“We’re very honoured to salute the incomparable songwriter Graham Lyle with the BMI Icon Award in celebration of a lifetime of timeless hit songs that deeply resonate with global audiences,” said O’Neill. “We’re also excited to pay tribute to all our outstanding 2024 BMI London Award winners and recognise their incredible accomplishments. It’s going to be a fantastic evening.”
The ceremony also pays tribute to the British and European songwriters and publishers of the previous year’s most-performed songs on US streaming, radio and television from BMI’s repertoire of over 22.4 million musical works. The BMI London Song of the Year, Million-Air Awards, and awards for Pop, Film, Television and Cable Television Music will also be presented throughout the evening.
As one of the most successful British songwriters of his generation, Lyle has written countless hit songs, including Tina Turner’s classic, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” with Terry Britten. The global smash reached No.1 in the US, Canada and Australia, won Song of the Year at the 1984 GRAMMY Awards, and eventually became Turner’s best-selling single. It also earned Lyle multiple BMI Million-Air Awards, ultimately reaching eight million broadcast performances on U.S. radio. As a testament to its enduring legacy, many artists have performed and covered the massive hit over the years, including Mickey Guyton at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction in 2021, rapper Warren G released a hip-hop version in 1996, and Norwegian DJ/producer Kygo released a remix with Turner in 2020.
Over his prolific career, Lyle has received multiple BMI Awards, as well as BMI Million-Air Awards for many of his other iconic hits, including “What’s Luv?” by Fat Joe ft. Ashanti, which sampled “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “I Don’t Wanna Lose You,” “Jewel of the Nile,” and “Typical Male,” each with two million performances. “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” also performed by Turner, “Joe Knows How to Live,” “Stay Young,” and “Women Like Men” have accumulated one million performances. He also received an Ivor Novello in 1986 and a Tartan Clef Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010, and in 2012, he co-wrote “One Woman: A Song for UN Women,” released on International Women’s Day, to support the empowerment and gender equality of women around the globe.
Lyle began his professional journey as one of the first music creators to sign to the Beatles’ Apple Company, alongside songwriter Benny Gallagher in the late 60s. The pair went on to write for several Apple Company artists, notably “Sparrow” and “Fields of St. Etienne” for Mary Hopkin, both produced by Paul McCartney. Together, the duo became founding members and main songwriters of hit British rock band McGuinness Flint, and later joined forces to form Gallagher and Lyle, where they released eight albums and produced British Top 10 hits like “I Wanna Stay with You” and “Heart on My Sleeve.”
In 1981, Lyle formed his own publishing company GOODSINGLE, LTD, to write for other artists. In addition to his longtime partnership with Tina Turner, Lyle has also penned countless hits such as “Just Good Friends” by Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, “Hold Me (Just a Little Longer Tonight)” by Etta James, “You’re the Star” by Rod Stewart and “When You Love Somebody (I’m Saving My Love for You)” by Patti LaBelle, and has collaborated with other high profile artists across all genres, including Ray Charles, Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers and Ringo Starr, to name a few.
As a BMI Icon, he joins an elite group of previous recipients including Sting, Gary Kemp, Graham Gouldman, Sir Tim Rice, The Bee Gees, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ray Davies, John Fogerty, David Foster, Peter Gabriel, the Jacksons, Carole King, Kris Kristofferson, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Queen, Nile Rodgers, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Van Morrison and Brian Wilson, among others.
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