ASCAP
Mary Jo Mennella is the president and founder of Music Asset Management, Inc. She studied trumpet in college and landed her first job in the industry working at ASCAP in New York, then Los Angeles. While with ASCAP, she worked on a number of projects including the first Pop Music Awards. Mary Jo...
Desmond Child is the songwriter behind such hit collaborations as "Livin' On a Prayer" with Bon Jovi, "Dude Looks Like a Lady" with Aerosmith, and "Livin’ La Vida Loca" for Ricky Martin. Desmond started as a recording artist with his band Desmond Child & Rouge on Capitol Records in the late...
Alan Bergman and his wife Marilyn are among the most celebrated songwriting team of their time (and anyone else’s). They began writing together in the early 1950s and wrote the lyrics for such hits as “Nice ‘n’ Easy” for Frank Sinatra, “Yellow Bird” which has been recorded by hundreds of artists...
Marilyn Bergman grew up very close to her future husband in Brooklyn, New York. This may provide some insight into their magical partnership both as a couple and as one of the most celebrated songwriting teams of all time. Together they wrote lyrics to classic songs that have won Emmys, Grammys...
Paul Williams is the actor turned songwriter who penned several of the most popular songs since the late 1960s. His hits include "Rainy Days and Mondays", "We've Only Just Begun" and the classic for the Muppets, "Rainbow Connection." Paul has also been active within ASCAP, serving as the...
Mary Ellin Barrett was the oldest of Irving Berlin’s three daughters and the author of the 1994 book, Irving Berlin: A Daughters Memoir. During her NAMM interview she and her sister Linda Emmet spoke of their father’s business side including his publishing and role as a founder of ASCAP. Mrs....
Linda Emmet enjoyed talking about the often over-looked business side of her father’s remarkable career in music publishing. Her father was Irving Berlin! Mrs. Emmett and her older sister, Mrs. Mary Ellin Barrett, gathered together for their NAMM Oral History program at the Irving Berlin Publishing...
Hal David followed in the footsteps of his older brother Mack, who penned several popular songs in the 1930s and 40s. Hal worked hard to learn the craft and spent many years in and around the Brill Building in New York, which was the hub of music publishing in America at the time. After a number of...
Donald Waxman is a noted composer who served as editor at Galaxy Music Publishing Corp., as well as several positions on the ASCAP and MPA Boards over the years. He is best known for his contributions to piano pedagogy and educational method books for first time piano students. He was the...
Hugh Martin was a great American songwriter who teamed with Ralph Blane at the end of the golden age of Tin Pan Alley to give us such classics as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Trolley Song” and “The Girl Next Door.” As a tunesmith, Hugh worked on Broadway, for the movies, and as...