Songwriter Jeffrey Steele to be Honored as BMI Icon

Country music songwriter Jeffrey Steele is set to be honored by BMI with the BMI Icon award during the performing rights organization’s upcoming 74th annual BMI Country Awards on Nov. 17 at BMI’s Nashville office.

Steele, a two-time BMI country songwriter of the year winner, will be honored for a career that has made considerable contributions to country music. The invitation-only event will be hosted by BMI’s CEO, Mike O’Neill, executive vp, chief revenue & creative officer, Mike Steinberg and BMI’s Nashville vp of creative, Clay Bradley.

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During that evening, BMI will also reveal this year’s BMI country songwriter of the year, country song of the year and country publisher of the year, in addition to celebrating the top songwriters and music publishers that have fueled the past year’s 50 most-performed songs in country music.

“Jeffrey Steele is a titan of modern storytelling whose catalog has shaped the sound of country music over the last three decades,” Bradley said in a statement. “When you hear one of his anthems that has become the soundtrack to millions of lives, you can feel the emotion behind every lyric. As a two-time BMI country songwriter of the year and an intentional mentor to the next generation of creators, Steele has earned a permanent place among the greats.”

Steele has been affiliate with BMI since 1981 and he’s earned over 34 BMI country and pop awards for writing songs including “The Cowboy in Me” (recorded by Tim McGraw), “What Hurts The Most” (Rascal Flatts), Zac Brown Band (“Knee Deep”), and Montgomery Gentry (“Something to Be Proud Of” and “My Town”). Steele was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013 and is a seven-time Grammy nominee.

Other country artists and/or songwriters who have previously been honored with the BMI Icon Award include Bill Anderson, Matraca Berg, Clint Black, Toby Keith, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Dean Dillon and more.