Stevie Nicks "I'm a songwriter first" gives riveting life-lesson through song

BMI Icon Stevie Nicks Leads Star Studded Pop Awards

Huffington Post
by Charles Karel Bouley

One of the top performance right's agencies in the country BMI Music has added a name to the prestigious list of Icons at the 67th Annual BMI Pop Awards hosted at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel May 13th, 2014. Last year's icon, the very blonde Adam Levine, was on hand, as was BMI Icon David Foster. But the spotlight of the evening was on not just a songwriting dynamo, but a person who defines legend.

"Of all the awards, I have to say, tonight is the night of my life. Because it means you noticed, you get it, that behind all of the madness and the music is a songwriter. So many times no one bothers to notice, and tonight, you have."

Photo by Michele McManmon
View Gallery at LA Weekly

How could they not? The person making the statement truly is an icon of modern day rock music, as defined by Webster's Dictionary --icon: a person or thing representative of something.

She is Stevie Nicks, who is not just an icon, but a survivor -- quite literally -- of rock music's heyday. And she is a songwriter, make no mistake about that. Hits that she penned for herself and her band, Fleetwood Mac, not only sold millions of copies worldwide, but as a woman, she helped blaze a trail for female singer/songwriters.

She gave an almost 30 minute acceptance speech, which was more like a crash course in how to be a rockstar AND hit songwriter and live; she recalled how she would shut the press down during interviews.

"If anyone would come in and start asking what it feels like to be a sexy Pop star or a sex symbol I would say 'This interview is over, because you obviously don't know who I am," she recalled. "I'm a songwriter first and foremost, yes, I'm kinda cute and can dance a little and maybe can hold an arena full of people every now and again for a few hours, but I'm a songwriter first."

And she recounted the hits, and the motivations, it became a riveting life-lesson through song.

...Message of that one, "don't break up someone's marriage. Nothing good will ever come of it"...and then there's 'Landslide,' "That was the song that was so important to me. Was I to stay writing and performing with Lindsey (Buckingham), go solo, go home? I was ready, it was time for something to change, to happen and 'Landslide' is what happened. We joined Fleetwood Mac, which was a good thing, and began a new journey."

The room sat rapt while she spoke, because it was filled with songwriters old and new. The older ones related to Nicks when she said, "The music industry is a mess right now, radio is a mess right now, but it's us, it's our mess. We can fix it and make it fun. Look, I'll be 66 years old this year, you can write songs for your entire life so if you're going to do this for another 30 yeas or so, shouldn't it be fun? We must make changes to take back music and our industry and bring the joy back to it."

And the younger ones, like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Adam Levine, Sheryl Crow or the over 50 recognized songwriters and hundreds of publishers in attendance to receive recognition for writing the hits of the year published and administered through BMI Music all sat knowing something special was going on on stage.

Full article at Huffington Post

Stevie Nicks accepted her Icon Award at last night's BMI Pop Awards in Beverly Hills with a 35 minute spoken and sung speech.

It followed the course of her life from the first time she tried to write a song at age six, through joining, leaving and rejoining Fleetwood Mac, up to the present.

Among its many topics: the bad effects of drugs and of stealing other people's husbands.

The performance rights society's annual event honors its top writers of the past year, in front of an audience of mainly artists, songwriters and music publishers.

Nicks took the stage and prepared them all for what was to come: "This is going to take a minute, so you might as well get comfortable...I expect for you to not leave, because I've spent two nights crying over this entire thing."

Just prior to receiving her Icon Award, Nicks received a four song tribute:

• Vanessa Carlton sang "Dreams"
• Lady Antebellum sang "Rhiannon"
• Shakira sang "Landslide"
• Adam Levine and Sheryl Crow duetted on "Leather and Lace"

Portion of Stevie's Acceptance Speech

Stevie Nicks Interviewed at the 2014 BMI Pop Awards

Combination of Red Carpet, Tribute Performance clips and Stevie speaking about her new album
More Articles: Stevie Nicks Honored by Adam Levine, Shakira, Sheryl Crow at BMI Pop Awards Variety Stevie Nicks Takes Home BMI Icon Award Hollywood Reporter Video Interview: Stevie Nicks talks music influences at the BMI Pop Awards Examiner

Liz Rosenberg, says Stevie Nicks hopes to release newly recorded songs from the vault in October

NEW Album Tentatively Titled "24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault"

Photo: Kevork Djansezian

It's proving to be a very busy year for the legendary Stevie Nicks. Not only is she about to head out on tour with a reunited Fleetwood Mac, but she's also in the midst of finishing up her own new solo album.

Tentatively titled "24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault," Nicks' forthcoming collection includes lost and stray tracks that she's written and recorded through the years, but never made it onto an album. The selections for "24 Karat Gold" were all newly recorded, and co-produced by Nicks, Dave Stewart and Waddy Wachtel.

Nicks' publicist, Liz Rosenberg, says that Nicks hopes to release the album in October on Reprise/Warner Bros. Records. She recently recorded the "24 Karat" tunes in Nashville, and will continue working on the album in Los Angeles.

(The album title presumably refers to Nicks’ song “24 Karat Gold,” which is widely available on YouTube as a bootleg.)

Nicks says that she just recorded “18 tracks in three weeks” for the album — saying that it’s the “fastest I have ever recorded.”

She made those comments last night during her acceptance speech at the BMI Pop Awards in Los Angeles, where she was honored with the BMI Icon award for her songwriting achievements. Nicks has written or co-written many of her solo hit singles, including “Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)” and “Stand Back.” As part of the band Fleetwood Mac, Nicks wrote or co-wrote such favorites as “Landslide,” “Rhiannon” and the No. 1 the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Dreams.”

“We went onto YouTube and we found all the songs that, somehow, were taken from my house or picked up or loaned out or whatever … and we went to Nashville (and recorded them),” Nicks told the Associated Press. “So they’re like all starting from like 1969 maybe? I call them my 24 karat gold songs.”

There’s no word on if “24 Karat Gold” will feature any special guests, however, with Nicks having been in a collaborative mood lately, one never knows who might turn up on the set. Recently, Nicks performed with Lady Antebellum on the Academy of Country Music Awards (April 6) and on “CMT Crossroads” (Sept. 13, 2013), as well as with Dave Grohl on the “Sound City” soundtrack (2013).

“24 Karat Gold” follows Nicks’ last studio effort, 2011’s “In Your Dreams,” which was also co-produced by Stewart. It debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart and has sold 199,000 in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. 

Fleetwood Mac, meanwhile, is also working on new music and will kick off a concert tour starting Sept. 30 in Minneapolis. It will be the band’s first trek with singer/songwriter Christine McVie since The Dance Tour in 1997.

Source Billboard

This is crazy exciting!!... She's got so many great songs that have never been officially released... I'm really interested to see which ones were chosen.  Obviously, 24 Karat Gold is one of them. She apparently recorded 17-18 tracks in Nashville. We have a lot to look forward too... and a lot of great stories I'm sure will be revealed as to what inspired the song.

Fitting title too... Stevie's been wearing a lot of 24 Karat Gold the last couple of years!

Video: Stars Pay Tribute to Stevie Nicks at BMI Pop Awards Plus Stevie's Acceptance Speech

Photo Kevin Winter

Legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks received the BMI Icon Award in recognition of her unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers. As the 2014 BMI Icon Award recipient, Nicks joins an elite list of past honorees that includes Paul Simon, Carole King, David Foster, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, the Jacksons, Carlos Santana, Dolly Parton and others.

"This is one of the best nights of my life," Nicks said upon accepting her award, going on to poignantly capture the craft for which she was honored, "We are reporters – we songwriters write songs about life, not just love." Nicks added, "I want to thank Del. This is so important to me. To all of you here, all of you songwriters and artists, I wrote my first song when I was 15 1/2 and this is what you have to look forward to if you really want to do this. Go for it, be determined, don't let anyone get in your way … Bring the fun back!"

The night included a special star-studded musical tribute to Nicks, featuring Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, the incomparable Sheryl Crow, country music trio Lady Antebellum, piano-playing chanteuse Vanessa Carlton and the multi-talented Shakira. Levine and Crow combined their breathtaking talent to deliver a mesmerizing rendition of Nicks’ “Leather & Lace,” Lady Antebellum commandeered “Rhiannon,” Carlton wowed the audience with “Dreams” and Shakira serenaded with “Landslide.”

Source: BMI



(clip) Shakira "Landslide"


Below video contains red carpet arrivals, interviews with attendees, Musical tribute to Stevie, plus Stevie's acceptance speech

Stevie Nicks reveals upcoming new album details... 17 so-called "trunk" songs

AP Entertainment

Photo pmama4obama

(click through for video clips)

New BMI icon on first full Fleetwood Mac reunion in 16 years, new solo album and acting on 'American Horror Story'

Stevie Nicks/Musician, on the reunion of the full superstar configuration of Fleetwood Mac: "Well, Christine (McVie) just decided to come back. She called. We were in Europe last year at the end of the year and she called me and said, 'What would you think if I decided to come back to the band?' And I'm like, 'Well, you've convinced us over 16 years that you were never coming back. You finally, actually convinced us. So, are you kidding?' And she said, 'I'm not kidding.' And I said, 'Well, Chris, have you seen us in concert lately? Because you should see us, because it's very physical. It's almost three hours, and you have to kind of be an athlete. So, get a trainer.' And she did! She did, totally! So she's, like, rockin.' So she's very excited, and we are very excited for her. "

Steve Nicks/Musician, on reviewing her own compositions: 

"There's no fluff songs in my songs. And they all meant a lot to me and they were all written about somebody else or about me or about the world or about the country or, you know, there's no just playful no-big-deal songs."

"It's a very, very heavy thing to look back at all the things you've done, especially when that's between 15 years old and 66 years old, and, then, tomorrow, it all starts again with a whole other thing."

Stevie Nicks/Musician, on the material for her upcoming solo album:

"We went on to YouTube and we found all the songs that, somehow, were taken from my house or picked up or loaned out or whatever, and we picked up all the songs that like -- there was like 25 songs that the fans really wanted me to record, and we picked 18. And we went to Nashville and we recorded 17 songs. So they're like all starting from like 1969 maybe? I call them my 24-carat gold songs."

Stevie Nicks/Musician, on acting opposite actress Jessica Lange in "American Horror Story: 

Coven": "She's amazing. And, so, I just watched her a lot, you know? And I sang, 'Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You' to her, probably like 20 times. And she cried every time. And it was like, 'Oh my god!' It was -- the fact that Ryan (series co-creator and -producer Ryan Murphy) brought me into that was such a gift - nothing like that probably will ever happen to me like that again. 'American Horror Story: Coven'! It's like my dream, you know. (laughs.)"

NICKS GETS ICONIC, TALKS FLEETWOOD MAC REUNION, NEW SOLO ALBUM AND 'AMERICAN HORROR STORY'

Stevie Nicks thought former Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie was pulling her leg.

"She called when we were in Europe at the end of last year," explained Nicks. "And (she) said, 'What would you think if I decided to come back to the band?' And I'm like, 'Well, you've convinced us over 16 years that you were never coming back. You finally, actually convinced us. So, are you kidding?'"

She wasn't.

McVie had conquered a longtime fear of flying -- a fear so crippling that, in 1998, it forced her to retire from one of the world's busiest touring bands.

McVie spent most of the time between then and now at her mansion in rural northern England.

With McVie's return, Fleetwood Mac is finally back to its most successful configuration, also including Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and Christin's ex-husband John McVie.

Out of the gate, they produced the multi-million selling albums "Fleetwood Mac" (1975) and "Rumours" (1977) and such pop classics as "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)" "Say You Love Me," "Go Your Own Way" and "Dreams."

Many of Fleetwood Mac's hits were written by Nicks, who, Tuesday night, was honored with the Icon award from music-rights management group Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) for her body of work both with the band and solo, also including the songs "Landslide," "Gypsy," "Edge of Seventeen" and "Stand Back."

To prep for her acceptance speech, Nicks, 66, reviewed her own songbook.

"There's no fluff," she noted. "There's no just-playful, no-big-deal songs."

"It's a very, very heavy thing to look back on what you've done," Nicks continued. "And, then, tomorrow, it all starts again."

There's a solo album on the way, with 17 so-called "trunk" songs -- things Nicks had written and, in some cases, performed over the years that fans requested be properly recorded and put into an album. A new Fleetwood Mac album is coming, too, as well as a big Mac tour, beginning 30 September in Minneapolis.

Nicks said she warned McVie to expect a very different experience on stage, "'It's very physical. It's almost three hours. You have to kind of be an athlete, so get a trainer.' And she did! She did, totally! And she's like rockin.'"

via: The Ledge

Photo: Stevie Nicks BMI Pop Awards Red Carpet Photos

Photo Jason Sanchez

Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®), the leading global music rights organization, to honor GRAMMY Award-winning artist Stevie Nicks.

BMI's 62nd Annual Pop Awards is a black-tie, invitation-only dinner that will present the BMI Icon Award to Stevie Nicks for her unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.

The evening will also recognize the songwriters and publishers of the past year's most-performed pop songs in the United States from BMI's repertoire of more than 8.5 million musical works. The BMI Pop Song, Songwriter and Publisher of the Year will also be named during the ceremony.

Additional invited guests include:  Adam Levine, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Lumineers, Fall Out Boy, Florida Georgia Line, Sheryl Crow, Shakira, Mac Miller, Skylar Grey, Vanessa Carlton, Andy Grammer, Paul Doucette, Lady Antebellum, Jeff Bahsker, Alex Da Kid, Rodney Jerkins, Bonnie McKee, Busbee, Claude Kelley, Brenda Russell, Noel Zancanella, Nathaniel Motte and more hit-making scribes.

Beverly Wilshire Hotel: Arrivals begin at 6:30 p.m.; awards begin at approximately 9 p.m.

 

Above Photos: BMI and Photo: Frazer Harrison

Photo: Frazer Harrison

 

Above two photos: pmama4obama

Above Photos: (Right) Andrea Seikaly (Left) BMI

 Above: the musical tribute to Stevie included Sheryl Crow and Adam Levine singing Leather and Lace, Vanessa Carlton singing Dreams and Shakira singing Leather and Lace.

The Band featured: Waddy Wachtel, Jimmy Paxson on drums, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, Sharon Celani and Lori Nicks on backup vocals.

Photo UMPG

Post by Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).

Night of 1,000 Stevies, the 24th incarnation of the largest Nicks fan event in the world

Night of 1,000 Stevies: Originality Reigns Supreme
By R. Kurt Osenlund

Stevie Nicks remains the key inspiration of her largest fan event, but the diversity of its talent and turnout proves you can be her disciple and still go your own way.

Tambourines were tossed from the stage into a decadent crowd of hundreds, and ample black shawls were available for sale, but Stevie Nicks’s trademark accessories were hardly a requirement at last Friday’s Night of 1,000 Stevies, the 24th incarnation of the largest Nicks fan event in the world. Held at New York’s Irving Plaza, its sixth—and grandest—venue, the mystical affair attracted fans and performers who each found a way to uniquely channel Fleetwood Mac’s witchy woman.

Continue to the full review at OUT.com

Check out the photos from the event

Here's one of the videos produced for the event... Really well done.