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JOHN
LENNON SONGWRITING CONTEST AND NAMM PRESENT THE SPIN DOCTORS AND JLSC
ANNOUNCES ARTHUR GODFREY AS MAXELL SONG OF THE YEAR WINNER
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(Nashville, July 23, 2004) --- Brian Rothschild, Executive Director of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, announced the winner of the Maxell Song of the Year 2003 at the NAMM Summer Session in Nashville. Amen, written by Arthur Godfrey, the Grand Prize Winner in the Folk category won the coveted annual award. Godfrey was the Contest’s 2001 Grand Prize Winner for his song “Simple Man,” in the Folk category. Described as “an Americana performer with a hard urban twist,” Godfrey appeals to the Folk and Alternative-Country music listeners. Originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, where he was a mailman in the Boston area, Arthur lived in southern California until very recently when he moved to Nashville so he could work more closely with other writers. His music has received airplay across the U.S. and Europe, and he tours regularly and has opened for Patty Loveless, Paul Thorn, and many others, and attracted the attention of numerous stars, most notably Sean Penn, with whom he will appear in a film next year. Cheryl Severini, Marketing Director of Maxell Corporation, was on hand at Gaylord Entertainment Center, to present the $20,000 check for the Maxell Song of the Year. The company, a founding sponsor of both the Contest and whose support has made the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus possible, is a leading manufacturer of recording media, data storage products and accessories. Another JLSC sponsor, Yamaha Corporation, co-sponsored the event through its Professional Audio and Combo Division. Arthur’s winning song was selected from over 25,000 submissions. Grand Prize Winners are selected in each of 12 categories, rock, pop, electronic, jazz, gospel/inspirational, R&B, hip hop/rap, country, Latin, folk, children’s and world music (plus a newly added lyrics category). The Maxell Song of the Year is then selected from the Grand Prize Winners in each of the 12 categories, by a stellar Executive Committee consisting of such renowned songwriters as Elton John, Wyclef Jean, Black Eyed Peas, Carlos Santana, Carole Bayer Sager, Enrique Iglesias, Tim McGraw, and The Spin Doctors, to name a few. One of the major focuses of the event was NAMM’s efforts to support music in the schools. With school music programs being threatened across the country by budget cuts, NAMM and its network of partners including the American Music Conference (AMC) and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, utilized this event to spread the word about the proven benefits of making music and the many music-making resources offered by the groups (themusicedge.com and SupportMusic.com). The Spin Doctors, who served as ambassadors of music education for the evening, performed and lent their talent to the event. They have a very special appreciation for music and songwriting. Chris Barron, lead singer of the Spin Doctors, said that one of the reasons he was there to show his support is because, “When I lost my voice and couldn’t sing, songwriting sustained me.” Grand Prize Winners who performed included children’s winner Gail Lou accompanied by a group of adorable kids, Hip-Hop Winner Ta-Ta, World Winner Kristi Krings, and R&B Winners Isaac Underwood and Mark Penn, who had George Gandy perform their song. Submissions are being accepted through September 28, 2004 for the 8th annual John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The Maxell Song of the Year winner for this year’s Contest will be presented in July 2005 at Summer NAMM, for the third consecutive year. NAMM and AMC’s non-profit teen initiative, themusicedge.com, share a common interest with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus in advancing music education in schools throughout the country.
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About the John Lennon
Songwriting Contest: About the
John Lennon Educational Tour Bus About NAMM
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