Sing Out! News Service

LeMars, Iowa: For 33 years, the National Traditional Country Music Association has been inducting deserving individuals and groups into “America’s Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame.” According to the NTCMA President, Bob Everhart, it all started those 33 years ago in the middle of a cornfield. “We were trying to get a ‘gathering’ together to play old-time music, and the only place we could find to practice was in a friend’s corn field. That has changed of course, we now host a festival that boasts seven days of old-time acoustic music on ten stages with well over 600 performers.” The 33rd National Old Time Country & Bluegrass Music Festival and Contest takes place, August 25-31, at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds in LeMars, Iowa. This year’s special guest is bluegrass legend Bill Clifton of Virginia who will be inducted into the OTCMHoF.

Bill Clifton started his career in old-time music by listening to the music as a child. As he grew older, he made the trip to New York City to visit Woody Guthrie. If you have ever attended a bluegrass festival, you can thank Bill Clifton for that. He was the first to present this ’style’ of music presentation. Clifton’s background was hardly a typical one for bluegrass, although the players who would populate the distinctive Washington DC bluegrass scene often shared Clifton’s professional background. It was on the 4th of July, 1961, that Clifton staged his first outdoor “Bluegrass Day.” Carlton Haney was in attendance, and in 1965 organized a larger event. Both these famous early bluegrass pioneers are expected to attend the festival in LeMars, Iowa. Clifton moved to England in 1963, formed bands there, eventually joined the Peace Corps, started recording for County Records in 1972, with much success, and finally moved to Virgina in 1980. He has since been a world traveler and promoter of America’s rural music.

Clifton will be joined by a number of other deserving individuals in receiving this honor and recognition from what Everhart describes as ‘rural’ America. “We have about 3,500 active participants in our organization, most of them simply farmers, ranchers, down-home folks, small town residents, and middle-class Americans. They have definite ideas about what they like in musical presentations, and their favorite is the early country music sounds that came from rural America. Today’s so-called country music is somewhat removed from that sound. That’s why we have worked so hard to keep our festival authentic and acoustic in nature.”

More information about the festival and the NTCMA can be obtained at their website www.oldtimemusic.tipzu.com or calling 712-762-4363, or e-mailing bobeverhart@yahoo.com

New York, N.Y. – This year’s 2008 Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) gala will take place on Thursday, June 19 at New York’s Marriott Marquis Hotel.  Chairman/CEO Hal David today announced that Milt Okun will receive the Abe Olman Publisher Award at the 2008 Awards dinner.

Founder of Cherry Lane Music in 1959, Milt Okun’s impressive credits include experience as a musician, teacher, conductor, arranger, producer, publishing executive and author. Well known for his work with legendary artists the Chad Mitchell Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, John Denver, Plácido Domingo, Harry Belafonte, Starland Vocal Band, Tom Paxton, Laura Nyro and The Brothers Four, Okun started out as a junior high school music teacher in the New York City public schools, eventually becoming one of the most successful record producers in the US, with scores of gold and platinum records to his credit.

Under Okun’s leadership, Cherry Lane has become one of the world’s leading independent music publishers, with a current roster of songwriters and composers including The Black Eyed Peas, Will.I.am, John Legend, Quincy Jones, Wolfmother, Mick Mars, West Indian Girl, Ashford & Simpson, Hans Zimmer, Toby Gad, Meleni Smith, Ralph Macdonald and William Salter (“Just the Two Of Us”), Julie Gold (“From a Distance”), William Eaton (“Calypso Breakdown”), Tom Paxton, Irving Burgie (“Day-O”), Maury Yeston (“Titanic – The Musical”), Leslie Bricusse (“Jekyll & Hyde – The Musical”) and the classic catalogues of John Denver and Elvis Presley.

Okun, a strong believer in the power of music in the classroom, has created Music Alive!, a not-for-profit publication using music to inspire a passion for learning among American teenagers.

“Milt Okun has long been immensely respected, not only as a music publishing pioneer, but for his hands-on approach with regard to numerous celebrated songwriters’ careers. In addition, he is well known for his behind-the-scenes generosity in support of music industry charities that are directly impacting future generations,” commented Chairman/CEO Hal David. “His philanthropy extends beyond the industry, and we are pleased to honor him with our prestigious Abe Olman Publisher Award.”

The Abe Olman Publisher Award, named after one of the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s esteemed founders, goes to music publishers who have had a substantial number of songs that have become world-renowned and have furthered the careers and successes of many songwriters. Recent Abe Olman Publisher Awardees have included Martin Bandier, Les Bider, Nicholas Firth, Ed Murphy, Beebe Bourne and Ralph Peer, among others.

Other Inductees at this year’s event include Desmond Child, Albert Hammond, Loretta Lynn, Alan Menken and John Sebastian. Paul Anka will receive the Johnny Mercer Award, Anne Murray will receive the Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award and John Rzeznik will receive the Hal David Starlight Award. “Take Me Out to The Ball Game” will receive the Towering Song Award.

About The Songwriters Hall of Fame:

The Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates songwriters, educates the public with regard to their achievements, and produces a spectrum of professional programs devoted to the development of new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases and scholarships. Over the course of the past 39 years, some key Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees have included John Fogerty, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Steve Cropper, Richard and Robert Sherman, Bill Withers, Carole King, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Hal David and Burt Bacharach, Jim Croce, Phil Collins, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Jimmy Webb, Van Morrison and Cy Coleman among many, many others. The Songwriters Hall of Fame was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond.

Full biographies and a complete list of inductees are available at the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Virtual Museum at songhall.org.

Ticket Information:

Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala begin at $1000 each, and are available through Buckley Hall Events, 212-573-6933. Net proceeds from the event support the Songwriters Hall of Fame programs.