Posted on: Tuesday, December 18, 2001

Recording academy to honor lifetime achievers

Associated Press

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Count Basie, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Al Green and Joni Mitchell are recipients of the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

The recording academy's Trustees Award goes to engineer-producer Tom Dowd and rock disc jockey Alan Freed.

"The recipients of these awards are in a rarified league all their own. They are a prestigious group of diverse and influential creators who have given us some of the most distinctive and seminal recordings of the last century," academy president Michael Greene said.

The awards will be presented Feb. 27 during the 44th annual Grammy Awards ceremonies at the Los Angeles Staples Center. The show will be broadcast by CBS.

"Their outstanding achievements have left a timeless legacy that has changed the world socially and has given voice to our cultural condition. Their work exemplifies the highest creative and technical standards by which we all measure our own personal and professional contributions," Greene said of the Lifetime Achievement and Trustees award recipients.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to recordings while the Trustees Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a nonperforming capacity. Academy trustees voted on the special merit awards in May.