Irish composer wins major airplay accolade

Irish composer Brendan Graham who penned one of the best selling tracks around the globe has been honoured on an exclusive list of international lyricists, it emerged today.

Mr Graham, who wrote 'You Raise Me Up', has been awarded Million-Air status by the American Performing Rights Society, BMI.

Only the world’s top songwriters make the list when a track has been broadcast more than a million times on American radio.

'You Raise Me Up', with music by Secret Garden’s Rolf Lovland, was first recorded by Secret Garden featuring Brian Kennedy.

Over the last six years more than 300 recordings of the single were made by some of the world’s biggest acts including Josh Groban, Westlife, IL Divo, Paul Potts, and Celtic Woman.

It has racked up sales of over 80 million copies and the track was performed at the Winter and Summer Olympics, Superbowl, the Nobel Peace Prize, Opening of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the White House and the State Funeral of George Best.

Less than 4,000 (0.06%) songs of the 6.5 million works which BMI represent, have ever been awarded Million-Air certificates.

Graham, a Mayo-based author and songwriter who was a founding member of The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), now joins song-writing legends like John Lennon, Van Morrison, Enya, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Ben E King, Sting, Otis Redding and Roy Orbison.

The Corrs (Breathless), Mick Hanly (Past The Point of Rescue) and Ronan Keating (The Long Goodbye), written with Paul Brady, are among the other IMRO songwriters who have achieved the status.