Johnny Mercer Award

Detroit-born, William "Smokey" Robinson was once hailed as "America's greatest living poet" by the legendary Bob Dylan. Smokey Robinson wrote songs not only for his seminal soul group The Miracles, but also for the Temptations, the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells and others. He has penned such soul classics as…

Abe Olman Publisher Award

Beebe Bourne is part of the legendary Bourne music publishing family. Bourne Co., now approaching its 86th anniversary, was founded by her father, Saul Bourne. Beebe, who took over the reins of the company in 1991, controls the publishing of such American classics as “Unforgettable,” “Me And My Shadow,” “When…

Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award

Still active after seven decades in music, Les Paul is a unique blend of musician and inventor. His many recording innovations--including sound-on-sound, overdubbing, reverb effects, and multi-tracking--greatly accelerated the advancement of studio recording. The Les Paul Trio, which included his talented wife Mary Ford, produced such hits as "Tennessee Waltz,"…

Patron of the Arts Award

Henry Juszkiewicz is the Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. Refocusing the company on achieving the highest possible standards of quality and customer service, he drove Gibson from the brink of closing to a company that has regained worldwide respect with annual average growth of 20 percent over the…

Towering Song

The Towering Song Award is presented each year to the creators of an individual song that has influenced the culture in a unique way over many years.

The husband and wife songwriting team of composer Barry Mann and lyricist Cynthia Weil is one of the most illustrious in…

Towering Performance Award

"You never close your eyes..." That simple, six-note opening line sung by founding Righteous Brothers member Bill Medley from "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" resonates among the most familiar intros in pop music history. It helped create an unexpected legacy. The Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley and the late Bobby Hatfield,…

Starlight Award

With her unmistakable blend of soul, hip-hop, jazz and classical music, Alicia Keys burst onto the music scene in June 2001 with her debut release Songs In A Minor on Clive Davis’ J Records. Songs In A Minor debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 Chart selling over 235,000…