BMI Music Awards: Dwight Yoakam Honored

Dwight Yoakam (Photo by The Tennessean)

Eric Church said Dwight Yoakam changed the way he listened to music.

“His attitude was very Bakersfield, and the sound was like nothing I’d heard,” Church said in a video tribute as Yoakam was honored Tuesday with the BMI Presidents Award at the 67th Annual BMI Country Awards.

Artists and friends paid tribute to Yoakam, who has sold more than 25 million albums, during the ceremony held at BMI’s offices on Music Row. Previous recipients of the award include Kenny Chesney, Pink, Harlan Howard, Brooks & Dunn, Adam Levine and others who have profoundly influenced the music industry.

“I wrote primarily because I needed things to sing,” Yoakam said. “Every placard that I’ve received from BMI over the years is something I cherish. The awards are up in my office to remind me of how fortunate I’ve been to make a living doing something I’ve would have done for free.”

The night’s other top honorees were Nicolle Galyon, who was named Songwriter of the Year for the first time along with Ross Copperman, who accepted the award for the third time. Galyon is the first woman to win the award since Taylor Swift took the prize in 2010. Dan + Shay’s “Tequila,” which was co-written by Galyon, was named 2019 BMI Country Song of the Year.

Galyon co-wrote four songs honored at the BMI Music Awards: Lee Brice’s “Boy”; Keith Urban’s “Coming Home”; Lady Antebellum’s “Heartbreak”; and Dan + Shay’s “Tequila.”

Copperman is responsible for Kenny Chesney’s “Get Along,” Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It,” Justin Moore’s “Kinda Don’t Care” and Dierks Bentley’s “Woman, Amen.”