Crystal Gayle accepts her 2017 American Eagle Award and speaks about the importance of Music Education for children.
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Harry Shearer accepts his 2017 American Eagle Award and speaks about the importance of Creator’s Rights.
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Patti Smith accepts her 2017 American Eagle Award and speaks about the 5 Music Rights set forth by the International Music Council.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The National Music Council presented its prestigious American Eagle Award to music industry icons Crystal Gayle, Harry Shearer, and Patti Smith on July 13 at The Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, TN. National Music Council Director, David Sanders, hosted the awards ceremony along with presenters Paul Shaffer, Richard Leigh and John Ingrassia.
The honorees and presenters collaborated for an unforgettable finale performance of the song “People Have The Power,” written by Patti Smith and her late husband Fred “Sonic” Smith. The awards are presented each year to call attention to the importance of music education and respect of creator’s rights, with proceeds going to support the National Music Council’s advocacy efforts throughout the year. The Nashville event received support from The NAMM Foundation, which also works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan through scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.
Photos from the event can be found here.
About The National Music Council
The National Music Council is celebrating its 77th year as a forum for the free discussion of this country’s national music affairs and challenges. Founded in 1940 to act as a clearinghouse for the joint opinion and decision of its members and to work to strengthen the importance of music in our lives and culture, the Council’s initial membership of 13 has grown to almost 50 national music organizations, encompassing every important form of professional and commercial musical activity. Through the cooperative work of its member organizations, the National Music Council promotes and supports music and music education as an integral part of the curricula in the schools of our nation, and in the lives of its citizens. The Council provides for the exchange of information and coordination of efforts among its member organizations and speaks with one voice for the music community whenever an authoritative expression of opinion is desirable. www.musiccouncil.org.
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,300 members around the world. The NAMM Foundation works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit nammfoundation.org.
Nashville, TN – The National Music Council has announced that country music legend Crystal Gayle, singer, songwriter and poet Patti Smith, and comic, actor, writer, musician and creators’ rights activist Harry Shearer will be honored at the organization’s 34th annual American Eagle Awards on Thursday, July 13 at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville. The highly prestigious Awards are presented each year in recognition of long-term contribution to American musical culture and heritage, the importance of music education for all children, and the need to protect creators’ rights both locally and internationally.
“Each year, the National Music Council carefully chooses a very small group of music creators, artists, educators and advocates to honor for their truly remarkable contributions to American and global musical culture,” said NMC Director David Sanders.. “Those whose careers we have celebrated in the past are among the giants of American music, and Ms. Gayle, Ms. Smith and Mr. Shearer are worthy additions to the list of those whose long-standing excellence continues to make the US music community the world’s leader in musical arts innovation.”
Recognized as one of music’s most influential stylists, Crystal Gale was born in Paintsville, KY and raised in nearby southern Indiana. Gale was a teenager when she decided to follow her older sister Loretta Lynn to Nashville where she quickly charted with the hit single, “I’ve Cried (The Blue Right Out Of My Eyes).” As a true artist, Gayle followed her own career path, becoming a two-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, and a crossover sensation with such hits as “Half The Way” and “Talking In Your Sleep,” becoming the first female artist in country music history to achieve platinum record sales. Earlier this year, the singer was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and celebrated the 40th anniversary of her signature hit, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” Later this year, she will release a new album produced by her son, Am I That Easy to Forget.
Patti Smith is one of the most revered recording artists and songwriters of the past forty years, with the likes of Michael Stipe (R.E.M.), Morissey, U2, and others citing the impact of her music on their own. Born in Chicago, IL, she spent her formative years in Philadelphia before moving to New York City at the age of 21. There, she wrote several articles for Rolling Stone magazine before becoming a musical force on her own terms in the 1970s. Clive Davis signed her band, The Patti Smith Group, to Arista in 1975, and released the critically acclaimed album Horses, which blended punk rock and poetry. Her 1978 disc Easter contained one of her most popular titles, “Because The Night,” which she co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen. Smith spent much of the 1980s in semi-retirement, but re-emerged in 1996 with the landmark album Gone Again. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and was the subject of the documentary film, Dream Of Life (2008).
LA-born Harry Shearer has carved out a successful acting career over the years, appearing on TV series such as Saturday Night Live and as a voice-over artist on the long-running FOX cartoon series, The Simpsons. Shearer co-wrote the film Real Life with Albert Brooks, and also wrote for Martin Mull’s successful Fernwood 2 Night. In 1984, Shearer would go on to co-create This Is Spinal Tap and star in the role of Derek Smalls alongside Michael McKean and Christopher Guest. The film, shot in twenty-five days, has become a cult classic. In 1989, he began his longest-running show business affiliation, voicing several characters on The Simpsons, including the villainous Mr. Burns and Dr. Marvin Monroe. He has also appeared in such television series as Miami Vice and Dawson’s Creek, and is an advocate for creators and artists.
As one of the highest achievements in the music industry, the three honorees will join a “who’s – who” list of past American Eagle Award recipients including cultural icons Stephen Sondheim, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Clive Davis, Van Cliburn, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Morton Gould, Dave Brubeck, Marian Anderson, Max Roach, Lena Horne, Roy Clark, Elliott Carter, Ervin Drake, Theo Bikel, Roberta Peters, Odetta, Leonard Slatkin, Sesame Street, Hard Rock Café, and VH1’s Save the Music Foundation.
The honorees and Awards will be celebrated the evening of Thursday, July 13 at The Summer NAMM Show at Nashville’s Music City Center and open to industry members and Summer NAMM attendees. The Summer NAMM Show is the annual gathering of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and its many members companies, representing the global music products industry. The awards are presented with support from The NAMM Foundation, a non-profit which works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan through scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.
Tickets to the awards are available to the general public and the event is open to Summer NAMM attendees. For more information on schedule, location details, tickets, and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.musiccouncil.org or contact NMC Director David Sanders at sandersd@montclair.edu. Proceeds from the event support the National Music Council’s music education advocacy efforts.
About The National Music Council:
The National Music Council is celebrating its 77th year as a forum for the free discussion of this country’s national music affairs and challenges. Founded in 1940 to act as a clearinghouse for the joint opinion and decision of its members and to work to strengthen the importance of music in our lives and culture, the Council’s initial membership of 13 has grown to almost 50 national music organizations, encompassing every important form of professional and commercial musical activity. Through the cooperative work of its member organizations, the National Music Council promotes and supports music and music education as an integral part of the curricula in the schools of our nation, and in the lives of its citizens. The Council provides for the exchange of information and coordination of efforts among its member organizations and speaks with one voice for the music community whenever an authoritative expression of opinion is desirable. www.musiccouncil.org
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,300 members around the world. The NAMM Foundation works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit http://www.nammfoundation.org.
The members of the National Music Council, who together represent some one million individuals, are unified in a commitment to support music education because we know how much a balanced, sequential education that includes music can bring to the development of our young people. We have all, individually and collectively, seen the impact that music education has on the social, physical, and intellectual growth of students. We have all watched with growing interest the explosion of research that backs up our long-held belief in the essential importance of music education.
Sadly, we have also seen the growth of forces that stand in the way of every child receiving the benefits of music education. Sometimes these forces are political; sometimes they are budgetary; and sometimes they are simply administrative. In all cases, however, they can be easily overcome with a simple commitment (reflected in legislation and in funding) to providing our children with the benefits of music education.
In light of this, we ask your commitment for the following legislative recommendations:
• Complete the Appropriations Process for Fiscal Year 2017: If another stopgap spending measure is applied to finish the remainder of the Fiscal Year, Every Student Succeeds Act’s (ESSA) first year of implementation would be severely hampered
• Follow ESSA’s congressional intent, and ensure states, districts, charters, and local schools have the most flexibility to spend their federal dollars where needed. Robust funding for all well-rounded programs, including Title IV, Part A, must be a priority to protect this flexibility.
• Support Access to Music Education for the Most Disadvantaged Students by Fully Funding Title I, Part A
• Support Professional Development for Music Educators by Fully Funding Title I, Part A, Title II, Part A and Title IV, Parts A and F
• Support Access to Music Education as Part of a “Well Rounded Education” by fully funding Title IV, Part A
We will all benefit from these measures: the music industry, which contributes significantly to our national economy; professional performers, who add immeasurably to our communities; composers, arrangers, and publishers, who bring the riches of creation to our national life; and most of all, our children. We thank you for your consideration of these important goals, which will benefit not only our children, but will ultimately increase the creative output of American composers and musicians to the betterment of not only the social fabric of the United States, but also the economy.
Founded in 1940 and chartered by the 84th Congress in 1956, the National Music Council in a unique position to assist in these matters. We offer our collective expertise in providing you with any documentation or information that might serve you, and our gratitude for your support.