LeAnn Rimes to Receive ASCAP Golden Note Award

LeAnn Rimes will receive the ASCAP Golden Note Award in a special ASCAP Experience on Oct. 12. The award presentation by Paul Williams, ASCAP chairman of the board and president, will segue into an exclusive conversation steered by Chris Willman, senior music writer and chief music critic for Variety.

Rimes will talk with Willman about her life in music so far and how her artistry and her humanitarian work intertwine. The session, dubbed “The Story So Far: Celebrating 25+ Years of LeAnn Rimes,” will broadcast @ASCAP on YouTube on Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. ET/ 12 p.m. PT.

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The event will include congratulatory video tributes from Reba McEntire, Rob Thomas, Diane Warren, Mickey Guyton, David Gray, Aloe Blacc and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir.

“From the moment we first heard her immortal recording of ‘Blue’ – back when she was just 13 years old – we knew that LeAnn was a voice for the ages,” Williams said in a statement. “In the 25 years since, we have watched her navigate her evolving career with grace, artistry and humanity. Her passion, clarity and emotion have won her fans around the world and truly set her apart as a songwriter.”

Previous recipients of the ASCAP Golden Note Award include Tom Petty, Blondie, Garth Brooks, Lee Ann Womack, Alicia Keys, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Duran Duran, Jeff Lynne, Lionel Richie, Alan Jackson, Greg Kurstin and J.D. Souther.

In February 1997, at age 14, Rimes won two Grammys – best new artist and best female country vocal performance for “Blue.” She is, to this day, the youngest individual Grammy winner in a lead role. Ten months later, she was named artist of the year at the Billboard Music Awards. She has won 12 BBMA Awards in all.

Rimes has also won two Country Music Association Awards, three Academy of Country Music Awards, one Dove Award and two World Music Awards.

Rimes has also received recognition for her humanitarian work. She was honored with the Ally of Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign for more than 20 years of support of equal rights, the 2019 HOPE Award for Depression Advocacy, and the 2009 ACM Humanitarian Award.Oc.t

Rimes had two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 in 1997 – Unchained Melody: The Early Years and You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs. She has had five No. 1 albums on Top Country Albums – those two albums plus Blue (1996), LeAnn Rimes (1999) and I Need You (2001).

Rimes’ biggest hit on the Hot 100 is “How Do I Live,” which reached No. 2 in 1997. Her biggest hit on Hot Country Songs is “One Way Ticket (Because I Can),” which hit No. 1 in 1996.

In the years since her breakout success, Rimes has ventured into pop, dance, Christian, “world Americana” and even chant music, and selling a reported 48 million albums worldwide. Her latest album, god’s work, was released Sept. 16 on EverLe Records.

Rimes continues to channel her voice in new ways, releasing CHANT: The Human & The Holy (EverLe Records / Thirty Tigers) in 2020, as well as her iHeartRadio mental health and wholeness podcast, Wholly Human, that brings her lifestyle blog, Soul of EverLe, to life.

ASCAP Experience sessions in 2022 have included discussions with such music creators as R&B star Ashanti, Latin superstar Camilo, Oscar-nominated Encanto composer Germaine Franco, K-Pop stars Amber Liu and Justin Park, and pop hitmakers Tommy Brown and Poo Bear.

For more information and to see the full schedule and watch sessions on demand, go to ASCAPexperience.com/schedule.

Paul Grein

Billboard