Harry Hewlett Wins “Song” & “Songwriter of the Year” In the DSA MEMBERS BEST SONGS OF THE MEETING 2020 CONTEST

 Dallas, TX - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – contact dallassongwriters

The Dallas Songwriters Association is pleased to announce the results of the 2020 DSA members Best Songs of The Meeting songwriting contest. Awards were celebrated at the DSA Awards Program on January 17, 2021and included “Song of the Year,” and the “Vern Daily Songwriter of the Year.” 

Harry Hewlett,
DSA A&R Director, VP of Showcases

“Song of the Year” honors go to “The Girl’s So Texas,” by Harry Hewlett and Chuck Ehrmann.  

The “Vern Daily Songwriter of the Year” for 2020 is awarded to Harry Hewlett for the second year in a row.  

Second place for “Song of the Year” goes to “If Every Week Was Friday” by Rick Valente.  

Rick Valente,Katy, Tx,
Sr Reliability Analyst at Southwest Air 

Third place for “Song of the Year” goes to “You Gotta Go,” by Don Wall.  

Don Wall, Dallas, Tx, DSA Director of PR,
 CEO Don Wall Productions

Second place in the “Vern Daily Songwriter of the Year” for 2020 goes to Don Wall.  

Third place goes to John Jaggers.  

John Jaggers, Dallas, Tx,
Co-founder ColoradoCapo

Our judge, Jack Allday, is a DSA Hall of Fame member, and a founding member of the 1960’s hit recording group, The Nightcaps.  The winning songs were selected from the 50 songs that were submitted by DSA members as “Songs of the Meeting.”  Members submit original songs at monthly DSA meetings for consideration and a professional critique by Collin College Adjunct Professor of Songwriting and DSA Founding President Emeritus, Barbara McMillen, and Joe Milton, former touring musician and Founder and CEO of the recording studio, www.JoMusik.com.  Song of the Year goes to the song which earns the most points.  Songwriter of the Year goes to the songwriter who has the most songs in the top ten, which have earned the most points.  

”This year we had an enormous response in entries, resulting in a great number of really good songs entered,” said Barbara McMillen, DSA Founder and President Emeritus.  

The DSA member response was greatly enhanced during the pandemic by “DSA’s Virtual Open Mic Every Wednesday” and “DSA’s Virtual Global Songwriter Showcase Saturday” both hosted by Harry Hewlett on Zoom.

DSA is a 501 C3 nonprofit organization.  Please join DSA as we celebrate 34 years of motivating and uplifting songwriters through education.  https://dallassongwriters.org/join-dsa/ 

DSA CELEBRATES SONGWRITING AT 2020 AWARDS SHOW

 Dallas, TX - January 16,  2021……FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

The Dallas Songwriters Association presented the 30th Annual Song Contest Awards over two shows via Zoom and live streaming to Facebook, featuring live performances by semifinalists and contest winners, multiple presenters, and a special appearance by the Grand Prize judge, Roy Elkins of Broadjam, Inc.  The two shows have reached nearly 4,500 people on Facebook.       

“This year, we’ve had an enormous response in entries, resulting in a great number of really good songs entered,” said MC Barbara McMillen, Founder and President Emeritus of DSA, www.dallassongwriters.org  “We had a bumper crop of really good semifinalists, and when we put out a call for those semifinalists to perform at the awards program, we had such a huge response that we were compelled to divide our program into two separate Saturdays.” 

Barbara’s co-host was Harry Hewlett, DSA’s VP of A&R, Showcase Director and Song Contest Co-Director.  Harry has been a champion for DSA during the 2020 Year of COVID by conducting showcases, open mics, workshops, and meetings via Zoom.   

Winners were announced in 8 categories, plus a Young Songwriters Award, and Grand Prize Winners.  Judges were industry professionals who judged songs based on six elements of a song:  hook, melody, lyric, structure, originality, and truth.  DSA offers over $5,000 in prizes.  Each category winner gets a free membership in DSA.  First Place winners get $100 and 2nd place winners get $50. 

Grand Prize Winners included:  First Place, “That’s My Name,” by Randy Overton, Waxahachie, Texas, Second Place:  “Don’t Ever Say Never Again,” by Steve Jackson, Irving, Texas.  Third Place:  “On The Caravan,” by Len & Jon Seligman, Sarasota Florida.  Randy Overton wins the Grand Prize, a Casio PX-S1000 Privia Piano.  All three of the Grand Prize Winners win a 1-year Broadjam Primo MoB Membership ($199.95 Value), Song Critique from Barbara McMillen, Associate Professor of Songwriting at Collin College, recording time at JoMusik Studio, and 2 tickets to Between the Waves Music Conference.      

Roy Elkins, Founder and CEO of Broadjam, Inc. who has been the Grand Prize Judge for a number of years, said, “There’s nothing like DSA.  It is the premier song writing contest and song writing organization in the world.”  

Elkins made comments on all the songs he evaluated, which can be found at https://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com/p/2020-dsa-song-contest-judge-roy-elkins.html

Specifically about “That’s My Name,” Elkins said, “The winner has one of the best opening lines I’ve ever heard:  ‘My old man told me the day I left home, Son you’re taking the only thing I own and that’s my name.’  The truth is off the charts.”  

First Place in the Americana/Folk/Bluegrass category went to “1309 North Austin,” by Tommy Patterson, Comanche, Texas.  

First Place in the Christian/Inspirational category went to “New Sight,” by Amy Abernathy, Canton, Georgia

First Place in the Country category was “Someone to Miss Me,” by Susan Odella and Alex Apolin, Virginia, Minnesota. 

First Place in the instrumental category was “Forever Now,” by Charles Edmund Carter, Dallas, Texas.

First Place in the Novelty/Children category was “Parking Cars on Mars,” by Louie Cate, Alexandria, Virginia.

First Place in the Pop/Rock/Alt/R&B category was “Word Man,” by Stefanie Johnson, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

First Place in the Singer/Songwriter category was “Goodnight Moon,” by Steve Jackson, Irving, Texas.

The Most Nominated Songs Award went to Charles Edmund Carter, Dallas, Texas.  

The Young Songwriter Award went to “Satisfied,” by Sathvika Ganesan, Frisco, Texas.  

Community Awards went to Dunn Brothers Coffee and Broadjam, Inc.  

The Best Song of the Meeting First Place went to “The Girl’s So Texas,” by Harry Hewlett and Chuck Ehrmann.  

The Vern Dailey Songwriter of the Year Award went to Harry Hewlett, Dallas, Texas.  

For a complete list of winners go to www.dsasongcontest.blogspot.com

The entire show can be seen on the DSA Facebook page.  The entire show, plus individual videos can be seen on the DSA YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzLz8grkFMa1zD2sMsp5-7A

For more information and interviews, please contact:  

Don Wall, 817-929-8368, donwallproductions@gmail.com