At the weekend’s other Grammy awards show — the Recording Academy‘s Special Merit Awards Ceremony, held Saturday at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre — there was no danger of music arising to play someone off during a long speech, or of Satan showing up for a musical number, or anything being celebrated that hasn’t already proven itself great over a lifetime.
This just-over-two-hour, performance-free ceremony saw lifetime achievement honors being officially awarded to Nirvana, Heart’s Wilson sisters, Slick Rick, the Supremes, Nile Rodgers, Bobby McFerrin and the late Ma Rainey, along with trophies handed out to an educator, technical innovator, label founder and rock photographer.
“Shout out to our Seattle colleagues, Heart,” said Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, who stood alongside Dave Grohl and Pat Smear, acting as the surviving members’ sole designated speaker. Referring to an introduction that cited the witty side of Kurt Cobain’s lyrics, Novoselic agreed that their frontman was “a smart ass” and offhandedly quoted the sardonic opening line of one of their final songs, “Serve the Servant”: “Teenage angst has paid off.”
Manager John Silva, Courtney Love and Frances Bean Cobain received thanks from Novoselic before he signed off with: “I do fan mail, old-fashioned fan mail, and I get letters from around the world from Nirvana fans … and a lot of young people. There’s a new generation of Nirvana fans and I’m just very grateful for that. Just thank you all. So just keep on rocking.”
The event’s other honorees mostly spoke at greater length, among them Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson, who spoke of the beginnings of the band she formed with her sister in the 1970s. “In 1974, I followed my calling, which pulled me out of my college dorm room to capture this dream I had with my sister since we were little kids,” Wilson said. “And the dream was to be the Beatles. Not to be married to them or the girlfriend of one of the Beatles — it was to be the Beatles. So we kind of just sort of did that without any sort of gender-specific thing in our minds.”
Speaking about her sister, Nancy said, “Thank you, Ann fucking Wilson. It was an honor to stand next to this powerhouse force of nature, Ann fucking Wilson, on all of those big, stormy summer stages all those years and just rock our butts off together. And we pulled each other through all of these lifetimes and universes that we built together. From every stage in every far-flung field of mud with a generator to the Royal Albert Hall with a full orchestra, we were there together… from a drive-in theater with one podium, one microphone and two acoustic guitars outside before the movie started to the Kennedy Center Honors honoring Zeppelin.” She offered one correction on the introductory video: “Nearly 50 years, not 60!”
Ann Wilson was not present for the event, sending Hipgnosis Songs founder Merck Mercuriadis, who described himself as “the custodian of her catalog,” to speak on her behalf. (The two sisters have mostly toured separately in recent years, with Ann telling an interviewer last spring that any perception they were feuding was “a myth,” but that the two “have different ideas for what Heart should be, and we haven’t figured out a compromise yet.”) Mercuriadis noted that Ann has sung on forthcoming albums by Disturbed and Dolly Parton. He also spoke about being a 12-year-old in Canada hearing “Magic Man” for the first time, and being entranced by hearing the simple word “yeah” that followed the line “He looked right through me.”
“Music still saves my life every day,” said Nancy. “I love that there are two bands here from Seattle tonight, and we’re proud to say Seattle bands were never built for compromise. … We followed our muse through the decades. We blazed a few trails and broke a few glass ceilings along the way for both men and women.” Wilson closed her speech by saying the lifetime award is “gonna look super sweet on my grandma’s piano in my my home studio.”
The Supremes were represented by Turkessa Babich and Lisa Chapman, the daughters of the late Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard, respectively. (Diana Ross did not attend or send a message to be read. Ross did send a message to PvNew through her publicist for an earlier story, saying, “Performing with two talented woman, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard, is a memory that will be in my heart forever. It was a beautiful symphony. Motown was such an incredible family. I’m forever grateful for the blessed opportunity.”)
“Although I wish mom was here physically tonight,” said Babich, “I know that she, along with Flo, are celebrating with us spiritually sipping on the finest champagne.”
“As we all know, the Supremes grew up in the Detroit projects during a racially divided time and a segregated society,” Wilson’s daughter continued. “In 1961, the three beautiful young Black girls signed to Motown as the Supremes, making history. Due to their success, they were able to change racial perceptions of how the world would view Black people and open the doors to those who came after them.” She further reminded the audience that Wilson had been a fervent advocate for the Music Modernization Act, for fair compensation for recording artists, in her later years.
Chapman thanked, among others, for dedicating her book “Dreamgirl” to her mother, Ballard. She also offered her appreciation to “Ms. Mary Wilson, may she rest in peace, for never leaving me or my sister’s sides” in the decades that followed Ballard’s death, before Wilson herself died unexpectedly last year.
Nile Rodgers was the most openly emotional of the honorees, getting tearful from the start. “My God, I don’t want to cry, so I’m going to try and be strong,” the writer-producer-guitarist said. “I beg you to put up with me because when I was informed by the Academy that I was to receive this honor, I said, ‘I didn’t see this shit coming.’ I started to reflect and quickly realized this journey was a series of steps that led me to the most important projects, people, and moments of my life. Well, so far. I sincerely appreciate the hundreds of folks who’ve helped me get to this moment, and I know I can’t thank them all because it would be longer than all the sequels of ‘Star Wars’ combined.” Nonetheless, he called up a chronological list of dozens, ranging from the “Sesame Street” band where he met one-time Chic partner Bernard Edwards to recent clients like Adam Lambert and Keith Urban, “so feel free to go to the bathroom now.”
Mercuriadis came up again, as Rodgers’ manager and business partner, “who tirelessly with our Hipgnosis family works for me and, I humbly say, every songwriter in this world. … I just do what I call chronicling life as I see it. I just write songs. Sometimes they may sound trite, to the average listener, and I’m always touched by those sort of super intellectual people who can cut through and understand the deep, hidden meaning of every song I’ve ever written, every production I’ve ever touched, every artist I’ve ever worked with, because I always try and give my best.”
Slick Rick remembered his time growing up in London before moving to the Bronx. It was in Europe, he said, that he “knew I wanted to be a singer, somewhat, when I first heard the beautiful Miss Dionne Warwick singing ‘Walk On By.'” He expounded on the further influence of Diana Ross, the Beatles and Jamaican dancehall music before getting to “the true pioneers and champions of hip-hop.” After offering thanks to such industry figures as Doug E. Fresh, Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, he added: “Who keeps the brand called Slick Rick well and running? It’s the wife.”
Joined on stage by his children, Bobby McFerrin offered an unusual a cappella recitation before retuning to the spoken word for the conclusion of his speech. He gave mention to the influence of Beethoven and Brahms that came through his father, “who had an incredible role to play in my life” and was “the first African American to sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera of New York.”
“Have fun. Play,” McFerrin advised the audience in conclusion. “Don’t take things too hard. … Take walks. Drink lots of water. Hold hands. Fly.”
Henry Diltz was one of the more popular figures on hand, having worked with many of the attendees as the photographer of more than 250 album covers (including, early and perhaps still most famously, the first CSN sleeve) as well as other portraiture and concert photography (including being the official lensman of Woodstock).
“I want to thank the universe, because it’s the universe that put the camera in my hand,” said Diltz. “I was happy being a hippie folk singer, singing with the Modern Folk Quartet,” until he picked up a camera at a secondhand store while traveling with that group and discovered an even greater love. “I lived in Laurel Canyon, and all my friends were musicians, and I would spend the day photographing them. And, eventually, they all became famous — a lucky break for me.”
Diltz explained how his personality type aided his profession. “You know, I’ve always been curious about people. When I was in college, I studied psychology because I just wanted to know, you know, what makes us tick? Why are we the way we are? And so I’m kind of curious, and I like to watch people. And it was only a couple years ago that I learned that my Chinese animal is a tiger, and tigers like to hide in the bushes and watch the other people. So that’s kind of what I do.”
The photographer wrapped up with two pieces of advice: “Behave properly and be happy.”
The introduction for Dr. Andy Hildebrand, the inventor of AutoTune, noted wryly that “since 1997, pitchiness has been a choice.” His filmic intro noted that “the technology allows for smooth, accurate pitch correction for vocalists and instrumentalists in both recording and live performance situations. Today, the ease of use and ubiquity of AutoTune somewhat belies the phenomenal breakthrough of Dr. Hildebrand’s work as a research engineer specializing in stochastic estimation theory and digital signal processing. Hildebrand put in years of study and statistical computation to come up with a workable method of pitch collection.”
Cher’s 1998 “Believe” got a bemused mention as the song that “Introduced listeners to the sound of AutoTune used as an effect, and some debate has emerged over the software’s use in that way. However, in a quieter manner, Hildebrand’s creation has become a relied-upon tool of the trade and the industry standard in vocal tuning for almost every professional producer, engineer and mixer. As with any other tool, it can be used well or used clumsily, but when it is used as intended, it elevates a vocalist’s performance and enhances a listener experience (through) his tremendous technological breakthrough that has reshaped the way music is made and heard.”
In his speech, HIldrebrand noted that “the goal I set for myself was to get the singer in tune in a way that you would not notice it as happening” — little imagining that many artists would come to use it in a way that drew attention to itself, a la Cher. “I put a dial on the front of the software, which was called the retune speed. Now, for a ballad, you would turn the retune speed to a larger number, and the the vocal will be changed slowly in pitch. For a faster song, you would turn the speed down to a lower number. And just for fun, I let that speed go to zero” — a level that was never meant to be used, but was discovered as the means of achieving a robot-like effect quickly cottoned to as a novelty.
He spoke to the economic and other changes wrought by the efficiency of his creation, when used for its intended purpose. “For the first year, I sold many, many copies and I didn’t have any idea why. It turns out that studios were using AutoTune to make their work proceed” more quickly. “Before, you had to do many, many attempts at phrases in a song and comp them together, and the whole process takes the singer’s time, it takes producers’ time… Now singers sings at one time emotionally,” and then the producer can do further work without requiring an array of single-syllable overdubs. “I didn’t realize the effect on the industry would be to change economics of the studios.” Anyhow, “amongst the thank-yous I have,” he said, “one is for Cher’s ‘Believe’ for turning the dial down to zero, which is the way you get that.”
“It’s been an amazing trip, and I’m still writing software,” Hildebrand noted.
Stax founder Jim Stewart’s legacy was celebrated by his daughter and her niece. “Someone said that when Jim Stewart moved into that theater (that became the Stax studio), a flower garden started to grow composed of many different colors. Dad had an open-door policy that helped to create a utopian environment that made Stax more like a family than a business. Artists came from all walks of life and simply walked through the front doors, and with these artists came their hopes and dreams of making it in the music industry. Dad was more than just the boss to many of these. Behind these doors was a very diverse and integrated group of artists finding common ground and mutual respect coming together to create the unique R&B sound that became uniquely Stax and would become the foundation of Memphis music that is still heard around the world, and that will continue to have an influence on many generations to come.” Steward died in December.
Perhaps the most prestigious award given out all weekend — with apologies to record and album of the year — is educator of the year, which went to Pamela Dawson. “I always thought that I would be the one cheering my students on as they received their Grammys for their successes. But instead, I am here with their cheers and their support receiving this award,” said Dawson.
“It’s a blessing to not only love music but to live it, to feel it, to instill it, and to share that life-changing power with everyone who has an ear to hear and the heart to feel.”
After thanking the grandmother of a student for nominating her, Dawson concluded her thanks by offering appreciation “to the Grammy Museum and the Recording Academy for finding me, Pamela Dawson, worthy of being not only the second woman highlighted, but the first woman of color to receive this prestigious award” in its 10-year history.
Following the awards presentation, guests moved from the Wilshire Ebell’s vintage theater to a large, adjacent events space where a lavish reception was being held for all of the Grammys’ 2023 nominees.
