Bowie and Pryor up for Grammy honours

David Bowie, blues pioneer Robert Johnson and the late comedian Richard Pryor are among recording artists who will receive lifetime achievement honours during next month’s Grammy Awards.

Rockers Cream, country singer-songwriter Merle Haggard, opera vocalist Jessye Norman and 1950s folk quartet the Weavers will also be honoured.

The awards are meant to recognise artistic contributions in the recording medium over a lifetime.

“This year’s honourees are a prestigious group of diverse and influential creators who have contributed some of the most distinguished and influential recordings,” Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said.

Pryor, who died of a heart attack last month, was the lone non-musician being honoured this year. He recorded several comedy albums, picking up five Grammys along the way.

Norman made her debut in 1968 in Berlin and received four Grammys. Haggard has collected two. Bowie, often heralded for his ability to transcend musical genres and fads, previously received one Grammy for best short form video in 1984.

The other lifetime honourees – Johnson, the Weavers and Cream – have never been Grammy winners, although Cream guitarist Eric Clapton has collected 16 to date.

The Recording Academy also selected Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, country music producer Owen Bradley and recording engineer Al Schmitt to receive the organisation’s Trustees Award, which lauds non-performers in the recording industry.

Veteran recording engineer Tom Dowd and Bell Labs and Western Electric – now units of Lucent Technologies – were singled out for technical award honours.

Several of Bell Labs’ inventions are credited with improving audio recording, including the transistor. Western Electric developed the condenser microphone in 1916, among other innovations.

The awards will be presented on February 7. The 48th Annual Grammy Awards show is on February 8 at Los Angeles’ Staples Centre.