British songwriter Don Black, known for tracks such as Born Free, Diamonds Are Forever and Michael Jackson’s Ben, is to be honoured by the US music industry.

The lyricist, who has contributed to numerous film soundtracks as well as working with Andrew Lloyd Webber, will collect an award from rights body Broadcast Music International. He will follow in the footsteps of figures such as the Bee Gees, James Brown and Willie Nelson when he is awarded the BMI Icon title next month.

The award is given to writers who have had “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers”.

BMI collects royalties on behalf of writers and music publishers in the US. Its annual awards take place at the Dorchester Hotel in London on October 5.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.