Recent Eric Clapton Updates
Key West Songwriters Festival Slated for April 29 – May 3
The 14th Annual Key West Songwriters Festival will invade the venues of its paradisiacal namesake April 29 through May 3, 2009, offering eclectic show lineups that introduce crowds to the faces, voices and stories behind the songs. The festival features more than 100 top songwriters and revolves around five days and nights of more than 20 free concerts, staged at an array of the island’s most popular drinking holes and…
Influential Guitarist, Songwriter & Producer Delaney Bramlett Dies

Singer, producer and longtime BMI songwriter Delaney Bramlett died Saturday, December 27 in Los Angeles. He was 69 years-old. Revered as one-half of Delaney & Bonnie, the duo which he cofounded with his then wife Bonnie Lynn O’Farrell, Bramlett influenced icons including Eric Clapton and George Harrison through his skilled guitar and slide guitar playing. In the late 1960’s, Delaney & Bonnie expanded to Delaney & Bonnie…
Bryan Ferry Receives Icon Honors at BMI London Awards

BMI lauded U.K., Europe and Jamaica’s premier songwriters, composers and music publishers Oct. 7 at the 2008 BMI London Awards. The ceremony was hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant, along with Executive Director, Writer/Publisher Relations Europe & Asia, Brandon Bakshi. Staged in the Grand Ballroom of London’s Dorchester Hotel, the event honored the past year’s most-played songs on U.S. radio and television, saluting numerous U.K.…
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)…
Matraca Berg, Tom Shapiro and John Hiatt to Join Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
BMI songwriters swept the short list of 2008 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees: hit writers Matraca Berg and Tom Shapiro will enter the elite ranks in the Songwriter category, while prolific songman John Hiatt stands ready to join the Hall in the Songwriter/Artist field. The candidates will officially be inducted Sunday, October 26 at the 39th Annual Nashville Songwriters Hall…
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…
John Hiatt to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from AMA

BMI singer/songwriter John Hiatt will receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association at the organization's annual award ceremony September 18 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. As a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting honoree, Hiatt joins an elite list that includes Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, Cowboy Jack Clement, Guy Clark, John Prine 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…
Music City Walk of Fame Inducts BMI’s Frances Preston, The Crickets & John Hiatt
The Music City Walk of Fame made its second round of inductions Sunday, April 22 at 3 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville. Esteemed former BMI President & CEO Frances Preston was inducted alongside several legendary BMI songwriter/artists: rock architects The Crickets and gilt-edged singer/songwriter John Hiatt. Other honorees included Emmylou Harris, Wynonna Judd and Michael W.…
Jerry Lee Lewis: ‘The Killer’ Keeps Comin’ Back

Far too often, the name Jerry Lee Lewis evokes thoughts of a life story and outrageous stage show that earned him the reputation as one of the wildest characters in the already wooly world of rock & roll. And that reputation often overshadows an astounding musical talent that, at age 72, often outshines the 22 superstars who joined him like Rolling Stones’ Mike Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood, Bruce…
Concert Promoter Harvey Goldsmith Honored by British Music Industry
U.K. concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith CBE was honored on Oct. 30 with the Music Industry Trusts' Award in a ceremony held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. 2006 Music Industry Trusts' Award recipient Harvey Goldsmith (center) is congratulated by BMI London's Brandon Bakshi and Octopus TV's Andrew…
Suzan-Lori Parks and Paul Oscher

The Odd Couple? Her mentor was James Baldwin; he learned the fine points of guitar playing looking over Muddy Waters's shoulder. As a teen in the '80s, she gave up guitar playing soon after she started because it was such a white-guy thing; he encouraged her to go back to playing. She encouraged him to write about his years playing harmonica in Waters band. She is playwright…
Kinks Frontman Ray Davies Takes Top Honor at BMI London Awards
BMI saluted the top European songwriters, composers and publishers at its 2006 London Awards, staged Oct. 3 in the Ballroom of London's Dorchester Hotel. In addition to honoring the past year's most-played songs on U.S. radio and television, the gala dinner and awards ceremony also recognized Kinks frontman and legendary songwriter Ray Davies (PRS) as a BMI Icon for his "enduring influence on generations of music makers."…
BMI Salutes Top Urban Music Makers at Star-Studded Gala in NYC
BMI saluted the premier r&b, rap and hip-hop songwriters, producers and publishers at its 6th Annual Urban Awards held Aug. 30 in New York City. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Atlanta Writer/Publisher VP Catherine Brewton, the red carpet was hopping at the star-studded ceremony, which took place at the famed Roseland Ballroom.
Hitmakers Babyface and L.A. Reid To Be Honored as BMI Icons at 6th Annual Urban Awards
Prolific songwriting and production team Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Antonio "L.A." Reid will be honored as BMI Icons at the performing right organization's 6th Annual Urban Awards. The invitation-only gala, which will also recognize the past year's most performed BMI urban songs, is set for Aug. 30 at Roseland Ballroom in New York City, coinciding with the MTV Video Music Awards being held…
BMI Singer/Songwriter Billy Preston Dies
BMI Award-winning songwriter Billy Preston, the keyboardist and singer also known as the "fifth Beatle," died June 6 in Scottsdale, Ariz., after a long illness. He was 59. Known for his big gap-toothed smile and towering Afro, the Houston-born Preston was a teen prodigy on the piano and organ. He first encountered and struck up a friendship with The Beatles…
BMI Writers Top List of Song Hall Honorees
BMI songwriters Thom Bell, Mac Davis, Will Jennings and Sylvia Moy have been tapped as inductees by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The 37th annual induction ceremony is set for June 15 in New York City.
Mieka Pauley

Her voice ranges from haunting, delicate beauty to an explosion of shattering, soaring soul. Her lyrics bloom from a place of uncompromising honesty and raw emotion, wise beyond her years. Her roots are the blues, classic soul and R&B, rock, gospel and folk, and the result is a personal brand of pop music that is uniquely her own. Billboard magazine and the Boston Globe have compared her to everything from…
Paul Anka: Talent That Trancends Generations

For proof of Paul Anka’s continuing versatility, vitality and relevance as a pop music icon, look no further than his new release, Rock Swings. On it, the 64-year-old singer and composer covers songs by such unlikely acts as Nirvana (“Smells Like Teen Spirit”), Oasis (“Wonderwall”), R.E.M. (“Everybody Hurts”), Soundgarden (“Black Hole Sun”) and Billy Idol (“Eyes Without A Face”), albeit alongside some seemingly more…
Newton Faulkner

The world has seen many talented singers over the years. It’s had its share of gifted guitarists, too. But when it comes to naming truly great singer-guitarists, the list doesn’t even run into double figures… Chuck Berry. Eric Clapton. Jimi Hendrix. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Kurt Cobain. These men are renowned not only for pioneering guitar play and changing the way their…
