NEW YORK, N.Y. – Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) has announced that Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter, arranger, producer and musician, Barry Manilow, will be named the BMI Icon at the 65th annual BMI Pop Awards. Manilow, a pop music legend who recently came out as gay, will receive this honor in recognition of his prodigious musical legacy and an unparalleled career encompassing the worlds of Broadway, Film, TV, and popular culture. The celebratory event will be held Tuesday, May 9 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations Barbara Cane.
“Barry Manilow is a visionary whose exceptional body of work has shaped the course of popular music for over five decades,” said Cane. “He has left a lasting imprint on every aspect of music, influenced the careers of his contemporaries, and touched the lives of many with his unique gift of artistry. His musical brilliance defies genre expectations and I cannot think of a more deserving recipient.”
The evening will also recognize the songwriters, publishers, and administrators of the past year’s most-performed pop songs in the United States from BMI’s repertoire of nearly 12 million musical works. The BMI Pop Song, Songwriter and Publisher of the Year will be named during the ceremony.
As a BMI Icon, Manilow joins an elite group of songwriters who have received BMI’s highest honor for their “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” Previous recipients include Sting, Mann & Weil, Nile Rodgers, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, Carole King, David Foster, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, the Jacksons, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Bee Gees, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Brian Wilson, Carlos Santana and Dolly Parton, among others.
