NASHVILLE, TN  [Friday Oct.21.2005]  /Mix103FM.com/ -- BMI saluted the top country music songwriters, artists and publishers at its 2005 Country Awards, staged Wednesday night at the performing rights organization's Music Row offices.

TIM McGRAW's smash "Live Like You Were Dying," written by Tim Nichols, was named Song of the Year; three-time Grammy winner Harley Allen, Big & Rich's Big Kenny and Lonestar front man Richie McDonald shared the Songwriter of the Year crown; ...and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville was named Publisher of the Year.

"Live Like You Were Dying" earned the 37th Robert J. Burton Award as Most Performed Country Song of the Year for writer Tim Nichols and publishers Nichols Worth Music and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. The title track from McGraw's triple-platinum CD, the inspirational hit spent a record-breaking 10 weeks at #1 and won every award for which it
was nominated since its release in 2004, including multiple Grammy, CMA, ACM, Billboard, NSAI and CMT awards.

The 2005 BMI Country Awards also honored songwriters Bob DiPiero, Ed Hill, Tommy Lee James, Toby Keith, Vicky McGehee, Shania Twain, Keith Urban and Song of the Year writer Tim Nichols, who had two songs each on the list of 50.

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