SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Dec. 18, 2007) — Recipients of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical GRAMMY® Award were announced today by The Recording Academy®. Burt Bacharach, The Band, Cab Calloway, Doris Day, Itzhak Perlman, Max Roach and Earl Scruggs will receive The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.
“This year’s recipients are 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 profoundly inspiring figures are being honored as legendary performers, creative architects and technical visionaries. Their outstanding accomplishments and passion for their craft have created a timeless legacy.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium while the Trustees Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing capacity. 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.
Cab Calloway — A talented jazz singer and a superior scatter, Cab Calloway — the “Hi De Ho” man — became one of the greatest and most beloved figures on the entertainment scene in the early ’30s. In 1931, Calloway wrote his first hit, “Minnie The Moocher,” which sold more than 1 million copies. A “larger-than-life” figure, immortalized in cartoons and caricatures, he also led one of the most talented swing orchestras. After more than 60 years of performing, he conquered every branch of show business from nightclubs to radio and film and television to theater.