franne Golde
Robin Lerner
Franne Gee Music
Puckalesia Songs
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Randy Travis: DreamWorks

MORE
Thom McHugh
Golden Wheat Music
McHuge Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Trace Adkins: Capitol Nashville

ONE MORE DAY
Bobby Tomberlin
Mike Curb Music
Diamond Rio: Arista

PRAYIN' FOR DAYLIGHT
Steve Bogard
Rick Giles
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Rascal Flatts: Lyric Street

THE QUITTIN' KIND
Phil Barnhart
Sam Hogin
Sam's Jammin' Songs
Sony/ATV Tree
Suffer In Silence Music
Joe Diffie: Epic

SHE'S MORE
Rob Crosby
Crutchfield Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Andy Griggs: RCA

THAT'S THE KIND OF MOOD I'M IN
Rick Giles
Gilles Godard (SOCAN)
Tim Nichols
Buzz Cut Music
Diamond Storm Music, Inc.
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Mike Curb Music
Ty Land Music
Patty Loveless: Epic

THERE IS NO ARIZONA
Shaye Smith
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Zomba Songs Inc.
Jamie O'Neal: Mercury Nashville

THERE YOU ARE
Bob DiPiero
Ed Hill
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
Love Monkey Music
Music Hill Music
Sony/ATV Tree
Martina McBride: RCA

THIS EVERYDAY LOVE
Danny Wells
Irving Music
Rascal Flatts: Lyric Street

UNCONDITIONAL
Rivers Rutherford
Songs of Universal, Inc.
Clay Davidson: Virgin

WHAT ABOUT NOW
Aaron Barker
Blind Sparrow Music
O-Tex Music
Lonestar: BNA

WHAT I NEED TO DO
Bill Luther
Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.
Kenny Chesney: BNA

WHEN YOU NEED MY LOVE
Wynn Varble
Darryl Worley
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Hatley Creek Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Darryl Worley: DreamWorks

WILD HORSES
Bill Shore
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Garth Brooks: Capitol Nashville

YES!
Chad Brock
Jim Collins
Stephony Smith
Cuts R Us Songs, Inc.
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Lehsem Songs
Make Shift Music
Singles Only Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Chad Brock: Warner Bros.

YOU SHOULDN'T KISS ME LIKE THIS
Toby Keith
Tokeco Tunes
Toby Keith: DreamWorks

YOU'LL ALWAYS BE LOVED BY ME
Ronnie Dunn
Terry McBride
Showbilly Music
Sony/ATV Tree
Brooks and Dunn: Arista

YOU'VE GOT A WAY
Shania Twain
Loon Echo, Inc.
Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.
Shania Twain: Mercury Nashville

YOUR EVERYTHING
Chris Lindsey
Songs of Nashville DreamWorks
Keith Urban: Capitol Nashville