ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC SPECIAL AWARDS
The Academy of Country Music
Special Awards are voted on by the ACM Board of Directors and are awarded
during years where the Board of Directors feels there are clear and deserving
candidates. MBI Awards and Industry
Awards are voted on by professional members of the Academy. Special Awards, Industry Awards and MBI
Awards are presented to recipients at ACM Honors, a special event held annually
in the fall. The event will take place at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on Monday, September 20, 2010.
SPECIAL AWARDS
Jim Reeves International Award
Keith Urban has been chosen
to receive the Jim Reeves International Award, which is presented to an individual for outstanding contributions to
the acceptance of country music throughout the world.
Keith Urban,
who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, has achieved international
superstar status since he moved to Nashville in 1992. He is known for
mixing elements of pop and rock music with traditional country, appealing to a
wide audience beyond the country scope. A six-time ACM Award winner, Urban is
known for his many hits including several chart-toppers such as "Somebody Like
You," "You'll Think of Me," "Making Memories Of Us" and "Sweet Thing." He continues to be a global music sensation,
sharing his passion for country music around the world as one of the hottest
touring acts in music. Urban's recent world tours have taken his show to six
countries on three different continents where he has played to packed houses.
Past recipients of the Jim
Reeves International Award include Garth
Brooks, Dick Clark, Roy Clark, Merv Griffin, Charlie Nagatani, Buck Owens
and Dolly Parton, among others.
Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award
Marty Robbins and Mel Tillis have
been chosen to receive the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award honoring individuals who
are pioneers in the country music genre.
Marty Robbins charted his
first No. 1 single, "I'll Go On Alone," in 1953 and began an illustrious career
that lasted four decades. Robbins was a master at performing all types of
musical styles, from the teenage fare of "A White Sport Coat (And a Pink
Carnation)" to the 7-week No.1 gunfighter ballad "El Paso." He dabbled in
rockabilly and Hawaiian music while also charting country hits like "Don't
Worry," "Devil Woman" and "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife." Robbins was inducted
into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982 and passed away two months later.
Mel Tillis earned his first writing
deal after country star Webb Pierce took the Tillis-penned tune "I'm Tired" to
No. 3. Tillis crafted several more hits
for Pierce ("I Ain't Never") as well as Bobby Bare ("Detroit City"), Ray Price
("One More Time") and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition ("Ruby, Don't Take Your
Love to Town"). The songwriter charted his own first Top 40 hit with "The
Violet and a Rose" and continued to perform his own songs, charting the hits
"Wine," "Stateside," "Life Turned Her That Way," "Good Woman Blues," "Coca Cola
Cowboy" and "I Ain't Never," which gave him his first No. 1 hit in 1972. Tillis
wrote hits for Nashville's new generation,
like "Honey (Open That Door)" for Ricky Skaggs and "Diggin' Up Bones" for Randy Travis. Tillis
continues to perform today and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry cast in
2007.
Past
recipients of the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award include Alabama, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Merle Haggard, George Jones,
Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson,
The Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, Jerry Reed,
Tex Ritter, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis,
Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner, Hank
Williams, Sr., Hank Williams Jr.
and Bob Wills, among others.
Poet's Award
Don Schlitz and Cindy
Walker have been selected to receive the Poet's Award, which honors
songwriters for outstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout
their careers in the field of country music.
One of Don Schlitz's first cuts as a songwriter, a story song he titled "The
Gambler," was recorded by Kenny Rogers and became a massive crossover hit. From there Schlitz went on to find great
success co-writing with Paul Overstreet for a new artist named Randy Travis.
Schlitz co-wrote some of Travis' biggest hits, including "On the Other Hand"
and "Forever and Ever Amen," which won back-to-back ACM Song of the Year awards
in 1986 and 1987. Schlitz also crafted
Keith Whitley's signature hit, "When You Say Nothing at All." A Grammy winner
and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Schlitz has also penned
hits for The Judds ("Rockin' With the Rhythm of the Rain") and Reba McEntire
("One Promise Too Late"). He was commissioned by President George H.W. Bush to
write the theme song for the national "Points of Light" program. The song,
"Point of Light," became a Top 5 country hit for Randy Travis.
Cindy Walker's
career launched when the legendary Bing Crosby recorded her song "Lone Star
Trail," which became a Top 10 hit. That
break began a 13-year stint in Hollywood, where Walker appeared in and wrote
songs for Western films. Western Swing legend Bob Wills recorded more than 50
of Walker's songs, including "Cherokee Maiden,"
"Bubbles in My Beer" and "You're From Texas." Walker went on to pen hits
for Johnny Bond, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Webb Pierce, Gene Autry, Jim Reeves
and Eddy Arnold. It was Arnold who pitched her the song title "You Don't Know
Me," which Walker turned into one of the most enduring country hits. The tune
has been recorded by many artists, including Ray Charles. After Walker's death
in 2006 she willed the rights to her body of work to the Country Music Hall of
Fame.
Previous
recipients of the Poet's Award include Bill
Anderson, Merle Haggard, Harlan Howard and Fred Rose.
Tex Ritter Award
Crazy Heart has been chosen as the recipient of the Tex Ritter Award, which is given to a movie released and/or receiving major
exposure during the preceding calendar year, featuring or utilizing country
music.
Crazy Heart (Produced by
CMT Films, Butcher's Run Films and Informant Media; Distributed by Fox
Searchlight Pictures.) is a romantic drama starring
Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges as "Bad Blake," a broken down country
singer/songwriter who wants to turn his life around after establishing a
relationship with a young journalist named Jean, played by Oscar nominee Maggie
Gyllenhaal. Bad Blake's professional
career starts to look up when he reconnects with his old band member Tommy
Sweet (Collin Farrell), who wants Blake to write songs for him. The movie
soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett,
featured work by late guitarist Stephen
Bruton. The original song "The Weary Kind," performed and written by
country singer/songwriter Ryan Bingham,
won both the Golden Globe and the Oscar in 2010.
Past recipients of the Tex Ritter Award include Beer For My Horses, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, O'Brother, Where Art Thou, Sweet
Dreams and Walk the Line, among
others.
Mae Boren Axton Award - Rod Essig has
been chosen as the recipient of the Mae Boren Axton Award, which is given in recognition of years of dedication and
service by an outstanding individual to the Academy of Country Music.
Former ACM Chairman Rod Essig started his expansive career
in the music industry as vice president and co-owner of Variety Artists
International, a booking agency based in Minneapolis. In 1992, Essig joined
Creative Artists Agency and headed to Los Angeles for a time before moving to
Nashville, where he was instrumental in opening the agency's Music City
operation. Essig currently helps to steer the careers of some of country
music's biggest acts, including Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and
LeAnn Rimes. He has served on the Academy's board of directors in various
capacities for 14 years. During his tenure as chairman, the Academy rebranded
and re-launched its charitable arm, ACM Lifting LivesTM, as well as expanded its
reach in the digital realm with fan voting for the Entertainer of the Year and
Top New Artist categories and its presence on television with the top-rated George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All
Star Concert special and significantly higher ratings for the annually
televised Academy of Country Music Awards.
Essig has also been a key supporter of the ACM Chairman's Ride (formerly called
the ACM Charity Motorcycle Ride) since its inception in 2004.
Past recipients of the Mae Boren Axton Award include Jack Lameier, Marge Meoli, Ray Pilzak,
Gaynelle Pitts, Gene Weed and David Young.