MELISSA ETHERIDGE, KELLY CLARKSON, ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS FETED BY ASCAP

Melissa Etheridge was honored with the ASCAP Founders Award at the ASCAP Awards, heled on Wednesday night, April 18, in Los Angeles. Johnta Austin and Jermaine Dupri were the big winners of the night, and Kelly Clarkson was in the group consisting of the next best, collecting three awards. All-American Rejects were honored with the Vanguard Award, which celebrates “the impact of musical genres that help shape the future of American music.”

Melissa Etheridge said backstage she wanted to influence people with her music much like she was influenced by artists before her, and we asked her on the carpet about her legacy.

(Podium sound) “I had a thought as I would listen to the artists that moved me. I listened to Bob Dylan and Jodi Mitchell, and Bruce Springsteen, and on and on, and Simon and Garfunkel, and Paul Simon. I knew back then that I wanted to write the songs, I didn’t just want to sing the songs. I wanted to leave something behind. I wanted to leave the words and the songs. I wanted to write songs that would touch people in their homes, at their radios. (Backstage) “It’s funny to say…to be honored like this because this is the sort of thing that you think, ‘Oh it’s the end of the career,’ and I do feel like I’m halway there maybe, but I’m OK stopping and looking at that first half of my career. I think it’s sort of a body of work, ‘I’m The Only One” and “Bring Me Some Water” the songs of pain and suffering so that’s behind me now. So I can look at it. I’m very honored. Songwriting is very important to me, so I’m very honored.”

Jackson Browne said that Etheridge is in a long line of artists continuing a legacy of meaningful music.

“There’s so many. If I start… As soon as you mention legacy you have to go back a ways. I think that people writing songs that are gonna remain meaningful as years gone by are Patti Griffin, Steve Earle, Ben Harper… You know Mavis Staples just wrote some songs on a record. I don’t know what album it is for her, but the album that Ry Cooder just produced, doing songs from the Civil War era and some songs that she wrote. Some really great songs. It’s interesting to see a Gospel singer like Mavis Staples who’s done Gospel, R&B to become a singer/songwriter. It thrills me.”

In her acceptance speech for her award for “Because Of You” Kelly Clarkson thanked her writing team, which included Ben Moody formerly of Evanescence.

“I just wanted to thank everybody that believed in my writing. It took a while to get this song album — if you only knew how long. It took a while to get the song on the record. So, I just wanted to say thank you to — I know they’re not here but — Ben Moody and David Hodges who helped me get the song on the records, and my lawyer David is in the audience, and my manager, actually I have three of them here, I have Jeff, Pete and Gin. I just want to thank you so much for recognizing these writers as well as the singer. Thank you.”

The ASCAP Pop Music Awards is an honor bestowed by the songwriting organization to celebrate the voice of the music creator. Other multiple winners included Green Day, Timbaland, Beyonce, Danger Mouse, The Fray, Sean Garrett, Sean Paul, and Rob Thomas among others.