Recent Merle Haggard Updates
Remembering Liz Anderson, 1930-2011

Longtime BMI songwriter Liz Anderson has died. She was 81. The writer behind Merle Haggard’s “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers” and “Just Between the Two of Us,” which Haggard recorded with Bonnie Owens, Anderson also penned songs for Jerry Lee Lewis, Del Reeves, Roy Drusky, Waylon Jennings, and others, including her daughter, Lynn Anderson, whose career gathered…
Bobby Braddock to be Honored as Icon at 59th BMI Country Awards

BMI will honor Bobby Braddock as a BMI songwriting Icon during its 59th annual Country Awards. The private ceremony is slated for Tuesday, November 8 at BMI’s Music Row offices in Nashville. The Icon award is given to BMI songwriters who have had a “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” Braddock, who will be celebrated with an all-star musical tribute that evening, joins a…
David Foster to be Named BMI Icon at 59th Annual BMI Pop Music Awards

Event Honoring 2010’s Top Pop Songwriters to be Held May 17 in Los Angeles David Foster will be celebrated as a BMI Icon at the 59th annual BMI Pop Music Awards, slated for Tuesday, May 17 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Barbara Cane, BMI Vice President & General Manager, Writer/Publisher Relations, Los…
Charlie Louvin Dies

Charlie Louvin passed away early Wednesday morning at his home in Wartrace, Tennessee. He was 83 years old. With his brother Ira, he began his career as one half of the Louvin Brothers. The legendary duo’s harmonies were as complex as they were haunting, delivering many of hillbilly country’s most forlorn love songs, gospel musings, eerie murder ballads, and winking story songs on albums including “Tragic Songs…
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Ball of Fire

Against all conceivable odds, expectations, predictions, rumors, gossip and reason, Jerry Lee Lewis is 75 years old. He still sounds like he could hit the key of a piano with his pinky harder than most men could hit it with their right fist. His legacy—a smoldering trail of mayhem and masterpieces that stretches from here to Ferriday, Louisiana—was forged with the scorching barrelhouse piano and Pentecostal brimstone…
Taylor Swift, Liz Rose, Billy Sherrill & More Honored at 2010 BMI Country Music Awards

BMI saluted the songwriters and publishers behind country music’s most-performed songs of the past year tonight during the 58th annual BMI Country Awards. The ceremony was held in the company’s Music Row offices. BMI President & CEO Del Bryant hosted the gala with Jody Williams, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville. At 20 years old, Taylor Swift became the youngest person ever to win the…
The Genius of Billy Sherrill

The word genius is bandied about far too often. Sometimes flippant but often rooted in the depths of fervent, if over-eager, admiration, the label has lost some of its luster. “She’s a genius” just doesn’t sparkle like it used to. But listen: Billy Sherrill is a genius. Listen to Tammy Wynette’s “’Til I Can Make It on My Own.” The song seems to tremble…
Billy Sherrill to be Honored as Icon at 58th Annual BMI Country Awards

BMI will name Billy Sherrill, the father of the contemporary country sound, a BMI Icon during its 58th annual Country Awards, slated for Tuesday, November 9 at the organization’s Music Row offices in Nashville. In addition to crowning Song, Songwriter and Publisher of the Year, the black-tie ceremony will celebrate the songwriters and publishers of the past year’s 50 most-performed country songs from the BMI catalog. The…
Merle Haggard Named 2010 Kennedy Center Honoree

Merle Haggard will add one more brilliant feather to his well-worn cap: Kennedy Center Honoree. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced the 2010 recipients of the prestigious honor today, and the 2006 BMI Icon leads the short list. The gala is slated for December 5 in Washington, D.C., and will be broadcast on CBS. "The Kennedy Center celebrates five individuals who have spent…
Hank Cochran Dies

Iconic songwriter Hank Cochran died Thursday morning at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The writer behind country standards including “Make the World Go Away,” “She’s Got You,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “The Chair,” “Ocean Front Property,” “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me,” “Is It Raining at Your House,” “That’s All That Matters,” “Set ‘Em Up Joe,” “This Ain’t My First Rodeo,” and many more, Cochran…
BMI Greats Dominate American Songwriter Top 50 List, Icon Merle Haggard Featured

Nashville music writer and singer/songwriter Peter Cooper recently compiled “50 Country Songs Every Songwriter Should Know,” and the majority of ranking honky-tonk prototypes are BMI classics. Featured in the current issue of American Songwriter, the list kicks off with “Lost Highway,” penned by BMI songwriter Leon Payne and inimitably recorded by BMI legend Hank Williams. In fact, eight out of the top ten genre-shapers are BMI standards:…
Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster Tapped as Dale Franklin Award Recipients

Leadership Music will present the Dale Franklin Award to BMI Icons Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, as well as BMI legend Fred Foster, during the organization’s annual benefit gala, slated for Sunday, August 29 at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. Named for the first executive director of Leadership Music, the award was created “to recognize a music industry leader who…
David Broza: For the Sake of the Song

David Broza and Townes Van Zandt met just once, in 1994 at the Main Street Theater in Houston, Texas, where they shared the stage at a writers-in-the-round night. It was an odd pairing. Broza, a multi-platinum Israeli singer-songwriter and classical guitarist, was a huge international star, though relatively unknown in America. Van Zandt—the brilliant and troubled Texas songwriter who has been hailed as both a genius and…
Miranda Lambert’s Revolution

"I have no idea what makes a song a hit single,” says Miranda Lambert. “There’s no rulebook for that. I just cut songs I love, and then hope that radio will play them.” Rulebook or not, Lambert has struck a deep chord with fans and critics alike. Each of her first two major-label albums — 2005’s Kerosene and 2007’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend –— placed high on a slew…
Musicians Hall of Fame Inducts BMI Pioneers

Industry admirers, peers, and contemporary stars gathered to salute the 2009 class of virtuosos inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame on Monday, October 12 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. BMI legends Chet Atkins, Fred Foster, Charlie Daniels, Billy Cox, and band Toto all became members of the prestigious club that already includes…
Kris Kristofferson to be Honored as Icon at 57th Annual BMI Country Awards

Kris Kristofferson will be honored as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI Country Awards, the oldest awards saluting country's top music makers. Slated for Tuesday, November 10 at BMI's Music Row offices in Nashville, the black-tie, invitation-only gala will also celebrate the songwriters of the past year's most-performed country songs from the extensive BMI catalog. The Icon designation is given to BMI songwriters and artists…
Legends Toast Hank Cochran at BMI

Living legends gathered to salute iconic songwriter Hank Cochran Monday, June 15 at BMI’s Music Row offices. Merle Haggard, Bobby Bare, Dean Dillon, Jamey Johnson, Lee Ann Womack, Gene Watson, Red Lane, and Whitey Shafer took turns delivering acoustic versions of Hank Cochran classics, while guests including Elvis Costello, Cowboy Jack Clement,…
2009 Inductees Announced for Musicians Hall of Fame

The 2009 inductees into the Musicians Hall of Fame include a slew of BMI legends: Chet Atkins, Fred Foster, Charlie Daniels, Billy Cox, and band TOTO will all become members of the prestigious club that already includes Booker T. & The MGs, The Crickets, Duane Eddy, Al Kooper, The Memphis Horns, The…
Gamble & Huff Named BMI Icons at 57th Annual Pop Awards

Eight-Way Tie for Prestigious Songwriter of the Year Crown, ‘Bubbly’ Earns Song of the Year, & Universal Music Secures Publisher of the Year Honors BMI held its 57th Annual Pop Awards tonight, honoring Gamble & Huff as BMI Icons. Songwriter of the Year honors resulted in a record-setting eight-way tie this year, saluting Colbie Caillat, Polow Da Don, T-Pain, Alan Chang,…
Gamble & Huff to be Named BMI Icons at 57th Annual Pop Awards May 19 in Los Angeles

BMI will honor preeminent production and songwriting team Gamble & Huff as Icons at its 57th annual Pop Awards, slated for Tuesday, May 19 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and BMI Vice President & General Manager, Writer/Publisher Relations, Los Angeles, Barbara Cane, the invitation-only event will also honor the songwriters and publishers of the past year’s…
