Mike Stoller, Ben E. King and Jerry Leiber to be Honored With Towering Song Award for 'Stand By Me'

Grammy Award-winning songwriter Mike Stoller will be honored during his upcoming visit to New York City in June 2012.  Stoller, who will be accompanied by his wife Corky Hall Stoller, will attend numerous events during his visit to the Big Apple.

On Tuesday, June 12, 2012 the Stollers will attend the Edith Piaf and Miles Davis Forever Stamp Dedication Ceremonies overseen by United States Postal Service Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman.  The dedication ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. EDT at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, New York, NY  10011.  Grammy Award-winning composer Mike Stoller will speak about the French music legend Edith Piaf and her biggest selling single record, “L’Homme à la Moto” (“Black Denim Trousers and Motor-cycle Boots”), which he co-wrote as a member of the songwriting team of Leiber & Stoller.  Bulgarian/Italian actress and singer Maria Elena Infantino will perform a scene from a one-woman show titled “Edith Piaf,” about Piaf’s life journey, accompanied by concert pianist Tania Stavreva. Carolyn Burke, who wrote the book, No Regrets, The Life of Edith Piaf, will be an honored guest.  Family members, artists, musicians and friends of jazz legend MiLes Davis will also attend and speak at the historic stamp dedication ceremony on June 12th.  The ceremony is open and free to the public though seating is limited.  To learn more, please visit http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22336/html/info_013.htm.

On Wednesday, June 13th Mike Stoller will appear as a Songwriting Panelist at the Association of Independent Music Publisher’s (AIMP’s) June Luncheon, “Music From The Masters,” to be held at from 12-Noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Princeton Club of New York, 15 West 43rd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), New York, NY  10036.

Three pre-eminent award-winning songwriters explain how they did it and what was important to them in their careers.  On the eve of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Dinner, don’t miss this chance to hear first-hand from these greats about the art and craft of writing hit songs.  This event is a pre-paid event and reservations cannot be held after June 10th unless payment has been received.  Panelists will include:  Desmond Child, Josh Kear and Mike Stoller.  The panel will be moderated by Bill Werde, Editorial Director forBillboard.  The cost is $65.00 per person for AIMP Members and $90.00 per person for AIMP Non-Members.  For further information, please visit online at www.aimp.org and click on AIMP Events.

On Thursday, June 14th Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber (Stoller’s late songwriting partner) and Ben E. King will be honored with the Towering Song Award for “Stand By Me” at 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) Gala Event and Ben E. King will receive the Towering Performance Award for his performance of the Leiber & Stoller Produced Recording of “Stand By Me.”  The Towering Song Award is presented to the creators of an individual song that has influenced our culture in a unique way over many years.  Previous Towering Songs have included “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”  The Towering Performance Award is given in recognition of one-of-a-kind performances by one-of-a-kind singers. Often called “songwriter’s singers,” they have recorded outstanding and unforgettable interpretations of many pop songs that have subsequently become standards.  Past recipients include Tony Bennett for “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and Andy Williams for “Moon River.”

Other SHOF inductees to be feted on June 14th at the 43rd Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner include: Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Seger, Don Schlitz, Harvey Schmidt & Tom Jones and Jim Steinman. Lance Freed will receive the Abe Olman Publisher Award and Bette Midler will be honored with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame event begin at $1,000 each, and are available by calling Buckley Hall Events at 212-573-6933. Net proceeds from the event will benefit the Songwriters Hall of Fame programs. To learn more about the SHOF, visit the website, www.songwritershalloffame.org.
 
To learn more about Leiber & Stoller, please visit the website www.leiberstoller.com.

Photo: Leiber and Stoller with Elvis Presley

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