Santa Monica, U.S.A. — The Recording Academy announced its Special Merit Awards recipients on December 12, and this year’s honorees are: Glenn Gould, Charlie Haden, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Carole King, Patti Page, Ravi Shankar and the Temptations as Lifetime Achievement Award recipients; Marilyn & Alan Bergman, Leonard & Phil Chess and Alan Livingston as Trustees Award honorees; and Ikutaro Kakehashi & Dave Smith and Royer Labs as Technical GRAMMY Award recipients.

A special invitation-only ceremony will be held during GRAMMY Week on Saturday, February 9, 2013, and a formal acknowledgment will be made during the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards  telecast, which will be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 10, 2013, and broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

“Each year, The Academy has the distinct privilege of honoring those who have greatly contributed to our industry and cultural heritage, and this year we have a gifted and brilliant group of honorees,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “Their exceptional accomplishments, contributions and artistry will continue to influence and inspire generations to come.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording while the Trustees Award recognizes such contributions in areas other than performance. Both awards are determined by vote of The Recording Academy’s National Board of Trustees. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are determined by vote of The Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing Advisory Council and Chapter Committees, as well as The Academy’s Trustees. The award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

About the Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees 
A prodigy and four-time GRAMMY winner, Glenn Gould became one of the best known and most celebrated classical pianists of his time with a style of playing that was deeply expressive and rhythmically precise. In 1956 he earned international recognition with his first Columbia release, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, but his repertoire went on to include such works by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Schoenberg, and Strauss. Gould, who was also a composer, conductor, broadcaster and writer, often offered original, deeply personal and shocking musical interpretations filled with extreme tempos, odd dynamics and finicky phrasing that made him a unique talent.

A three-time GRAMMY winner Charlie Haden is an all-American jazz musician best known for his signature lyrical bass lines and his ability to liberate the bassist from an accompanying role. In addition to his groundbreaking work as an original member of the Ornette Coleman Quartet, he has collaborated with such jazz artists as Chet Baker, Ed Blackwell, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Billy Higgins, Art Pepper, and Archie Shepp. Throughout his five decade career, Haden has revolutionized the harmonic concept of bass playing and has covered such genres as free jazz, Portuguese fado and vintage country.

Lightnin’ Hopkins was a Texas country/blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist whose career spanned more than six decades. He recorded approximately 1,000 songs, including such hits as “T-Model Blues,” “Tim Moore’s Farm” and “Mojo Hand.” Hopkins gained recognition with his intense mournful style and his distinctive fingerstyle playing, earning him a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Carole King is one of the most significant and talented singer/songwriters in the modern era. King, along with songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, was honored with a Recording Academy Trustees Award in 2004 for having written such prolific hits as “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “The Loco-Motion,” “Chains,” and “I’m Into Something Good.” In 1971 King released Tapestry, which included the songs “I Feel The Earth Move,” “It’s Too Late,” and “You’ve Got A Friend.” The album garnered four GRAMMY Awards including Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year, and was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 1998. In 2010, King joined friend and fellow singer/songwriter James Taylor during the successful “Troubadour Reunion” tour.  In 2012, she released her New York Times best-selling autobiography A Natural Woman.

Throughout her seven-decade career, Patti Page has recorded a number of hits, including “(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window” and “I Went To Your Wedding.” Her unique and smooth vocal style seamlessly blended country and pop music. Page’s version of “Tennessee Waltz” was a best-selling single, and landed her concurrently on the top of the pop, country, and R&B charts. Her Live At Carnegie Hall — The 50th Anniversary Concert album garnered her a GRAMMY in 1998 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. In 2009, Page published This Is My Song: A Memoir.

As one of the world’s most renowned sitar players, three-time GRAMMY winner Ravi Shankar is a true ambassador for international music. As a performer, composer, teacher and writer, he is considered a pioneer in bringing Indian music to the West. With a performance career spanning more than 80 years, he has influenced a variety of musicians, including the Beatles, John Coltrane, Philip Glass and his daughters, Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar. A humanitarian and philanthropist, in 1971 Shankar, along with George Harrison, organized the Concert for Bangladesh, which paved the way for many other fundraising charity concerts.

Recognized for their slick choreography, distinct harmonies and flashy attire, the Temptations are one of the most influential R&B acts in music. A Motown staple, the Temptations pioneered their sound by focusing on songs that reflected social change, politics, love and a strong connection to their audience. In 1968, the group earned a GRAMMY Award for their performance of the hit “Cloud Nine.” Additionally; their hits “My Girl” and “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” have been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, with the latter recording garnering two GRAMMYs in 1972.

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The 2012 Soul Train Awards will chug to Las Vegas on November 8, and will premiere on BET and Centric on November 25. Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, an original King of Comedy, the show will feature live performances by some of the best entertainers in the jazz, R&B, hip-hop and gospel genres. Also, this year’s show will revive the Lifetime Achievement Award, which is to be awarded to New Edition.

With two nominations for Album of the Year (“Write Me Back”) and The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award (“Share My Love”), R. Kelly is the most nominated artist in Soul Train history, with a career total of 21 nominations. On the night of the awards, however, all eyes will be on Usher, who is nominated for five awards. These include Song of the Year (“Climax”), Album of the Year (“Looking For Myself”), The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award (“Climax”), Best Dance Performance (“Scream”) and Best R&B/Soul Male Artist. Leading the females in nominations is British songbird Estelle who is up for three awards—Song of the Year (“Thank You”), The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award (“Thank You”) and Best R&B/Soul Female Artist. Both Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse garnered posthumous nominations for Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance (“Celebrate” featuring Jordin Sparks) and Best International Performance (“Our Day Will Come”), respectively.

Launched in 1987, the Soul Train Awards honored the best in urban music of the previous year. A spin-off of Soul Train, which was created by Don Cornelius in 1970, the award show was considered by many to be black music’s equivalent of the Grammy awards. The Grammys did not always acknowledge the talent of African Americans, due in part to the under representation in the voting academy itself. The Soul Train Awards filled a void for many years. In recent years, however, it appears that interest in the award show has waned, with more accomplished celebrities who have attained worldwide success and have many Grammy awards under their belts.

Indeed, winning a Grammy gives a career boost as far as performance and production fees are concerned. However, is it necessary for these artists to shun the award show that presented a platform for their talents to be recognized and appreciated, simply because the Grammys have finally taken notice of them? Of course not, but it seems that is exactly what has happened. Hopefully this year’s show will see a return of some of the industry’s biggest names.

To see a full list of nominees, log onto centrictv.com.

Image Courtesy of   s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

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