BMI Blues Legends Honored at Annual Awards Ceremony

Posted in News on May 21, 2006
BMI songwriters once again dominated the annual Blues Music Awards, held May 11 in Memphis. Presented by the Blues Foundation and co-sponsored by BMI, the Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards, celebrate excellence in the performance and recording of the blues, and is the highest honor bestowed upon artists in the genre.

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.

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.

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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