As a part of the Grammy Week festivities, The Recording Academy has announced the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement, Trustee, and Technical Grammy Awards that will be presented on January 31.
The Academy has awarded Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, Cher, Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, Paul Simon, and Whitney Houston with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bernie Taupin, Afro-Caribbean composer Eddie Palmieri, and record executive Sylvia Rhone are Trustee Award honourees with John Chowning receiving the Technical Grammy Award.
Houston, Kuti, and Palmieri’s awards will all be posthumous presentations.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr spoke on the awards saying, “it’s a true honor to recognize this year’s Special Merit Award recipients — an extraordinary group whose influence spans generations, genres and the very foundation of modern music. Each of these honorees has made a profound and lasting impact, and we look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements.”
This will be the second Lifetime Achievement Award for Paul Simon who has one with partner Art Garfunkel; this time around, he will be presented the honour as a solo artist. He joins a very short list of multiple winners including Diana Ross, and Sir Paul, John Lennon, and George Harrison of The Beatles.
Whitney Houston will join cousin Dionne Warwick as a Lifetime Achievement honouree.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to artists who “have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.”
The Trustee Award is presented to non-performers who “have made significant contributions” to music.