On Monday morning, The Recording Academy announced their Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients along with a number of other honors.
Receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award are:
Shirley Caesar
Ahmad Jamal
Charley Pride
Jimmie Rodgers
Nina Simone
Sly Stone
The Velvet Underground
Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, said “This year’s Special Merit Awards recipients comprise a prestigious group of diverse and influential creators who have crafted or contributed to some of the most distinctive recordings in music history. These exceptionally inspiring figures are being honored as legendary performers, creative architects, and technical visionaries. Their outstanding accomplishments and passion for their respective crafts have created a timeless legacy.”
Three people were also named as recipients of the Trustee’s Award, an honor specifically for non-performers.
Thom Bell, songwriter, arranger and producer of the Philadelphia sound in soul.
Mo Ostin of Verve, Reprise, Warner Brothers and DreamWorks records. Member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ralph Peer, pioneer of the field recording of music.
Finally, the technical Grammy award is being bestowed on Alan Blumlein, inventor of the moving-coil disc cutting head for records, the moving-coil microphone, the ultra-linear amp and “binaural sound” which became stereo.