New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On Wednesday, May 16, The ASCAP Foundation and The Library of Congress will jointly present the 10th annual "We Write the Songs" event at the historic Coolidge Auditorium in The Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The evening celebrates the gift by The ASCAP Foundation to the Library of Congress of the original manuscripts, lead sheets, lyrics sheets, photos and letters of some of America's greatest creators of words and music.
The evening is hosted by Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden and ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams, and will include performances by several of ASCAP's leading songwriter and composer members. Performers at the event will include: Johntá Austin (Mariah Carey, "We Belong Together," Mary J. Blige, "
Be Without You"),
Brandy Clark (Miranda Lambert, "
Mama's Broken Heart"), Mike Love (The Beach Boys' "
Good Vibrations"),
Michael McDonald ("Takin' It to The Streets"),
Jason Mraz ("
I'm Yours") and
Suzanne Vega ("
Tom's Diner").
Celebrating its tenth year, "We Write the Songs" has become a Washington tradition and an exclusive invitation-only event for legislative and cultural dignitaries where dozens of Members of Congress crowd Coolidge Auditorium for an evening of classic songs and stories.
The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress was established to preserve the history and create a repository for video and audio materials, photos, scores, documents and artifacts. Each is relevant to the rich history of ASCAP and its members as contributors to American culture. Some archival materials record the day-to-day workings of ASCAP; others provide insights into the life and music of individual ASCAP members. The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress gives historians, students and the public access to this valuable trove of musical history.
"We Write the Songs" takes place the evening before ASCAP's "Stand with Songwriters" Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, May 17, many of the "We Write the Songs" music creators will meet with Senators to discuss the challenges facing songwriters in the digital music age and urge them to cosponsor the
Music Modernization Act- bipartisan music reform legislation that was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives and was recently reintroduced in the Senate.
