The perfect factor concerning the Recording Academy’s Particular Benefit Awards, the place they dispense Lifetime Achievement Awards and different career-capping honors, is the nice and cozy manner the recipients attain throughout genres and generations to acknowledge one another. And so it was when the 2024 honors have been introduced on Saturday (Feb. 3) on the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.
Hip-hop innovator DJ Kool Herc, who obtained a Trustees Award, spied fellow honoree Gladys Knight within the entrance row and mentioned of “Midnight Practice to Georgia,” her 1973 basic with the Pips – “now, that’s circulation.”
Ice Dice additionally praised Knight and the gospel singing group The Clark Sisters in his remarks, wherein N.W.A obtained a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“We knew after we began to do music in 1985/1986 {that a} Grammy was not within the playing cards for the kind of music we have been doing, and we have been cool with that. We will’t sing like Gladys or maintain a word like The Clark Sisters. We wished to make sense of the world round us, Lengthy Seashore, Compton, Watts.”
He famous that when N.W.A began out they’d their lane all to themselves. “We didn’t suppose the entire world could be doing it. We thought it was ours. What it confirmed was while you do your factor, the world will come to you and also you don’t need to go to the world.”
N.W.A is the fifth rap group to obtain a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy previously eight years, following Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash & the Livid 5 and Salt-N-Pepa. (As well as, Slick Rick, who rose to prominence in Doug E. Contemporary & the Get Contemporary Crew, was honored on his personal final yr.)
In welcoming the viewers to the Particular Benefit Awards, Ruby Marchand, the Academy’s chief awards and business officer, mentioned “This ceremony is a spotlight of Grammy Week, so heartfelt.” That’s the proper phrase for it. Particularly for the reason that Grammy Awards scaled as much as arenas in 1997 once they have been held at New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard for the primary time, the Particular Benefit Awards are seen as the hotter, extra intimate present, with good emotions throughout. Maybe that’s as a result of it’s not a contest and since these acknowledgements often come late within the honorees’ careers, when they’re in a reflective temper.
4 of the honors have been introduced posthumously – Lifetime Achievement Awards to Donna Summer time, Tammy Wynette, Eazy-E of N.W.A and a Technical Grammy Award to sound engineer Tom Kobayashi. As well as, legal professional Joel Katz, who obtained a Trustees Award, “[is] addressing his well being issues,” within the phrases of fellow legal professional Jason M. Karlov, who accepted for him.
Dr. Dre, being honored as a member of N.W.A despatched a textual content message, learn by Harvey Mason, jr. CEO of the Recording Academy, wherein he defined that the ceremony fell on his daughter’s birthday and he put household first, however nonetheless mentioned “I’m honored to obtain this award with my N.W.A brothers.”
Two well-chosen visitor artists launched segments. Bone Thugs-N-Concord, who had a No. 1 smash on the Billboard Scorching 100 in 1996 with “Tha Crossroads,” a tribute to Eazy-E, introduced the award to N.W.A. The members mentioned that N.W.A “modified music, tradition and America eternally.” And Shelby Lynne introduced the award to one in every of her idols, Wynette. Lynne additionally sang a great little bit of Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” which she accurately known as “a rustic basic for the ages.”
Wynette’s award was accepted by Tamala Jones, her daughter by George Jones. The daughter credited the Showtime miniseries George & Tammy for being an element that will have helped Wynette, who died in 1998, lastly obtain this award. George Jones obtained the honour in 2012.
Bruce Sudano, who was married to Summer time for greater than 30 years, accepted Summer time’s Lifetime Achievement Award, together with their daughters Mimi, Brooklyn and Amanda. He mentioned the telephone name wherein he was notified of the honour stirred “emotions I didn’t anticipate. My physique stuffed with pure pleasure, related to a tear in my eye. It’s gratifying for us that, greater than 10 years after her passing, her voice and music are nonetheless omnipresent within the zeitgeist.”
He credited Common Music Group and Warner Chappell, amongst others, for developing with inventive methods to maintain her music alive. “I’m grateful that she continues to encourage younger followers, [whether newcomers or] stunning Beyoncé and her Summer time Renaissance.”
The Summer time phase ended when her daughter Mimi sang a couple of ethereal traces from Summer time’s 1977 dance/electronica basic “I Really feel Love.”
Summer time was the primary feminine artist to win Grammy Awards in 4 totally different genres: R&B (“Final Dance”), rock (“Scorching Stuff”), inspirational (“He’s a Insurgent” and “Forgive Me”) and dance (“Carry On”).
Knight spoke emotionally about household in accepting her Lifetime Achievement Award. She famous that her mom would by no means enable her to sing “straightforward.” It needed to come from a deeper place. All credit score, then, to Gladys Knight’s mom for encouraging her daughter to seek out the right mix of “ache and glory” that has at all times been her trademark.
In 1974, Gladys Knight & the Pips turned the primary group to win Grammys in each pop and R&B classes the identical night time.
Laurie Anderson accepted her Lifetime Achievement Award with an eloquent speech. “I make music that doesn’t have a handy guide a rough title,” she mentioned. “‘Multi-media’ is the one I dislike the least. ‘Experimental’ appears like I’m making issues in a laboratory which may explode.”
She additionally associated three guidelines to stay by that she and her late husband, Lou Reed, got here up with.
“1) Don’t be afraid of anybody. 2) Get a very good bullshit detector. 3) Be actually tender.”
Anderson might win a aggressive Grammy on Sunday, at some point after accepting this honorary one. She is nominated for greatest historic album for Phrases & Music, Could 1965 (Deluxe Version). Anderson is one in every of two of this yr’s Particular Benefit Awardees who’re present Grammy nominees. Karen Clark-Sheard of The Clark Sisters is nominated for greatest gospel efficiency/tune for “God Is Good.”
Peter Asher, who obtained a Trustees Award, had scanned the checklist of earlier recipients of that award, and mentioned he discovered it “intimidating.” Citing particularly The Beatles, Mo Ostin, Ahmet Ertegun, Sir George Martin, Lou Adler, Carole King and Clive Davis, he mentioned “the phrase ‘We aren’t worthy’ involves thoughts after I get this award.”
In a video establishing the presentation, the Grammys reached again to a clip from the 1990 telecast the place Asher received producer of the yr, non-classical for the second time. “I wish to thank the artists I labored with,” he mentioned. “They may very simply have made the information with out me, however I actually couldn’t have made them with out them.”
There have been moments of humor within the proceedings. Sound engineer Tom Scott, who obtained a Technical Grammy Award in tandem along with his late accomplice Tom Kobayashi, needed to sheepishly admit that even he generally has technical points. “I had this [acceptance speech] on my cellphone, nevertheless it’s on slightly purple zone that claims it has 5% energy, so I needed to fall again on analog,” he mentioned, as he pulled out a printed copy of his remarks to learn.
Jason M. Karlov, an legal professional at Katz’s legislation agency, Barnes + Thornburg, mentioned this in accepting Katz’s Trustees Award, that are usually given to non-performers. “I’ve heard Trustees Awards usually are not for performances however in the event you’ve ever identified Joel, it’s a efficiency.”
Karlov additionally mentioned that Katz feels that “his most prideful work is his 41 years of service on behalf of the Academy.” As an outdoor common counsel for the Recording Academy, Katz is credited with main the negotiations for the Grammys’ 10-year, $500 million cope with CBS in 2016. (The Academy has rewarded a handful of Grammy insiders with Trustees Awards over time, together with Christine Farnon, the Academy’s first full-time worker; Pierre Cossette, who was instrumental in turning the Grammys right into a stay telecast; Walter C. Miller, the present’s longtime director; and Ken Ehrlich, who produced or government produced the telecast for 40 years.)
Ok’naan’s “Refugee” was the Finest Track for Social Change Award Honoree.This award, now in its second yr, honors songwriter(s) of message-driven music that speaks to the social problems with our time and has demonstrated and impressed optimistic international impression.
“Refugee,” which Ok’naan co-wrote with Steve McEwan and Gerald Eaton, serves as a tribute to refugees world wide. Ok’naan, 45, was nominated in a comparable class, greatest video with a message, on the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards for “Is Anyone Out There?,” a collaboration with Nelly Furtado.
Annie Ray of Annandale Excessive College in Annandale, Virginia, obtained the 2024 Music Educator Award introduced by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum. Ray serves as each the orchestra director and performing arts division chair at Annandale Excessive College within the Fairfax County Public College (FCPS) system. “Orchestra is rather more than only a class – it’s a second household,” Ray mentioned.
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