SPECIAL GRAMMY HONOREES NAMED

Mo Ostin, Nina Simone, Sly Stone and the Velvet Underground are among the 11 recipients of The Recording Academy’s 2017 Special Merit Awards.

Former Warner Bros. and Reprise Records chief Ostin will receive the Trustees Award as will Philly soul producer/arranger/songwriter Thom Bell and legendary music publisher Ralph Peer.

Other Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are gospel great Shirley Caesar, jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, country singer Charley Pride and country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers. Alan Dower Blumlein, who patented the stereo in 1931 and invented the Blumlein Pair microphones, will receive the Technical Grammy. "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. "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."

The Recording Academy did not announce when the awards would be handed out.

Additionally, The Recording Academy and Hal Leonard Books will publish in January A Grammy Salute To Music Legends, a hardcover book that collects two decades of artist-written tributes to the Academy’s annual Special Merit Awards honorees.