FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SIR GEORGE MARTIN TO BE HONORED WITH THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION® LEADERSHIP AWARD AT STARRY NIGHT GALA

July 12 Benefit Concert and Dinner in Los Angeles Will Feature An Extraordinary Range of Special Musical Guests WWW.GRAMMY.COM

(April 16, 2008; Santa Monica, CA) The GRAMMY Foundation® announced today that it will honor Sir George Martin, a GRAMMY® Trustees Award recipient, six-time GRAMMY Award winner and one of music's most successful and influential producers, at its annual signature gala Starry Night — an intimate benefit concert and dinner — on July 12, 2008, at the University of Southern California. Martin will be the recipient of the Foundation's Leadership Award, which salutes noteworthy humanitarians whose charitable work and contributions align with the mission of the Foundation. This prestigious award is being presented to Martin in recognition of a lifetime of commitment and dedication to social, cultural, economic and educational issues spanning the globe. The annual benefit raises funds for the GRAMMY Foundation, which helps preserve our nation's musical heritage and provides programs that foster future generations of music professionals. Organized under the banner GRAMMY in the Schools®, the Foundation's education programs for young people include GRAMMY Camp® — held this year from July 12–26 at USC — as well as the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles, GRAMMY Career Day, GRAMMY Signature Schools and GRAMMY SoundChecks.

"Throughout his legendary career, Sir George has had an impact on music and popular culture that is immeasurable," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy® and President of the GRAMMY Foundation. "We look forward to paying tribute to a man who has had an indelible influence on generations of music lovers around the world."

"Sir George's celebrated career has extended far beyond the recording studio," added Steve Schnur, GRAMMY Foundation Board Chair. "His is a lifetime commitment to both music and humanity, and it is only fitting that this year's Foundation Leadership Award honors one of the most iconic figures in music history."

Knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1996, producer, arranger, composer and author Martin is also listed in the Guinness World Records as the most successful producer ever, with more than 50 No. 1 hit records over five decades in America 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.

Of the hundreds of major artists with whom he has worked, a sampling includes: America, Aerosmith, Shirley Bassey, the Bee Gees, Jeff Beck, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Jim Carrey, Cheap Trick, Cher, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Celine Dion, Dire Straits, Earth Wind & Fire, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Goldie Hawn, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Cleo Laine, Paul McCartney, John McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell, Dudley Moore, Kenny Rogers, Neil Sedaka, Peter Sellers, Carly Simon, Sting, Jimmy Webb, the Who, Robin Williams, Brian Wilson, Paul Winter and Stevie Wonder.

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. In 1999, The New York Times noted, "Martin's talents shaped the Beatles’ albums and their extraordinary legacy. Sir George and the Beatles changed music and popular culture forever."

Martin is currently in pre-production with PBS and Wildheart Entertainment on the eight-part prime-time showcase series, On Record: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, a program that traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture. The Wildheart Entertainment-produced epic series will feature hundreds of artists from all genres of music, and will be hosted by Martin and narrated by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey. On Record is slated to air nationally on PBS in fall 2010.

Martin, who is dedicated to a range of philanthropic causes, helped found the Prince's Trust with Prince Charles, which is a United Kingdom charity that helps young people overcome barriers and get their lives working. He also founded the Montserrat Foundation to aid in the rebuilding of the Caribbean island decimated by a volcano and the George Martin Music Foundation to construct an educational and cultural center there.

"My lifetime involvement in the music industry has been truly rewarding and my desire to encourage others, especially young people, to pursue a career in music is equally as strong," said Martin. "It is truly an honor to be recognized with the Leadership Award from the GRAMMY Foundation, an organization that works year-round to encourage and support music education in the lives of young people."

The star-studded event will feature performances by some of the most celebrated artists in the world. Multi-GRAMMY Award-winning producer and former GRAMMY Foundation Board member David Foster will serve as the evening's musical director. To purchase tables or tickets to the event, contact Dana Tomarken at 310.392.3777 or dana@grammy.com.

The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture — from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with its founder, The Recording Academy, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. For more information, please visit www.grammyfoundation.com.

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. In its 50th year, The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.

Media Contacts:
Christina Cassidy / The GRAMMY Foundation / 310.392.3777 / christina.cassidy@grammy.com
Jaime Sarachit / The Recording Academy / 310.392.3777 / jaime.sarachit@grammy.com
Event Contact:
Dana Tomarken / The GRAMMY Foundation / 310.392.3777 / dana@grammy.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TELEVISION: How records put spin on musical history

Reprinted with permission from Current, the newspaper about public TV and radio. WWW.CURRENT.ORG

(March 24, 2008; Washington, DC) In 1900, if you wanted to hear a favorite song, you most likely bought piano sheet music. By the early 1920s, you could buy a record of Bessie Smith or tune in to the National Barn Dance radio show. Recording technology brought music to the masses. It determined what people heard, and how. ON RECORD: THE SOUNTRACK OF OUR LIVES, an eight-hour cultural history of America’s popular music hosted by Beatles producer Sir George Martin and narrated by Kevin Spacey, will revisit this technology. The series comes to PBS in 2010.

Beginning with Edison’s 1877 phonograph cylinders and ending with digital files, the series will link recording to musical and social trends, such as how records popularized country music in the 1930s, how the rise of teen culture fueled rock ’n roll, and how listening to music across the color line helped pave the way for the civil rights movement.

The series has the potential to be “one of those season-defining tent-pole series” that appeals to viewers old and young, says John Wilson, senior v.p. of programming.

PBS announced the deal last month after discussing it over several years with Wildheart Entertainment, a company founded for the project and headed up by Maxim Langstaff, who has produced music events for Martin and John Denver. Funded primarily through private equity, Wildheart has a partnership with EMI Music and will soon announce other partners—including an international broadcaster. On Record continues a popular music- in-culture strand that has included The Blues and American Roots Music, says Wilson, but On Record’s techno- logical focus sets it apart.

Recording technology was pioneered in the U.S., and Langstaff wants to bring this history to youngsters. He believes they see music as “data just to be transferred across computers, among friends, through social websites,” and they don’t have a full concept of the creativity and labor that goes into producing it. In the ’60s and ’70s, he remembers listening to new records over and over and poring over the liner notes.

ON RECORD aims to illuminate—for all ages—how albums are made and genres have developed. Langstaff hopes the people who still love Rosemary Clooney will understand more about the work of Jay-Z.

Changes in recording technology and the music marketplace have shaped the sounds distributed in each period. In the 1920s, for example, competition from live radio programs forced recording execs to scout new markets, such as the blues, and the female blues voice—think Ma Rainey—survived the limitations of 78 rpm records. Mid-century, multitracking changed what was possible in the editing booth. MTV’s visuals changed the job description of recording stars.

Power brokers in the recording business—including some “amazingly nefarious characters,” Langstaff says—molded artists and genres for commercial appeal. “We didn’t get the music we got because it was the best music, or the music everybody liked the most,” he says.

What Americans heard was indicative of the country’s diverse immigrant culture. “All the music we think of today as American was sourced from other places,” says Langstaff. Later, the Beatles—a strong presence in On Record—took this recorded music, reinvented it and brought it back to America, he says.

“They were absorbing this music that had been percolating . . . in the Appalachian Mountains or West Texas or the deep South,” he says.

ON RECORD will be more of a narrative “tapestry” than a linear chronicle, Lan- staff says, relying more on interviews with well-known musicians than talking-head experts. To tell a fast-moving, “three- dimensional” story, Wildheart will use green-screen technology to play images and footage behind interviewees as they speak.

Wilson thinks the series will attract all ages but especially baby boomers who grew up with rock. Martin, he surmises, will draw new viewers to pubTV. Producers also plan to create a radio program based on the series.

And PBS has secured rights to create educational modules, bringing the musical life of the past into today’s classrooms. That’s one reason, Langstaff says, why Wildheart wanted to work with PBS instead of HBO or the BBC. “What better way to understand your history,” he says, “than through music?”

—Katy June-Friesen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PBS GREENLIGHTS “ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES” HOSTED BY SIR GEORGE MARTIN

New Television Series from Wildheart Entertainment Launches Multi-Pronged Project to Include Companion Web Site on pbs.org, CDs, DVDs, Books and More

(February 7, 2008; Washington, DC) PBS in conjunction with Wildheart Entertainment announced today the greenlighting of a major new television series, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES, an eight-hour series that traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture. Featuring hundreds of artists from all genres of music, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is slated to air nationally as a primetime series in the Fall of 2010 on PBS; Sir George Martin, legendary producer of the Beatles, will host. Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey will narrate.

The television series and an extensive educational outreach initiative, including the companion Web site on pbs.org, will be the centerpiece of an ambitious multi-pronged project expected to include a companion CD box-set and branded CD series, 12-hour DVD/home video series, accompanying books, a multi-genre worldwide radio show and broadcasting through internet portals globally.

“ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is a project intrinsically dear to my heart and one that I have been developing with Wildheart Entertainment for over five years,” said Sir George Martin, legendary Beatles producer, recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and producer of more than 50 number-one hit records. “I am just thrilled that PBS has joined us as our primetime broadcaster. ON RECORD affords me the opportunity to work again with so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life and to tell a story that has never been told in such a comprehensive way. Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together, regardless of race, nationality, age or income. And recorded music is how we experience it and what makes it accessible.”

“I’m delighted to be a part of this remarkable, definitive series for PBS,” said Spacey. “ON RECORD illustrates how in a little more than a century recording technology has moved from wax cylinders to digital downloads. These extraordinary changes have come to define not only music, but who we are as individuals and as a society.”

ON RECORD has been in development by Wildheart executives Maxim Langstaff and Michele Langstaff with Sir George Martin for more than five years. Both have been working with Sir George for more than a decade in conjunction with the successful “Making of Sergeant Pepper” multi-media events, and both will serve as creators and executive producers of ON RECORD. Also serving as executive producer for the series is Phil Quartararo, former president of EMI Music Marketing, founding president and CEO, Virgin Records, and president of Warner Music. Emmy Award-winning Alan Benson (BBC, Walt Disney) is the series director.

“ON RECORD tells the story of how the most universal mass medium of the 20th century marked the emergence of pop culture worldwide,” said project visionary Maxim Langstaff, “how the competition between the urban middle class and the rural working class came to define popular music and in so doing, made possible the breakthrough of minority cultures into mainstream consciousness.”

ON RECORD will feature artists from all genres of music including pop, jazz, classical, R&B, folk, rock and country. Told as a narrative tapestry weaving the words of today’s living legends with memorable musical moments, landmark cultural events and inspiring inventions/innovations, ON RECORD will consist of new interviews with top music icons and legends, historic archival performances and never-before-seen footage exclusive to ON RECORD. Hundreds of artists will be featured, including the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Benny Goodman, Quincy Jones, Elton John, B.B. King, Alison Krauss, Paul McCartney, Les Paul, Paul Simon, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, the Carter Family, Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti, Muddy Waters, Stevie Wonder, Peter, Paul & Mary, Woody Guthrie, John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Buddy Holly, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald and scores of others. Their comments — punctuated with their music — illuminate and reinforce the impact of the world’s most pervasive mass entertainment medium.

“So many of us carry in our heads a musical soundtrack that gives our lives meaning and vibrancy,” said John F. Wilson, Sr. Vice President & Chief TV Programming Executive, PBS. “Music is such an important art form for understanding our shared culture and history; this was a natural for PBS to greenlight. We feel confident this project, supported with extensive educational outreach, will be one of those monumental and long-lasting series that PBS is so well known for.”

ON RECORD tells the story of how recorded music and its distribution and consumption have transformed American life. The technology spawned radio, movies, television and the Internet and gave birth to popular culture. In little more than a century, recording technology moved from the first tin-foil and wax cylinders to flat discs; from 78 to 33 and 45 rpm speeds; from the acoustic horn to 128-track recording; from magnetic tape to digital downloads. The series’ educational outreach will provide teachers with a curriculum guide and source materials to help students discover or reconnect with their history and culture through the universal language of music.

Recorded in HD and 5.1 surround sound, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is produced by Wildheart Entertainment, L.P. Wildheart Entertainment manages and produces artists, creative content and media products in film, music, television, publishing and the Internet, and was created in response to the changing landscape of entertainment and communications today.

PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial television stations and reaches more than 75 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is a leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers and offers a broad array of other educational services. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

CONTACT FOR WILDHEART ENTERTAIMENT: Alisse Kingsley, Muse Media, 323-467-8508; alissethemuse@aol.com, WWW.WILDHEARTGROUP.COM

CONTACT FOR PBS: Carrie Johnson, PBS, 703-739-5129; cjohnson@pbs.org, WWW.PBS.ORG/PRESSROOM