BMI is saddened by the passing of groundbreaking guitarist Larry Coryell at the age of 73. Coryell was known for incorporating the essence of rock into jazz, creating some of the original blurring of both genres with his inventive playing. Over the years, he continued to build his signature sound… Read more...
“The first time I heard the song ‘Bo Diddley’ in 1955, it just nailed me,” recalls Kentucky native Don Everly, one-half of the monumental early rock duo the Everly Brothers. “I remember thinking, ‘I’ll never be able to have that type of rhythm in any kind of country music.’” By… Read more...
A good bit of contemporary country lyric-writing hinges on tangible detail. A song might, say, paint a picture of how the characters in it are dressed, what they’re driving, where they’re headed, what they’re going to do once they get there and what the weather’s like, all of which helps… Read more...
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,”… Read more...
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… Read more...
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… Read more...
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… Read more...
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… Read more...
Influential independent publisher Al Gallico passed away last month in Los Angeles. He was 88. Al Gallico began his career in the late 30’s in New York City, running errands for classical music publishing corporation G. Schirmer. After many years with Leeds Music… Read more...
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… Read more...
