Recent Elvis Presley Updates
Amanda Ghost Takes Creative Control

Even with the necessity of wearing many hats in the music business, Amanda Ghost is something of an anomaly. Not only is she a performer and songwriter but, as of February 3, she also is president of Epic Records. “I’m putting out fires all over the place,” she laughs. Born Amanda Gosein in London to a Spanish mother and Indian father, her first musical memory is of…
Sweet Dreams: Roy Orbison and the Birth of the Pop Masterpiece

BMI legend Roy Orbison - rock & roll's greatest singer, a crooning rockabilly Caruso who brought opera's high drama to the malt shop jukebox, broke the hearts of bobbysoxers, and pioneered the three-minute pop masterpiece - started out in a dust-covered oven called Wink. He was a West Texas sensation by the time he was 17, playing to crowds as big as 10,000 in 100 degree heat…
2009 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced the hall’s new inductees on January 14. BMI legends constitute the majority of the 2009 class: Little Anthony and the Imperials, Run-DMC, and Bobby Womack will enter in the Performer category; Wanda Jackson will be inducted under the Early Influence field umbrella; and Bill Black and…
2008 BMI London Awards Winning Songs
The Robert S. Musel Award IRREPLACEABLE Amund Bjørklund (TONO) Espen Lind (TONO) Ne-Yo EMI Music Publishing Ltd./Stellar Songs Ltd. (PRS) Beyoncé College Song DASHBOARD Johnny Marr (PRS) Tom "King Sour" Peloso Joe Plummer Chrysalis Music Ltd. (PRS) Modest Mouse Dance Award BEAUTIFUL LIAR Ian Dench (PRS) Amanda Ghost (PRS) Bucks Music Group Ltd. (PRS) EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS) Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS)…
Musician and Actor Jerry Reed Dies at 71

Songwriter, vocal stylist, beloved actor and profoundly influential guitarist Jerry Reed has died after a long bout with emphysema. He was 71 years-old. Born Jerry Reed Hubbard on March 20, 1937, in Atlanta, Georgia, Reed first learned to play the guitar on a used model his mother purchased for him when he was still a young child. He developed his proclivity for funk-infused picking early, following his…
Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneer Bo Diddley Dies at 79
Venerable rock 'n' roll music architect Bo Diddley died Monday. He was 79 years-old. Born Otha Ellas Bates on December 30, 1928, in McComb, Mississippi, to a 15 or 16 year-old mother, Mr. Diddley was raised by a cousin, Gussie McDaniel. While still a young child, he and his family moved to Chicago, and he officially adopted the surname McDaniel. In…
Soul Singer Curtis Mayfield Honored on RockWalk
At a recent ceremony, legendary BMI singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield was posthumously inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk. Mayfield's widow Altheida paid tribute to her husband's substantial achievements, which include songs "People Get Ready "and "Keep On Pushing" - dubbed the unofficial anthems of the civil rights movement by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Shown are (l to r): BMI's Malik Levy and…
BMI Attends Smashing Celebration

BMI celebrated the return of one of the most popular rock bands of the 90s, Smashing Pumpkins, by congratulating original members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin as they were inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk. Held at the Guitar Center on April 23, the ceremony honored the multi-platinum and multi-Grammy award nominees of the Chicago band, who enjoyed such modern-rock hits as "Today" and "1979." Founded in 1985, Hollywood's RockWalk on Sunset…
Fats Domino: Rock & Roll Royalty Revisited

Fats Domino’s signature dancehall piano playing and drawling tales of love made him Elvis’s top rival during the dawn of rock & roll. When pressed, Fats softly declares undying admiration for Presley. “I like Elvis myself,” Domino says over the phone from his New Orleans residence. “So does everybody.” With a humble air that warmly wraps around each of his concessions, Fats says he was simply “lucky”…
Joe Pagetta

Nashville's Joe Pagetta exposes a severe case of sincerity on his new EP OTHER PEOPLE'S NEWS. While the pop-and-roots singer-songwriter has always been earnest, he digs to new depths of feeling on these five new songs. When he compares historic meetings between Les Paul and Bing Crosby to Elvis Presley and Colonel Parker, then takes it a step further to include Jesus and his…
BMI Congratulates Inaugural Musicians Hall of Fame Inductees
BMI proudly sponsored the after party for the inaugural Musicians Hall of Fame induction ceremony held Monday, November 26 in Nashville. After honoring the members of the A Team, the Blue Moon Boys, The Tennessee Two, the Funk Brothers, The Memphis Boys and the Wrecking Crew at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the revelers moved to the Musicians Hall of Fame to continue the celebration.
Songwriter/Producer Clyde Otis Dead at 83
Renowned songwriter and producer Clyde Otis, a member of the BMI Foundation Artistic Advisory Panel, was pronounced dead at Englewood Hospital on January 8. He was 83 years old. Best-known for his long and enormously successful collaboration with singer Brook Benton, Clyde Otis was among the most prolific songwriters and producers of the post-war era, making music business history as the first African American a&r executive for…
BMI Songwriters Dominate Mojo’s “100 Records That Changed The World”
Mojo, the prominent and influential British music magazine, has selected a list of “100 Records That Changed The World” in their June issue.. The list is described as “The most influential and inspirational recordings ever made, they changed music – the way it was played, bought or even imagined.” A group of prominent songwriters and performers – which include such BMI veterans as Chuck…
The Who Return with `Endless‘ Appeal

It started, most memorably and famously, with a stutter. The title track of The Who’s 1965 debut American album, The Who Sings My Generation, with such stuttered lyrics as “talkin’ ‘bout my g-generation,” introduced one of the most important and revered bands of the 1960s — and one of the very few to still remain active some four decades later. It’s not exactly the same band, of…
Jerry Crutchfield

He may be best known as a hit producer and Nashville music publishing and record company titan, but when Jerry Crutchfield started out 50 years ago, he was a songwriter/artist. “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…
BMI Joins Turning Leaf Vineyards, HP for Music at Sundance Fest 2007

Tyler Hilton, Chris Stills, Julianna Raye and William Tell Scheduled to Perform at the 'Leaf Lounge' in Park City, Utah BMI, Turning Leaf Vineyards, and Hewlett Packard (HP) will present live performances by songwriters BMI Tyler Hilton, Chris Stills, Julianna Raye and William Tell during the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, being held Jan. 18-28 in Park City, Utah. Turning Leaf, a sponsor of the Film Fest, will be hosting the…
Rock Hall Names 2007 Inductees
Indie rockers R.E.M. and hip-hop pioneers Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five are among the BMI talents set to be inducted into the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 22nd annual induction ceremony, which will make history by welcoming Grandmaster Flash as its first rap act, will be held March 12 at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. …
The Hinsons, Doug Oldham and Richard Smallwood Welcomed to GMA Hall of Fame
The Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame inducted its four newest members Tuesday, Nov. 4 in Nashville. The ceremony, held at the Richland Country Club, honored an elite group of inductees that included BMI artists The Hinsons, Doug Oldham and Richard Smallwood. Pictured are (l-r): Weston Hinson (son…
Felice & Boudleaux Bryant Among Music City Walk of Fame Inductees
In the midst of Nashville's hectic awards' season, Music Row took time Sunday, Nov. 5 to take a look back, honor an elite handful of trendsetters, and officially kick off Music City's very own Walk of Fame. Among the inaugural inductees: Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, the preeminent husband and wife songwriting team, generally considered the first writers to move to Nashville with the intention of earning a living solely off…
Georgia Music Hall of Fame Honors Felice Bryant
BMI President and CEO Del Bryant's deep musical roots are a family affair. When the Georgia Music Hall of Fame inducted his mother, esteemed songwriter Felice Bryant, the younger Bryant proudly headed to Atlanta to accept the honor at the 28th Annual Awards Banquet, held at the Thomas B. Murphy Ballroom of the Georgia World Congress Center. He was joined by his brother, real estate executive Dane Bryant.…
