Peter Gabriel Named as BMI Icon, Joining Paul Simon, Ray Davies

Peter Gabriel is to be honored as an Icon by Broadcast Music Inc., the U.S. performing rights organization announced today. The U.K. singer-songwriter, 57, who founded the rock band Genesis in 1967 and left for a solo career in 1975, will receive the award on Oct. 16 in London, BMI said in an e-mailed release. "Gabriel's achievements, whether musical, visual or humanitarian, are the work of a true visionary,'' BMI said.

Singer Peter Gabriel poses in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News.

The BMI Icon award is given to songwriters who have had "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.'' Previous winners include Ray Davies, Van Morrison, the Bee Gees, Isaac Hayes, Dolly Parton, James Brown and Paul Simon.

Gabriel's Grammy Award-winning solo career includes songs such as "Solsbury Hill'' and "Sledgehammer.'' He also has composed soundtracks for films, including Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988) and is the founder of the Womad (World of Music, Arts and Dance) movement.

BMI, a not-for-profit entity, collects and distributes to its member songwriters, composers and music publishers money for public performance of music in the U.S., including on the radio, TV and Internet.

By Mark Beech (Bloomberg)