It would be hard to look at a list of current hit songs without noticing a trend: the growing use of featured artists. A featured artist is one who makes a guest appearance on another artist’s recording to create a collaboration. What’s the difference between a duet and a song with…
How to Write a Song That’s Fun to Listen to—and Fun to Sing
When it was suggested I write about songs that are fun to sing, the jukebox in my brain instantly thought of “The Name Game” (recorded by Shirley Ellis, written by Lincoln Chase and Shirley Elliston). Anyone of a certain age remembers plugging his or her name into the formula,…
BMI Marks the Passing of Bob Crewe
Broadcast Music, Inc. joins the world in grieving the loss of multifaceted songwriter-producer, Bob Crewe, who passed away on Thursday, September 11, 2014, in Scarborough, Maine. He was 82 years old. Crewe was famously known for creating the sound behind the worldwide sensation, the Four Seasons, penning a string of hits…
BMI Mourns the Loss of BMI Member Shadow Morton
BMI songwriter and producer Shadow Morton, who wrote 60’s megahits for the Queens girl group the Shangri-Las as well as others, died of cancer on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 in Laguna Beach, California at the age of 71. Mr. Morton first introduced the world to the Shangri-Las who had their first…
The BMI Holiday Countdown
Hall-decking, bell-jingling, holiday hysteria is upon us, and joining the party is so much more fun than grinching out on the sidelines. So count us in. Here at BMI, we’re sharing eight of our favorite holiday songs – check back every Tuesday and Thursday on bmi.com until December 22, the week…
The BMI Holiday Countdown: Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
Hall-decking, bell-jingling, holiday hysteria is upon us, and joining the party is so much more fun than grinching out on the sidelines. So count us in. Here at BMI, we’re sharing eight of our favorite holiday songs – check back every Tuesday and Thursday on bmi.com until December 22, the week…
BMI’s New Holiday Standards Announce That Time of Year
Holiday songs are no longer elevator music for the month of December—nor, as seems to increasingly be the case, for late October and November. The BMI repertoire is stacked with new classics that command attention, channeling lovesick blues, winking irreverence and funk-laced grooves into original odes to the season. In no…
BMI Jewels Make Up Majority of Rolling Stone’s Top 500
In its June issue, Rolling Stone magazine offered the latest version of its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” an update of its countdown originally released in 2004. Nuggets crafted by BMI songwriters overwhelmingly dominate the list: Standards from the BMI catalogue make up more than 60% of the classic roll…
BMI Legends Sweep List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees
BMI pioneers swept the list of 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: ABBA, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, The Hollies and The Stooges will all officially enter rock’s hallowed hall during a ceremony on March 15, 2010 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and will air live on Fuse.…
Pop Songwriting’s ‘Leader of the Pack’ Ellie Greenwich Dies
Ellie Greenwich, the pen behind several of pop music’s most enduring standards, died on Wednesday in New York City. She was 68. A veteran of the legendary Brill Building in Manhattan, Greenwich co-wrote 60s nuggets including “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Baby I Love You,” “Hanky Panky,” “Then He Kissed Me,” “Chapel…