The ASCAP Foundation honored superstar singer-songwriter-recording
artist John Mellencamp with its Champion Award during the twelfth annual Awards
Reception, held Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at The Allen Room, Frederick P.
Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The
prestigious award was presented to Mellencamp in recognition of his outstanding
use of music in the service of humanity. The invitation-only event also
honored a wide variety of Scholarship and Award recipients, all of whom benefit
from The ASCAP Foundation's programs.
John Mellencamp has a long and distinguished record as a social activist and
humanitarian. Together with
Willie Nelson and Neil Young, he organized the
first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family
farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. Farm Aid stages America's
longest running annual concert event that unites farmers, artists, consumers,
and concerned citizens to build a powerful movement for good food from family
farms. Farm Aid has raised more than $30 million to promote a strong and
resilient family farm system of agriculture.
In addition, Mellencamp has long worked for peace and social justice through
his songs and personal appearances, including his participation in the 2004
multi-artist "Vote for Change" Tour. Social awareness has been
a hallmark of Mellencamp song lyrics since the 1985 album, Scarecrow, which featured
the hits "Small
Town" and "Rain
on the Scarecrow." More recently, Mellencamp's 2007 release,
Freedom's Road, included the songs, "Jim Crow," "Ghost Towns
Along the Highway" and "Our Country." This past April, Mellencamp
poignantly demonstrated his support for the men and women in uniform (in spite
of his opposition to the war) by performing a concert for 200 wounded veterans
and their families at Washington's Walter Reed
Hospital. In
October 2007, Mellencamp released the topical song, "Jena,"
in response to the racially charged situation in that Louisiana town. Mellencamp was recognized
with the Woody Guthrie Award in 2003 by the Huntington's Disease Society of America.
Most recently, Mellencamp was nominated for a 2008 Grammy for Best Solo
Rock Vocal Performance for "Our Country."
Following the presentation, Mellencamp performed a new song from his forthcoming
album, as well as "Minutes To Memories" and "Small Town"
from 1985's Scarecrow.
Another of the evening's major awards is the Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award,
which recognizes emerging musical theatre talent. This year the award was
presented to
Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer/lyricist of Off Broadway's
In The Heights – a new musical about
three days in the life of Washington Heights, a vibrant and tight knit community at the
top of the island
of Manhattan. The
show is set to open at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in 2008.
Olga Merediz and the show's cast members were on hand to honor Lin-Manuel
with a performance from the musical.
Other performance highlights featured some of the evening's Scholarship and Award
honorees including Grace Kelly, Mi Kyung Kim and Tamara Kim, MacKenzie Melemed,
Hadar Noiberg, and Paul Sikes.
A complete list of the 2007 ASCAP Foundation Scholarship and Award honorees is
available at
http://www.ascap.com/press/2007/121307_foundationawards.aspx.
