May 18, 2005
BRIAN WILSON, YOLANDA ADAMS, JOSS STONE AND MAROON 5 LEAD MUSICAL TRIBUTE
LOS ANGELES – May 18, 2005 – Paul Simon was honored as a BMI Icon during ceremonies at the 53rd Annual BMI Pop Awards, staged last night (May 17) at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Del Bryant, President & CEO of the performing rights organization, presented Simon with an engraved silver piece “in recognition of your unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.”
After a career-highlights video and a congratulatory letter from Don and Phil Everly, the musical salute to Simon kicked off with a performance by 2004 Icon recipient and fellow pop master Brian Wilson, who performed the classic “The Sound of Silence.” Gospel diva Yolanda Adams brought the audience of 650 to its feet with a soulful version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” while British sensation Joss Stone dazzled with the reggae-infused “Mother and Child Reunion.” Adam Levine and James Valentine, of Best New Artist Grammy winners Maroon 5, followed with an acoustic version of “Homeward Bound,” a song Simon wrote about his early career. Simon then took the stage, warmly thanking the artists individually for what they had brought to his music, and closed the evening with an acoustic performance of “Slip Sliding Away.”
Rob Mathes, a musician, producer and arranger who has worked for the Kennedy Center Honors and with artists such as Simon, Stone and Vanessa Williams, was musical director of the tribute band.
In leading the tribute, Bryant said, “Perhaps no other writer has singularly contributed so many ‘standards’ to the American songbook as Paul Simon, with songs that have become the soundtrack for three generations to mark the most important moments in our lives.”
In a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Simon has established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era. His songs have bookmarked moments in the lives of millions, whether with words of love, longing, humor, politics or, above all, hope. He has incorporated the rhythms of his native New York with those from as far away as Brazil and South Africa.
For his efforts, he is a 12-time Grammy winner, a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (as Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist), recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Oscar nominee, an Emmy Award winner, and the much-honored co-founder of the Children’s Health Fund.
His songwriting catalog has earned 39 BMI Awards—including multiple citations for “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “Scarborough Fair” and “The Sound of Silence”—and amassed nearly 75 million broadcast airplays, according to BMI surveys.
Simon joins a distinguished list of BMI Icons, including R&B legends Chuck Berry, James Brown, Bo Diddley, Al Green, Isaac Hayes and Little Richard; pop songwriting master Brian Wilson; Latin innovator Carlos Santana; Motown songwriting trio Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland; blues/rock/soul artist Van Morrison; and country songwriter/artists Bill Anderson, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.
Now marking its 65th year in business, BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and publishers in all genres of music. With a repertoire of more than 6.5 million musical works from around the world, the non-profit-making corporation collects license fees from businesses that use music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents.
A complete list of 2005 BMI Pop Awards winners and information on the Icon honor presented to Paul Simon are included on BMI.com. High resolution photos will be available at http://press.bmi.com. To request access, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
# # #
Download this document in Word format.