BMI’s Elite Among Rock Hall Inductees

Posted in News on March 15, 2006

Some of BMI's biggest names in music were among this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, including 70s new wave band Blondie, jazz master Miles Davis and Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd. The 21st annual induction ceremony was held March 13 at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Miles Davis	Lynyrd Skynyrd

Also honored was A&M Records co-founder and BMI songwriter Jerry Moss, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the non-performer category.

Formed in New York City, Blondie is one of the most successful rock and roll bands to emerge from the late 70s new wave scene. Fronted by Debbie Harry, Blondie's eclectic hit-making sound flirted with salsa, funk, disco, reggae and rap. Their 1979 breakthrough album, Parallel Lines, featured the #1 hit "Heart of Glass."

Blondie

Miles Davis was one of the 20th century's most creative artists, changing the sound of popular music many times in his six decade career. His musical experimentation beginning in the late 60s created a fusion of jazz with rock and roll, soul, funk and hip-hop. Davis died in 1991.

Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed Southern rock groups of the 1970s. Their distinctive triple-lead guitar sound turned "Freebird" and "Sweet Home Alabama" into American anthems and staples of FM radio.

Jerry Moss co-founded A&M Records in Los Angeles in 1962. Starting with a few hundred dollars in pooled resources, he helped build one of the most successful independent records labels in the world. Artists that were signed to A&M include Procol Harum, Supertramp, Peter Frampton, Free, the Police, Joe Jackson, the Neville Brothers, Captain Beefheart, John Haitt, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Cat Stevens.

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria considered includes the influence and significance of the artist's contribution to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll. Past inductees include Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Cream, Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones, among many others. All inductees are represented in the permanent exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, which contains the largest collection of rock and roll artifacts chronicling the history of popular music.

SOURCENews TAGS Jazz Pop Rock Industry Awards Rock & Roll Hall of Fame The Beatles Chuck Berry Miles Davis Fats Domino Elvis Presley Cat Stevens