Toby Keith Wins 4 Awards;
Alan Jackson and Martina McBride Win 2 Each;
Willie Nelson Honored With Gene Weed Special Achievement Award;
Ray Price Given the Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award;
Martina McBride Wins Academy of Country Music/Home Depot Humanitarian Award
LAS VEGAS, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Winners have been announced for the 39TH
ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS. Honorees received their awards during
a star-studded ceremony broadcast LIVE on the CBS Television Network from the
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Reba McEntire, the Academy's
"Leading Lady," served as the event's host for a record seventh time.
This evening Toby Keith won 4 awards, Alan Jackson and Martina McBride won
2 each, Willie Nelson was honored with the Gene Weed Special Achievement
Award, Ray Price received the Pioneer Award and Martina McBride won the
Academy of Country Music / Home Depot Humanitarian Award.
For his unprecedented and genre-defying contributions to popular music
over his nearly 50-year career, Willie Nelson was presented with the Gene Weed
Special Achievement Award by country music superstars Toby Keith and Kenny
Chesney. The award, which acknowledges unprecedented, unique and outstanding
individual achievement in country music, has only been presented four times in
the Academy's 39-year history. Previous winners include George Strait (2002)
and Garth Brooks (1997).
Legendary crooner and Country Music Hall of Fame member Ray Price was
awarded the Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award this evening. The award,
also known as "The Cliffie" (in honor of Cliffie Stone) is presented to an
outstanding pioneer of country music.
Martina McBride won the Academy of Country Music / Home Depot Humanitarian
Award. Known as the first "Fan-Voted" award in the Academy's history, this
honor salutes an artist or group in the country music industry who is
committed to serving others, has a generosity of spirit and a dedication to
helping build the dreams of those in need. As the award's winner, McBride
will have a community playground built in a city of her choice through the
efforts of The Home Depot and KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization that brings
together volunteers to build much-needed playgrounds in one-day "barn raising"
construction events.
This year's telecast also marked the renaming of the ACM/LAUNCH Video of
the Year category (formerly known as Video of the Year). This year "Beer For
My Horses" by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson was honored, and for the very first
time Associate Members of the Academy of Country Music voted for their
favorite video through "Country Insider," a premium online fan club available
on the Web at http://www.acmcountry.com or http://acm.launch.yahoo.com.
Following is the list of winners in the 11 categories voted on by the
membership:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
TOBY KEITH
TOP MALE VOCALIST
TOBY KEITH
TOP FEMALE VOCALIST
MARTINA McBRIDE
TOP NEW ARTIST
DIERKS BENTLEY
TOP VOCAL GROUP
RASCAL FLATTS
TOP VOCAL DUO
BROOKS & DUNN
SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR (Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record
Company)
IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE/Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett/Keith
Stegall/Arista Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR (Award to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)
THREE WOODEN CROSSES/Douglas Johnson, Kim Williams/Mike Curb Music BMI,
Sweet Radical Music BMI/Randy Travis
ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Award to Producer(s)/Artist(s)/Record Company)
SHOCK 'N Y'ALL/James Stroud, Toby Keith/Toby Keith/DreamWorks
VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR (Award to Artists/Producer(s)/Record Company)
IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE/Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett/Keith
Stegall/Arista Nashville
ACM/LAUNCH VIDEO OF THE YEAR (Award to Producer(s)/Director(s)/
Artist(s))
BEER FOR MY HORSES/Mark Kalbfeld/Michael Salomon/Toby Keith, Willie
Nelson
FAST FACTS ON THIS YEAR'S AWARDS:
* Toby Keith won four awards this evening: Entertainer of the Year, Top
Male Vocalist, Album of the Year and the ACM/LAUNCH Video of the Year.
This marked his second consecutive win for Entertainer of the Year.
* Martina McBride's win for Top Female Vocalist was her third in as many
years.
* This evening Brooks & Dunn won the award for Top Vocal Duo; it is
their fourth consecutive win in that category.
* Willie Nelson had previously won 6 ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS
throughout his career, and added two this evening: the Gene Weed
Special Achievement Award and the ACM/LAUNCH Video of the Year Award -
his first ever win in that category.
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 with a mission to
support, promote, and enhance the advancement of the country music industry
worldwide. The Academy is best known for presenting its annual ACADEMY OF
COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, which are televised live on CBS and honor excellence
among the industry's brightest stars. The Academy, which is comprised of
3,000+ professional members and a newly established Associate Membership, is
headquartered in Burbank, CA. For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY
MUSIC AWARDS and the Academy of Country Music, please visit
http://www.acmcountry.com.
ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS is produced for television by dick clark
productions. The show is executive produced by Dick Clark and R.A.Clark,
produced by Barry Adelman and directed by Jeff Margolis. The executive in
charge of production is Bob Bardo, and the executive in charge is Fran
LaMaina. Southwest Airlines is the official airline of the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY
MUSIC AWARDS.
The ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS were broadcast LIVE on CBS Wednesday,
May 26th, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
SOURCE Academy of Country Music
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Related links:
http://acm.launch.yahoo.com
http://www.acmcountry.com
CONTACT:
Brooke Primero, or Tom McAlister, both of
Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, +1-310-274-7800, for Academy of Country
Music
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