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“BMI Michael Jackson Award”

Date confirmed on event program (Image 004) (“May 8, 1990”)

BMI inaugurated "The BMI Michael Jackson Award", with Jackson as its first recipient, at a gala luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel May 8. According to BMI president and CFO Frances Preston, who made the presentation, the award honors a songwriter or composer whose work encompasses important contributions to a wide spectrum of creative disciplines, including, in addition to significant work as a musical composer, artistic success in recording, live performances, film, video, dance, and fashion.

In presenting the award to Jackson, Preston noted: "There is a creative innovator today who represents a contemporary fusion of the American musical styles BMI has brought into the mainstream over the past half-century--including r&b, jazz, and country--an innovator who has taken these musical influences to a new plateau, a composer whose work goes beyond music itself to encompass contributions to the art of dance, fashion, and contemporary style on a global basis, an artist who had an enormous cultural impact... on today's youth around the world.

"The award also recognizes a rare and significant added dimension in Michael: his work as a benefactor and humanitarian", said Preston. "No other contemporary composer has given more freely of his time, talent, and treasure in support of education, health, and the campaign for a drug-free society."

In accepting the award, Jackson said: "It is a pleasure to be associated with such a fine organization and I only hope to be celebrating BMI's widespread accomplishments five decades from now." The event was attended by celebrities and executives from all walks of the entertainment industry, and is one of the highlights of BMI's celebration of its 50th Anniversary.

LA Times

Whenever Michael Jackson is honored, it's news. Heck, whenever he leaves the house, it's news. And the promise of seeing the entertainer collect yet another award was enough to get almost every photographer and camera crew in Hollywood to the Regent Beverly Wilshire Tuesday afternoon, when Jackson was honored at a lunch thrown by the music publishing organization BMI.

The new BMI Michael Jackson Award, based on his humanitarian as well as show business efforts, was presented by BMI president/CEO Frances Preston at a pre-lunch press conference.

The soft-spoken, sunglasses-wearing Jackson commented: "Thank you very much Frances," before being escorted from the stage.

(The normally bold press corps was respectfully quiet during his exit. Apparently you can scream questions at the President, but not at Michael Jackson.)

Then it was downstairs for lunch and conversation with guests like Elton John, who sympathized with Jackson: "A lot of rubbish has been written about him, as it has about all of us. Including me."

Also there: the star's parents, Joe and Katherine, and brother Jackie, as well as Brian Wilson, Gladys Knight, Petula Clark, Milton Berle, MC Hammer, Vanessa Williams, Melissa Manchester, Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, Berry Gordy, Juliet Mills and Maxwell Caulfield, Stephen Bishop, Jelly Bean Benitez, Allee Willis and Barbara Orbison. The inimitable Little Richard made one of his not-so-little entrances midway through the program. And Michael, apparently more at ease, removed his sunglasses during the meal.

Lunch was basically an extended photo opportunity interrupted by salmon and Caesar salad, but it all became worthwhile over coffee, when BMI showed a compilation tape of the star's career, put together by Jackson himself.

The 10-minute documentary chronicled his life from the Jackson 5 through his zillion-selling solo albums, with lots of shots of hyperventilating teen-age girls and congratulations from Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn.

And who might be the second recipient of the Michael Jackson Award?

"Oh, I haven't even begun to think about that," said BMI president Preston.

Well, here's an idea. How about sister Janet?

Ken Ehrlich, Grammy Awards Executive Producer

"BMI in 1990 had a special Michael Jackson award event, celebrating him for his outstanding accomplishments. It was held after "Bad" came out. He was at his peak. I remember he wanted to take individual portraits with everyone on our executive staff. He was dressed in his full regalia, the Michael Military, He was very cordial and sweet. We had the biggest stars there like Elton John and Milton Berle, whom Michael loved. He was thrilled to meet Little Richard, and he was thrilled that Holland-Dozier-Holland were there. We walked him around, he was just charming and very gracious."

L.A. Reid, music producer, “Billboard” (May 5, 2014) (archived)

Reid remembers his first meeting with Jackson, at a BMI event in Los Angeles. "I took a picture with him," he says. "I had a whole head of hair full of really wet jerry curl, juice running all down my neck." It wasn't so long after that Jackson flew Reid and Edmonds to Neverland to talk about working together. They arrived by helicopter, signed a non-disclosure ("because that's how it was when you visited Michael") and waited in a library for Jackson.

"We're there for maybe five minutes but I'm thinking it felt more like 20 — anticipation, nervousness, keeping my eye on the door, waiting for Michael to come in, Michael's coming. He never comes through that door. He comes from a secret door — the books move and in walks Michael." The three started talking about music, about what they loved right then. Jackson mentioned "The Knowledge," a song on his sister Janet's album Rhythm Nation 1814, produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Reid began to get worried. "Every song he named was written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. So I'm looking at Kenny like, 'I think Michael has the wrong guys. I think he wanted Jimmy Jam and Terry.' "

But soon enough Jackson was naming songs from Edmonds' Tender Lover, then dominating the R&B and pop charts. The day ended with a screening in Jackson's movie theater ("there was an attendant there in full uniform with a little cap, like we were in the 1940s"), where they watched a 1983 video of Jackson and Prince onstage with James Brown, followed by a screening of Prince's 1986 movie, Under the Cherry Moon.

When they began to work together, Jackson picked out a demo, just drums and bass, and said, "That's the one. Finish it." But the track, "Slave to the Rhythm," wasn't really finished until "Xscape."