ASCAP Pop Music Awards honor Ann and Nancy Wilson and other great teams

[Mike]

Why aren't Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? That question buzzed around my table as rock's champions of powerful sisterhood prepared to accept the Founders Award at Wednesday night's ASCAP Pop Music Awards. The ceremony, which honors the most performed songs in the performance rights organization's repertory -- this year, Ryan Tedder and Jesse McCartney's "Bleeding Love," as sung by Leona Lewis, took top honors -- united many notables around banquet tables at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, all of whom hooted and huzzahed when Ann busted out her trademark, good-as-Robert-Plant runs during an acoustic version of Heart's "Magic Man."

This wasn't really the place to ponder the still remarkably slight presence of women in hard rock, which is a major reason for the relative lack of recognition the Wilson sisters have received. It's no insult to Hall of Fame inductees Bob Seger or even the great Queen to note that Heart had as many hits as those artists did, and remain as influential. And it's not irrelevant to wonder if America's discomfort with women growing older also factors -- yes, Nancy Wilson has spent time tending to her family with Cameron Crowe, and yes, Ann (who has two children herself) has matured into a plus-sized sexy mama, but these adult realities hardly diminish the duo's power onstage, as proven by the mini-set they performed with current Heart guitarist Craig Bartock.

So, kudos to ASCAP for recognizing some of my hometown's finest. (Having Alice in Chains guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell introduce them was a sweet touch.) Heart's big moment topped an evening in which the songwriter's collaborative art was highlighted in many different ways.

The genre-defying Santigold, looking stylishly tropical in a floral dress, accepted the Vanguard Award for helping "shape the future of American music" and thanked all who'd helped her chart the sounds she'd first heard only in her head. At 17, she said, she wrote in her journal, "I don't think the kind of music I want to make exists yet... but I think the time has come." The hipsters in the room nodded approval.

One team whose time is indisputably now is Stargate, the bromantic Norwegian pair whose many hits earned them the title of ASCAP Songwriters of the Year. Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen looked like super-stylish James Bond villains (or maybe "Blade Runner" replicants) in their well-cut yet casual suits, but their emotional speeches made them seem almost warm and fuzzy. Declaring each other best friends as well as lucrative business partners, both profusely thanked their wives; Eriksen even declared his spouse the best A&R scout ever. "If she doesn't think a song's a hit, it's probably wack!" he exclaimed. Ah, the power behind the throne.

McCartney and Tedder might look to Stargate for inspiration about sustaining that team spirit; at any rate, the pair seemed pumped to win that award for song of the year. (I actually hadn't realized that McCartney had a credit on that song.) Both performed; McCartney with a "broken-down, campfire version" of his band, and Tedder with his band OneRepublic. "Raise your hand if you've been destitute in Los Angeles," Tedder said to the top pop earners at his feet, reminiscing about the time, now past, when he'd regularly write bad checks to his neighborhood Ralphs.

Wyclef Jean, taking home the Creative Voice award for his humanitarian efforts, also reminisced about his humble beginnings -- a childhood in Haiti and inner-city New York and New Jersey definitely beats Tedder's purloined vegetables for drama. Jean's speech was funny and friendly; he professed huge admiration for Quincy Jones, who'd won his own award earlier; shouted out to his lawyer brother; declared "mad love for Pasadena," because it was the site of his only out-of-state trip in high school, for a jazz competition; and nabbed the crown for Best Line of the Night:

"I never did music because I wanted to be popular. I did it because I wanted to sleep with as many women as I can. That's a joke. Maybe a joke!"

Then Jean led a brief jam that had him playing guitar with his teeth and rocking through "Gone 'Til November" before exhorting the audience to wave every napkin in celebration of his eternal Carnival -- and of his friend Barack Obama, whom he'd enthusiastically supported during last year's election. This was the liveliest few minutes in a night that also featured fine turns by the sparkly Natasha Bedingfield and the classy Kara DioGuardi (who performed the absent Colbie Caillat's "Realize" with its writers, Mikal Blue and Jason Reeves) -- and a great reminder that pop's most vibrant musicians collaborate not only with their partners, but also with so many vibrant sounds, scenes and subcultures from around the world.

Copyright © 2009 Los Angeles Times