MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2017

By: Senator(s) Burton, Frazier, Jackson To: Rules (32nd), Simmons (12th)

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 556

1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING MISSISSIPPI 2 SONGWRITER-RECORDING ARTIST , AS UNOFFICIAL MUSIC AND 3 CULTURE AMBASSADOR FOR THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND WELCOMING HIM 4 ON THE OCCASION OF THE MISSISSIPPI TOURISM ASSOCIATION LEGISLATIVE 5 RECEPTION ON JANUARY 25, 2017. 6 WHEREAS, Steve Azar is a modern-day renaissance man, hit 7 Songwriter, Recording Artist, Music Producer, Golfer and

8 Philanthropist. Steve calls his own breed of music "Delta Soul," 9 a mixture of country, rock and ; and 10 WHEREAS, his debut "Waitin' On Joe" was released in 11 2001. The title track went to No. 1 on the 12 Television (CMT) Charts and featured Academy Award-Winning Actor 13 . From the same album the hit single "I Don't Have 14 To Be Me Til Monday," Steve received three "Million-Air Awards"

15 from BMI and is one of the top five most played songs of the past 16 decade on Country Radio. Taylor Swift told People Magazine in 17 2010 that her favorite song of the year was Steve Azar's 18 "Sunshine." "," featuring the hit single 19 "Sunshine," was spotlighted in Oprah's O Magazine in her Top

S. C. R. No. 556 *SS01/R1182* ~ OFFICIAL ~ N1/2 17/SS01/R1182 PAGE 1 (tb\rc) 20 Things to Buy At Christmas edition in 2011. "Sunshine" was also 21 featured in Us Weekly Magazine in June 2012 as one of the most 22 popular celebrity wedding songs; and 23 WHEREAS, Steve has written and recorded songs for film as 24 well as had the role of Music Supervisor. "Doin' It Right" (Delta 25 Mix) from the latest release "Delta Soul Volume One" was the

26 feature track for Sony Pictures' 2013 movie "Here Comes the Boom" 27 starring Kevin James and Salma Hayek. As a Songwriter, Reba 28 McEntire, among many others, have cut his songs. In 2007, Azar 29 was personally chosen by to perform 46 shows on what was 30 rated the No. 1 Tour in America by Pollstar Magazine; and 31 WHEREAS, an accomplished golfer, Steve has been ranked one of 32 the Top Five Musicians Who Play Golf by Gold Digest Magazine for

33 the past 5 years. He is a frequent guest at charity golf 34 tournaments across the country. In 2006, Steve and his wife Gwen 35 started the Steve Azar St. Cecilia Foundation, and annually host 36 the Delta Soul Celebrity Golf & Charity Event. Over the last 37 three years, the event has channeled over $500,000.00 to many

38 worthwhile Mississippi causes; and 39 WHEREAS, Steve has been honored with "Steve Azar Day" in the

40 State of Mississippi (on March 13th) and South Dakota (on August 41 10th). He is the co-founder of Rides Records and in 2013 42 co-founded the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival, dubbed "A 43 Southern Gem" by the American Blues Scene Magazine and included in 44 Acoustic Guitar Magazine's 2014 Roadside Americana: 50 States 50

S. C. R. No. 556 *SS01/R1182* ~ OFFICIAL ~ 17/SS01/R1182 PAGE 2 (tb\rc) 45 Must-Attend Events. With a strong interest in mentorship and 46 giving back to the Delta, Steve enjoys being artist-in-residence 47 at the Delta Music Institute, part of Delta State University; and 48 WHEREAS, Steve wrote "Fly," the official song for the 2015 49 FIS Alpine World Ski Championship in Vail. His performance at the 50 opening ceremonies reached an audience of one billion households.

51 In late 2015, Steve became the Spokesperson for the Certified AG 52 Business Program and his song, the "American Farmer," became the 53 official anthem for the program. He started a weekly cooking 54 segment on ThreadMB, an e-zine that combines Mom Bloggers and 55 Celebrities sharing their inspiring charitable endeavours. The 56 blog reaches millions of readers each month and allows Steve to 57 have fun in the kitchen while promoting the farm-to-fork

58 lifestyle; and 59 WHEREAS, in April of 2016 Steve became the first artist to 60 record a full-length studio album in the legendary Mississippi 61 Landmark, Club Ebony. The club, now belonging to the BB King 62 Museum, was turned into a recording studio capturing the rich

63 history and vibe of the room and in turn inspiring incredible 64 performances on the recording. The combination of Steve's Delta

65 songwriting approach and The Kings Men musical background has 66 created a unique and soulful. This is a true Delta Soul record. 67 Steve and The Kings Men will be making their live debut headlining 68 at this year's BB King Homecoming Festival. The new record will 69 be accompanied by a full-length feature documentary combining the

S. C. R. No. 556 *SS01/R1182* ~ OFFICIAL ~ 17/SS01/R1182 PAGE 3 (tb\rc) 70 making of the record with the musical trajectory of The Kings Men 71 and the historic musical influence of the on the 72 world music scene; and 73 WHEREAS, Steve is an in-demand keynote speaker. His keynotes 74 highlight the importance of giving back and that it is never too 75 soon to start. From the sports world to the world of

76 entertainment, his speeches are packed with life lessons learned; 77 and 78 WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we acknowledge the 79 musical excellence of this talented Mississippi Musician and 80 Renaissance Man who has brought recognition and cultural 81 excellence to the evolving artistic community of the State of 82 Mississippi:

83 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF 84 MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That 85 we do hereby recognize Mississippi Songwriter-Recording Artist, 86 Steve Azar as unofficial Music and Culture Ambassador for the 87 State of Mississippi and welcome him on the occasion of the

88 Mississippi Tourism Association Legislative Reception on January 89 25, 2017.

90 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to 91 Steve Azar and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.

S. C. R. No. 556 *SS01/R1182* ~ OFFICIAL ~ 17/SS01/R1182 ST: Recognize Mississippi Songwriter and PAGE 4 (tb\rc) Recording Artist, Steve Azar, as Music and Culture Ambassador for 2017.