NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – Country music legends Ray Stevens and Brenda Lee were surprised on Sunday at Nashville’s CabaRay Showroom with The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award. Stevens, who helped plan the event, was under the impression he was giving the award to Lee, and Lee thought she was giving it to Stevens.
“Brenda and I ended up presenting each other with Cecil Scaife Visionary Awards to benefit the Mike Curb School of Music Business at Belmont University, located here in Nashville on Music Row,” says Stevens. “It was a great night!”
Senator Marsha Blackburn, a past award recipient, presented each honoree with a Senate Statement for the Congressional Record. She thanked them for their contributions to Tennessee and beyond with their time and talents and for helping lift others up throughout their careers.
The evening opened to a sold-out crowd with a 20-piece orchestra accompanying Mandy Barnett, showcasing Lee’s classic hit, “I’m Sorry.” Additional performances by longtime friends of both honorees: Charlie McCoy (Lee’s “Jambalaya”), Jeannie Seely (Lee’s “Too Many Rivers”), Ricky Skaggs (Stevens’ “Everything is Beautiful”) and Lang Scott (Stevens’ “Misty”). The grand finale of “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” was performed by The McCrary Sisters, who managed to coax Lee into joining them on stage.
Video greetings were presented from Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, Steve Wariner, Kyle Lehning, Mike Huckabee, and Mike Curb, who all expressed gratitude to both. Country star Pam Tillis called them “the bricks and mortar of this town.”
The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award is given annually to an individual whose life and work have made it possible for future generations to realize careers in the music industry. In the 1970s, it was the late Cecil Scaife’s vision to create a music business program for musicians, artists, songwriters, and future music business executives to formally learn the industry he loved so dearly. Through the generosity and vision of Mike Curb, Scaife’s vision grew to become the world-renowned Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Curb was the inaugural recipient of The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award in 2008.
