Songwriters - Music Connection

SONG BIZ
PAUL WILLIAMS: STILL ALIVE
Paul Williams won Grammys and an Oscar; wrote Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen,”
the Carpenter’s “We’ve Only Just Begun” and the classic “The
Rainbow Connection”; starred in a Brian DePalma movie; put out his own hit
records and albums; was a guest on The Tonight Show 50 times; and today is
the president of ASCAP. The self-narrated documentary of Stephen Kessler’s
lifelong obsession is available on video-on-demand platforms this month.
Travis, Razorlight, Gary Barlow, Katie Melua,
Catatonia, Sleeper, KT Tunstall and others.
He was appointed Managing Director at Sony/
ATV, and steered the company to a No. 1 market
share position in the UK before moving to V2
Records as Head of A&R where he worked with
artists such as Duke Special, Cold War Kids,
the Rakes and Lethal Bizzle.
Kassner Music, which was originally formed in
1944 by Edward Kassner, oversees in excess
of 100,000 copyrights and has a diverse catalog
of songs that includes hits from the 1950s to the
present day by artists ranging from Vera Lynn
and Bill Haley and the Comets to Beyonce and
Chris Brown. The company, and Pinder, are in
London. See http://kassnermusic.com.
Brenda Russell: That Piano
Keeps Playing
Song Biz Pro�le subject and hit songwriter
Brenda Russell is sampled on the new Flo Rida
single, “I Cry.” The track is actually a sample
of a sample: the Dutch duo Bingo Players
�rst reworked “Piano” as “Cry (Just a Little),”
which reached No. 15 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay
in March. Co-written with Jeff Hull and
Scott Cutler, “Piano” was nominated for three
Grammys, including song of the year, in 1989.
SESAC SIGNS CORB LUND
Russell’s newest project is “L.O.V.E. (Let One
Voice Emerge),” which she co-wrote with Patti
Austin, Siedah Garrett and Mervyn Warren.
Sharing vocals are Fergie, Keke Palmer, Sheila
E, Judith Hill, Lalah Hathaway and Jenna
Ushkowitz, aka Tina Cohen-Chang of Fox
TV’s Glee, as well as Russell, Austin and Garrett.
Available on iTunes, the song accompanies
a non-partisan campaign to reach out to the
largest group of non-voters in America—nearly
20 million unmarried women—and support the
Voter Participation Center, which has identi�ed
unmarried women as a crucial, yet unrecognized,
constituency, and its partners. “The message is
simple: Get registered and get to the polls on
Nov. 6," says VPC president Page Gardner.
The video for “L.O.V.E.” has garnered 110,000
YouTube views since its posting.
Nashville Songwriters Hall
Headed Home
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will
be permanently housed in the new Music City
Center currently under construction in Nashville,
TN. Nashville mayor Karl Dean joined Hall of
Fame songwriters Wayland Holy�eld, Pat Alger
and Kye Fleming along with officials from the
Music City Center, to make the announcement.
—DAN KIMPEL dan@dankimpel.com
SESAC has welcomed SOCAN singer-songwriter Corb Lund for US representation.
Lund, an Alberta-born artist-songwriter who was named the Canadian
Country Music Association’s “Roots Artist Of The Year” for seven consecutive
years, has recently released his seventh album, Cabin Fever. Pictured (l-r): Tim
Fink, SESAC; Lund; and Shannan Hatch, SESAC.
The Hall of Fame will feature songwriting artifacts
as well as three 55-in. touch screens that
will allow visitors to access sound, video and
other digital information about the history of
Nashville songwriting and all 184 members of
the Hall of Fame.
The Hall will launch a capital campaign at its
annual Dinner and Induction Ceremony. Early
contributions from Foundation Board members,
ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and Nashville publishing
companies Sony/ATV, Warner Chappell and
Universal among other music industry leaders,
have already helped lay the groundwork for
construction.
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is
expected to be open for visitors when the Music
City Center opens in the spring of 2013. See
http://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com.
MICRO-BIO: Dan Kimpel’s newest
book, It All Begins with the
Music, is penned with legendary
A&R exec Don Grierson. Hear
Dan’s audio interviews worldwide
on Delta Airlines.
A$AP ROCKY TO BMI BRANTLEY GILBERT GOES FOR THE GOLD
Fresh off an appearance at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards performing with
Rihanna, rapper A$AP Rocky recently signed with BMI for his performing rights
administration. Rocky is currently finishing up his debut, LongLiveA$AP, which
is scheduled to be released later this year on A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/
RCA Records. Pictured at the BMI offices in New York (l-r): Rocky and Wardell
Malloy, BMI Senior Director, Writer-Publisher Relations.
After co-penning Jason Aldean hits “My Kinda Party” and “Dirt Road Anthem,”
Brantley Gilbert's own Halfway to Heaven album has been certified gold. Catch
him at the CMA Songwriter Series in Nashville, TN.
November 2012 www.musicconnection.com 29