NASHVILLE, TN -- 10/19/09 --
It all begins with a song and earlier this
evening the writers of country music's most performed songs of the past
year were honored by The American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (ASCAP). The 47th annual ASCAP Country Music Awards -- ASCAP at
the Ryman -- were held at country music's mother church, the Ryman
Auditorium in downtown Nashville, before an audience of more than 1,500
distinguished songwriters, top country stars and music industry leaders.
Honorees and special guests in attendance included Kenny Chesney, Alan
Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, Lee Ann Womack, Martina McBride,
Keith Anderson, JD Souther, Jackson Browne, Rodney Crowell, Darryl Worley,
Jason Michael Carroll, Love and Theft, David Nail, Eric Church, Bucky
Covington, Heidi Newfield, Jimmy Webb, Chuck Wicks, Danny Gokey and Billy
Currington. Tennessee Titans punter Craig Hentrich also attended.
The evening's top honors were awarded to the following:
ASCAP Songwriter of the Year: Ashley Gorley was honored for "You are Gonna
Miss This" and "Start a Band."
ASCAP Songwriter/Artist of the Year: Alan Jackson for "Good Time" and
"Country Boy."
ASCAP Country Song of the Year: "You are Gonna Miss This," written by
Ashley Gorley; published by Songs of Combustion Music and Bug
Music/Windswept.
ASCAP Publisher of the Year: EMI Music Publishing for "All Summer Long,"
"Come On Over," "Country Boy," "Country Man," "Good Time," "I Still Miss
You," "I'm Still A Guy," "Relentless," and "Start a Band."
Both Gorley and Jackson were presented with special, limited edition Gibson
Les Paul guitars.
Connie Bradley, ASCAP senior vice president and Paul Williams, ASCAP
president and chairman of the board hosted the evening which opened with a
performance from rising star David Nail. Williams took a brief break from
his hosting duties to wow the audience with a medley of his iconic hits.
The Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe-winning Hall of Famer has written
timeless classics including "We have Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and
Mondays," and "Just An Old Fashioned Love Song."
A total of 51 song honors were handed out while interspersed with very
special performances by the writers of the year's top 5 most performed
songs. Those performances included "Good Time" by Alan Jackson; "You are
Gonna Miss This," (Trace Adkins) performed by Ashley Gorley; "Waitin' on a
Woman," (Brad Paisley) performed by Don Sampson; "Don't Think I Don't Think
About It," (Darius Rucker) performed by Clay Mills and "Roll With Me,"
(Montgomery Gentry) performed by Tommy Karlas.
The ASCAP Golden Note Award is presented to songwriters, composers and
artists that have achieved extraordinary career milestones, and this year
it was presented to an architect of the southern California sound, JD
Souther. A musical tribute to Souther included Lee Ann Womack's powerful
performance of the Linda Ronstadt hit, "Faithless Love," Rodney Crowell
honoring his friend with a performance of the Eagles' classic, "New Kid in
Town," Love and Theft's sweet take on "You are Only Lonely," and Souther's
beautiful interpretation of one of his many Eagles hits, "Best of My Love."
Gerry House and the House Foundation were awarded the ASCAP Partners in
Music Award for their contributions toward the promotion and support of
songwriters, musicians and artists. Martina McBride presented Gerry House,
producer Richard Falklen and House Foundation members Al Voecks, Mike Bohan
and Duncan Stewart with their award.
ASCAP also recognized a distinguished group of songwriters with the Silver
Circle honor in recognition of 25 years or more of ASCAP membership. Those
writers are Bruce Bouton, Darrell Brown, Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard, Richard
Marx, Charlie Monk, Steve Nathan, Tim O'Brien, Bob Regan, Leon Russell,
Jimmie Lee Sloas, Adele Tyler, Dan Tyler, Paul Worley and Richard Young.
Immediately following the awards show, songwriters, artists, industry VIPs
and guests followed the red carpet to the AT&T building for the official
Post Awards Party, a celebration known for amazing food and beverages and
an equally amazing view of Music City from the 27th floor of the high rise
building. Hard Rock Café and Corona beer were sponsors of the Post Awards
Party.
Once again Connie Bradley served as executive producer of ASCAP at the
Ryman, collaborating with co-producers Terry Bumgarner and Josh Jackson.
Keith Beck of BSA served as associate producer. Additional planning for
the evening was provided by ASCAP staffers Suzanne Lee, Herky Williams,
Earle Simmons, Pat Rolfe, John Briggs, Dan Keen, Mike Sisted, Ralph Murphy,
Anna Maki, Mary Self, Chad Green, Marc Driskill, Charline Wilhite, Meghan
Muse and Jesse Willoughby.
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights
Organization (PRO) representing the world's largest repertory totaling over
8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more
than 360,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has
representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the
ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world
where copyright law exists. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and
foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their
copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed
performances. ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its
writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com
