Brenda Lee Heathcote

 

Prestigious ASA Rudy Brandsma Award Goes to Country Music Songwriter Brenda Lee Heathcote
The prestigious Australian Songwriter Awards Rudy Brandsma Award was presented to a surprised Brenda-Lee Heathcote at a gala evening of over 400 songwriters and industry professionals in Sydney on Thursday night.

The Rudy Brandsma Award given for excellence in songwriting is chosen from all entries submitted.

Totalling almost 4000 entries this year the highly coveted prize is given to one writer each year in honour of the late co-founder of the ASA Rudy Brandsma.

Earlier last month ASA organisers contacted Brenda asking her to perform alongside a number of other singer/songwriters invited to present some of their best work before an audience of top industry experts.

ASA had also advised her that she was a nominee in the discretionary award category, this year’s list including Donna Boyd & David Carter with Luckiest Girl Alive, Susie Davies-Splitter & Phil Splitter with Hearts In Harmony, Brenda-Lee Heathcote with So This Is Life, Danny Hooper with She's The One, Paul Jamieson with Reindeer On My Roof, Matt Larsen with Spoken For, Anni Piper with Love's Truly Blind, Jo-Kelly Stevenson with Deep End, Daniel Thornton with Hope's Holding On To Me and Peter Tonna with Oh Baby.

But it was an excited Brenda-Lee who took away the coveted prize on Thursday night.

‘What a great night’ she said ‘We even had to walk the red carpet. Never thought I’d do that.’
The award comes as somewhat of a paradox in a celebration of achievement and sadness and shared with many of Brenda’s closest family and friends who sat amongst the audience.

Brenda-Lee performed her winning song ‘So This Is Life’ with her partner Scott Lloyd Shelly accompanying her on piano, dedicated to her late brother Brian James Heathcote who was tragically killed in January in Brisbane.

It could be described as written from absolute depths of sadness empathy and love, an ultimate combination of songwriting and strength giving solace in a time of tragedy.

In 1997 Brenda won TIARAs Songwriter of the Year. Her work is recorded by The Wolverines, The Spencer Band, Gemma Luxton Shaza Leigh and top selling independent artist Bobby Cash. Brenda has also written with Irish singer Fergal Flaherty and Tamworth based Matt Scullion and Lawrie Minson.

A timeline of selected work from 1998-2006 appears on her website. It says ‘Brenda can not seem to put the pen down – citing a growing list of covers by different artists accredited to her name’.

Fiddlers Creek Shaza Leigh 2006

The Ballad of Young Bobby Dale The Wolverines 2006

I’m Not Alone (Co-write with B Cash) Bobby Cash 2006

One Good Night (Co-write with B Cash) Bobby Cash 2006

These Are The Days Gemma Luxton 2004

Carry Me (Co-write with Matt Scullion Pfea 2004

Cowboy At Heart (Co-write with L Minson) Bobby Cash 2003

I Didn’t See You Leaving Bobby Cash 2003

Daddy Sold The Cadillac Bobby Cash 2003

On Another Day Fergal Flaherty  2002

25 Years (Co-write with F Flaherty and D Cameron)
Fergal Flaherty 2002

She’ll Be OK The Spencer Band 1998

Woman At The Wheel Shaza Leigh 1998
 

The Rudy Brandsma Award presented in recognition of Association co-founder Rudy Brandsma is a discretionary award presented annually by the ASA Board of Directors to an ASA member who enters the Australian Songwriting Contest. The award recognises excellence in songwriting by an ASA member, who is not otherwise a winner of any of the contest categories. APRA|AMCOS is a major sponsor.
For more information:
W: www.asao.org.au  E: asanationaloffice@bigpond.com 
Brenda Lee Heathcote 0429 896 220 www.brendaleeheathcote.com
Publicist: Rhonda Sinclair 0438 902413 BLURB Creative Solutions
 

Brenda Lee Heathcote A Nominee for the Prestigious ASA Rudy Brandsma Award

Talented singer songwriter Brenda Lee Heathcote will perform at this year’s ASA National Awards. She flies to Sydney at the end of the month where she will perform her original work before top industry and writer professionals.

The invitation extends beyond her performance. Last week she was advised that she is a nominee for the Rudy Brandsma Award.

The Rudy Brandsma Award is a discretionary award, initiated in memory of one of the co-founders of the ASA in 1979, Rudy Brandsma.

It is an annual presentation by the ASA Board of Directors to an ASA member who enters the annual Australian Songwriting Contest.

The award recognises excellence in songwriting by an ASA member, who is not otherwise a winner of any of the contest categories.

There are 10 nominees this year from the thousands of entries received in the 2007 Australian Songwriting Contest. The contest is highly respected and extremely prestigious, offering more than $25,000 in prizes.

APRA/AMCOS is the Major Sponsor for 2007. The National Awards Night is held in Sydney on Thursday 30 August.

In 1997 Brenda-Lee won TIARAs Songwriter of the Year. Her work is recorded by The Wolverines [The Ballad of Young Bobby Dale] The Spencer Band [TIARA award winning track This Is Now] Gemma Luxton [These Are The Days] and Shaza Leigh [two Top Ten CMR tracks - Woman At The Wheel & Fiddlers Creek] and top selling independent artist Bobby Cash [I Didn’t See You Leaving & title track Cowboy At Heart co-written with Lawrie Minson].

Brenda-Lee has also written with Irish singer Fergal Flaherty and Tamworth based Matt Scullion.

For more information:
W: www.asao.org.au  E: asanationaloffice@bigpond.com 

 www.brendaleeheathcote.com

Publicist: Rhonda Sinclair 0438 902413 BLURB Creative Solutions

Print out and have the memories