The Beatles win BMI Awards

Lennon, McCartney Win BMI Citations

NEW YORK — John Lennon and Paul McCartney, two of the Beatles, were the top writer winners of the BMI Citations of Achievement in the field of pop music for 1964.

In all, 124 writers and 69 publishers of 100 songs licensed by Broadcast Music Inc. received the annual citations. The BMI awards are presented annually, and are based on trade paper polls of national popularity and public acceptance, reflecting record and sheet music sales, radio and television performances, coin machine plays and other factors measured in those polls.

The op publisher-award winners are Jobete Music, Screen Gems-Columbia Music and Trio Music, with seven awards each.

Lennon and McCartney paced the writer category with 10 awards each. Other multiple writer-award winners include Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Brian Wilson, six; Brian Holland, Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier, four, and Roger Christian, Curtis Mayfield and George Morton, three each. Multiple publisher-award winners include Maclen Music, Sea of Tunes Publishing and Hill & Range Songs, five each; Beechwood Music, four, and Acuff-Rose Publications, Duchess Music, Metric Music and Unart Music, all with three awards.

The awards will be presented at special ceremonies at New York’s Town Hall on Jan. 19.

From Billboard – January 23, 1965

BMI Awards For 1964: Lennon, McCartney Top Writers, 3-way Publisher Tie

NEW YORK—As everywhere else in the pop music world, it was a Beatles year at BMI in 1964, with Beatle-ite cleffers John Lennon and Paul McCartney leading the parade of writers who will receive BMI Citations of Achievement this week.

Presentations, an annual event based on trade paper surveys, disk and sheet music sales, radio and TV performances, juke-box plays, etc., will be made this Tues. (19) to winning writers and publishers.

Lennon and McCartney will receive 10 awards each in the writer category. In the publishing area, top slots, seven awards each, are shared by Jobete Music, Screen Gems-Columbia and Trio Music.

In a departure from previous fetes, the awards will be officially received at an afternoon gathering at New York’s Town Hall, with a tribute dinner that night at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Pierre. Previously, the dinner also served as the occasion for the award presentations.

Other top writer award winners include (6): Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Brian Wilson; (4): Brian Holland, Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier; (3): Roger Christian, Curtis Mayfield and George Morton.

Follow-up publishing awrads go to (5): The Aberbach Group (including Elvis Presley Music, Rumbalero Music, Quintet Music, in partnership with Lieber-Stoller, Progressive Music, shared with Robert Mellin; (4): Beechwood Music; (3): Acuff-Rose Music, Duchess Music, Metric Music and Unart Music.

There are a total of 124 writer awards and 69 publisher awards for 100 songs.

From Cashbox – January 23, 1965