BMI Blues Legends Honored at Annual Awards Ceremony
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| Blues Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Robinson is congratulated by BMI's David Sanjek |
This year's ceremony featured a tribute to the late and beloved Little Milton Campbell, who received four posthumous awards: Album of the Year, Soul Blues Album of the Year, Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for the title track of his last recording, Think of Me. His widow, Pat Campbell, truly touched the audience as she accepted her husband's awards.
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| BMI's David Sanjek joins BMI songwriter Steve Cropper at the awards ceremony |
Time-tested musician Paul Oscher, who played harmonica alongside Muddy Waters in the 1960s, picked up two awards and was named Acoustic Artist of the Year, while his Down in the Delta earned the Acoustic Album of the Year nod.
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| Blues Hall of Fame inductee Joe Bihari and BMI's David Sanjek |
First-time honors went to saxophonist Eddie Shaw and legendary songwriter and sideman Al Kooper. The B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award was awarded to Buddy Guy.
The 2006 inductions into the Blues Hall of Fame were also presented on May 11, with a full slate of individuals, albums, books and songs chosen for the prestigious honor. This year's inductees included many BMI songwriters in the blues community: performers Bobby Rush and Roy Milton; producers Bobby Robinson, the Bihari Brothers and Jerry Wexler; vocalists Etta James and Big Mama Thornton; and instrumentalist Bill Doggett.
A highlight of the ceremony was the appearance of legendary music business entrepreneurs Bobby Robinson and Joe Bihari. Robinson, now in his 80s, still runs a record store on Harlem's 125th Street and manages a number of labels, including the Fire and Fury imprints. He was instrumental in such releases as Elmore James's "The Sky is Crying" and Wilber Harrison's "Kansas City." The Bihari Brothers - Joe, Jules, Lester and Saul - ran the California-based Modern label, whose illustrious roster included B.B. King, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner and many others.
BMI's 2006 Blues Music Award winners:
Acoustic Album of the Year
Paul Oscher
Down in the Delta
Acoustic Artist of the Year
Paul Oscher
Album of the Year
Little Milton
Think of Me
B.B. King Entertainer of the Year
Buddy Guy
Band of the Year
Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers
Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
Tab Benoit
Fever for the Bayou
Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year
Janiva Magness
Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year
Wilson
Historical Album of the Year
Muddy Waters
Hoochie Coochie Man: Complete Chess Recordings, Volume 2,
1952-1958
Instrumentalist - Drums
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
Instrumentalist - Harmonica
Charlie Musselwhite
Instrumentalist - Horn
Eddie Shaw
Instrumentalist - Other
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year
Marcia Ball
Song of the Year
"Think of Me"
Jon Tiven, Milton Campbell, Pete Shoulder
Soul Blues Album of the Year
Little Milton
Think of Me
Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year
Little Milton
Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year
Etta James
Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year
B.B. King
BMI's 2006 Hall of Fame inductees:
Performer
Bobby Rush
Roy Milton
Non-Performer
Bobby Robinson
Jerry Wexler
Joe, Jules, Lester and Saul Bihari
Classics of Blues Recordings - Albums
Etta James
Tell Mama (Cadet)
Classics of Blues Recordings - Singles
Big Mama Thornton
"Hound Dog" (Peacock)
Bill Doggett
"Honky Tonk, Parts 1 & 2" (King)
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