Sly Stone (center) via the Sly & the Family Stone Facebook page
The Recording Academy® announced its 2017 Special Merit Awards recipients today (Dec. 19). The Lifetime Achievement Award honorees include Sly Stone and the Velvet Underground, as well as gospel singer Shirley Caesar, jazz musician Ahmad Jamal, country singer Charley Pride, country legend Jimmie Rodgers and Nina Simone. Producer-songwriter Thom Bell and longtime label executive Mo Ostin are among the Trustees Award honorees.
“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,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy.
The Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording, while the Trustees Award honors contributions in areas other than performance. The recipients are determined by vote of The Recording Academy’s National Board of Trustees. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are voted on by The Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing® Advisory Council and Chapter Committees, and are ratified by The Academy’s Trustees. The award is presented to individuals and/or companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording industry.
Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart is an iconic American musician, songwriter and producer, most famous for his role as frontman of Sly & The Family Stone. Classic hits penned by Stone, including “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” “Everyday People,” “Dance To The Music,” and “There’s A Riot Going On,” played a critical role in the development of soul, funk, rock, and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. Sly & The Family Stone were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. The group has four recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.
The Velvet Underground in an undated photo via their Facebook page
Despite a relatively brief lifespan and limited commercial success, the Velvet Underground are now recognized as one of the most influential rock bands of all time. Comprising Lou Reed*, John Cale, Sterling Morrison*, and Maureen “Moe” Tucker, the band was, perhaps, ahead of their time, both visually and sonically. Often dubbed the quintessential proto-punk band, they’ve continued to be the benchmark for countless modern-rock movements over the past 50 years. The Velvet Underground’s seminal 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2008.
Producer/arranger/songwriter Thom Bell was one of the cornerstones of the Philadelphia Soul legacy. He was a prime architect in the development of a ’70s soul sound that moved beyond the grit of Southern soul and the effervescence of Motown by building complex and sophisticated arrangements around smooth strings, elegant horns and a driving rhythm that anticipated the rise of disco. With the Delfonics, the Stylistics, the Spinners and others, Bell established his trademark sound with sweet strings and muted brass led by the French horn. Hits such as “I’ll Be Around” and “Betcha By Golly, Wow” cemented his stature as one of the all-time great songwriter/producers, and his partnership with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff helped create the quintessential sound of Philadelphia.
Mo Ostin is one of the greatest record executives in music history. While he started out at Verve, it was helming Frank Sinatra’s Reprise Records where Ostin came into his own. With Reprise Records and ultimately Warner Bros., Ostin discovered and worked with the seminal artists of the generation, such as Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Prince, and Neil Young, while also developing a staff that was legendary in their own right. With an artist-friendly disposition, Ostin led with the idea that great art made great business — most of the bands signed under his watch made both critically acclaimed and profitable records. Ostin was honored with The Recording Academy’s President’s Merit Award at the 2006 GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons®.
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