More than 400 guests celebrated the national and international success enjoyed over the past year by dozens of Canadian songwriters, composers and music publishers, during the 18^th annual SOCAN Awards gala, Nov. 19 at The Carlu in Toronto. Kim Stockwood and Damhnait Doyle, of Shaye, hosted the awards and opened and closed the evening with spirited performances.

SOCAN president Pierre-Daniel Rheault briefly recapped some highlights from this past year – including the Copyright Board’s long-awaited decision on SOCAN’s Tariff 22, covering the communication of musical works via the Internet – before turning things over to CEO André LeBel. Now in his eighth year as SOCAN’s chief executive officer, LeBel acknowledged the dedicated work of SOCAN’s 300-plus employees. “Thanks to their skills, innovation and passion for excellence, we have made grand leaps in the last several years to become, if I may be so bold, one of the most efficient, service-driven and best-governed performing rights organizations on the planet.”

Walter Ostanek, Canada’s own polka king and a 13-time Grammy Award nominee (he has won three), was the star of the evening, earning SOCAN’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The resident of St. Catharines, Ont., has been inducted into the Polka Hall of Fame in the U.S., has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, an Order of Canada award, and the keys to several cities.

One of the evening’s most moving moments came with the posthumous presentation of SOCAN’s National Achievement Award to the great folk music legend Stan Rogers, who died tragically in an airline accident in 1983. His widow, Ariel Rogers, was on hand to accept the award, visibly thankful for the occasion and for a stirring performance of Rogers’ trademark song “Northwest Passage,” featuring Stockwood, Doyle and Gordie Sampson. She noted that her husband’s legacy lives on “because of organizations like SOCAN. Stan was not a joiner, but this is one of the organizations that was close to him, and I know he would say thank you from the bottom of his heart.”

The International Achievement Award went to Nickelback, and band members Chad Kroeger, Daniel Adair, Michael Kroeger and Ryan Peake were also honoured with the rock music award for “Savin’ Me.” That same song, along with the band’s “Photograph,” was recognized this year by one of SOCAN’s U.S. counterparts, with a BMI Pop Award.

The hugely influential rock ’n’ roll icon Ronnie Hawkins is the recipient of this year’s Special Achievement Award, presented to individuals that have greatly contributed to Canada’s music industry over the course of their careers. “The Hawk” has been the spark for some major talent, forming bands that later went on to back-up the likes of Bob Dylan (The Band) and Janis Joplin (Full Tilt Boogie Band).

SOCAN board member Jim Vallance and his former songwriting partner Bryan Adams were the evening’s big winners, capturing SOCAN Classics for four of their co-writes, songs that have reached the 100,000-airplay mark: “Cuts Like a Knife,” “I’m Ready,” “This Time” and “It’s Only Love” (Adams’ celebrated duet with Tina Turner). Timeless West Coast rockers Loverboy earned three SOCAN Classics of their own, for “Turn Me Loose,” “Working for the Weekend” and “Heaven in Your Eyes,” and band members/songwriters Paul Dean and Mike Reno were on hand to accept their awards.

Other 2007 SOCAN Classics winners include Amanda Marshall, Dean McTaggart and David Tyson (for “Dark Horse” and, without McTaggart, “Trust Me This Is Love”), Antoine Sicotte and Jimmy Renald (BMI) (for Sky’s “Love Song” and Sicotte’s “Some Kinda Wonderful”), former SOCAN board member Murray McLauchlan (for “Try Walkin’ Away”), and Loreena McKennitt (for “Mummer’s Dance”).

In addition to special awards in several genre categories (Jesse Cook earned the Hagood Hardy Jazz Music Award and John Estacio the Jan V. Matejcek Concert Music Award), a number of SOCAN members were recognized for their work on various TV series and films, among them Donald Quan, Mychael Danna, Jeff Danna, Rob Carli, Michel Corriveau, James Bowers and Jack Lenz.

Many winners were effusive their praise for SOCAN. Said Pop Music Award winner Tomi Swick, who won for “On a Night Like This”: “I want to thank SOCAN. We musicians are a pretty disorganized group of people and you make sure we get paid.” Said Loreena McKennitt, who won a Classic Award for her “Mummer’s Dance”: “Thanks very much to SOCAN for your immeasurable support." Television Series Award winner Jack Lenz, who won for his work on “Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye,” said “Working with SOCAN is such a joy, being able to contact people there and get the answers you need. I have a great appreciation for all of the work you do for us as composers."

Each year, SOCAN also recognizes a representative of the music-user community who stood out by making a special effort to inform and educate other users about the need to respect the rights of copyright owners. This year’s recipient of the Patron of Music Award is the Funeral Service Association of Canada, represented by Marc Poirier, who accepted SOCAN’s award.

Guests were asked to bring a non-perishable food item for donation to the Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank, and 400 pounds of goods were collected.