Steven Tyler Joins Annual Grammy Foundation Starry Night Benefit To Honor Sir George Martin

Steven Tyler Joins Music Luminaries To Honor Sir George Martin at Annual Grammy Foundation Starry Night Benefit

The GRAMMY Foundation's annual signature gala Starry Night — presented by Gibson Foundation — will honor legendary producer, arranger, composer and author Sir George Martin. This intimate dinner and concert will benefit the GRAMMY Foundation, which provides programs that foster future generations of music professionals and helps preserve our nation's musical heritage. Organized under the banner of GRAMMY in the Schools®, the Foundation's education programs for young people include GRAMMY Camp, the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles, GRAMMY Career Day, GRAMMY Signature Schools and GRAMMY SoundChecks.

Honoree: Recording Academy Trustees Award recipient, six-time GRAMMY® winner, producer, arranger, composer and author Sir George Martin. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1996, Martin is listed in the Guinness World Records as the most successful producer ever, with more than 50 No. 1 hit records over five decades in the United States and Great Britain alone. The recordings he has produced have collectively sold more than 1 billion units worldwide. His award-winning work across every conceivable recording genre and style is unmatched. It includes classical, comedy, jazz, pop, country, R&B, rock and roll, film scores, television scores and more, producing the longest run of No. 1 hits songs in history — more than 36 years. As mentor and creative collaborator, Martin helped steward and bring to the world the Beatles — one of the most original, successful, and influential music phenomenons in popular music history. Best known as the Beatles' producer, he signed them and subsequently produced and arranged nearly all the Beatles' records, even playing on many of the most memorable John Lennon/Paul McCartney songs. Martin is currently in pre-production with PBS and Wildheart Entertainment on the eight-part primetime showcase series, On Record: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, a program that traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture that will air on PBS in fall 2010. GRAMMY Foundation® President and The Recording Academy® President/CEO Neil Portnow will present the award to Martin at Starry Night.

The star-studded event will feature performances by some of the most celebrated artists in the world and multi-GRAMMY Award-winning producer and former GRAMMY Foundation Board member David Foster will serve as the evening's musical director. An outstanding array of musical luminaries will perform including acclaimed pianist and singer/songwriter A Fine Frenzy aka Alison Sudol, GRAMMY-winning group America, multi-GRAMMY-winning artist Burt Bacharach, multi-GRAMMY-winning  musician Jeff Beck, two-time GRAMMY nominee Chris Botti, multi-GRAMMY nominee Kurt Elling, multi-GRAMMY-winning arranger/composer Dave Grusin, GRAMMY-winning artist Sir Tom Jones, pianist William Joseph, multi-GRAMMY-winning artist Michael McDonald, vocalist/actress Renee Olstead, singer/songwriter Naomi Sommers, multi-GRAMMY-winning artist Steven Tyler and multi-GRAMMY-winning artist Jimmy Webb. In addition, members of the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles will perform. The high school students selected from across the United States attending the fourth annual GRAMMY Camp® — held this year from July 12–26 at USC — will also be in attendance. Other special guests and performers will be announced shortly.

The distinguished group of dinner chairs for this event include Olivia Harrison, Sir Paul McCartney,Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr.

On July 11, also at USC, there will be a special multimedia presentation by Martin on "The Making Of Sgt. Pepper" sponsored in part by Best Buy. Tickets for this event are $50 per person for Recording Academy members and $100 for non-members.

Starry Night tickets range from sponsor tables at four levels with varying benefits — Celestial ($25,000), Constellation ($17,500), Polaris ($12,500) and Twlight ($7,500) — to individual tickets priced at $2,500, $1,750, $1,250 and $750. For tickets and information, contact Dana Tomarken at 310.392.3777, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

WHERE:
University of Southern California
McCarthy Quad
Los Angeles, CA  90089
(**Media parking in Gate 3, lot X; enter off of Figueroa Street.
No charge for parking with proper media identification.**)

WHEN:
Saturday, July 12, 2008
5:15 p.m. Media check-in
6 p.m. VIP arrivals begin
7:30 p.m. Dinner
9 p.m. Award presentation and concert