Trustees Award

This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of The Recording Academy's National Trustees to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance*, to the field of recording. (*Through 1983, recipients included performers.)

Past Recipients

Alphabetical by recipient

Chris Albertson Awarded: 1971	Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss Awarded: 1997
Harold Arlen Awarded: 1987	George Avakian Awarded: 2009
Clarence Avant Awarded: 2008	Estelle Axton Awarded: 2007
Burt Bacharach & Hal David Awarded: 1997	Dave Bartholomew Awarded: 2012
Béla Bartok Awarded: 1984	Count Basie Awarded: 1981
The Beatles Awarded: 1972	Al Bell Awarded: 2011
Thom Bell Awarded: 2017	Marilyn & Alan Bergman Awarded: 2013
Emile Berliner Awarded: 1987	Chris Blackwell Awarded: 2006
Harold Bradley Awarded: 2010	Owen Bradley Awarded: 2006
John Cage Awarded: 2016	Hoagy Carmichael Awarded: 2005
Elliott Carter Awarded: 2009	Leonard & Phil Chess Awarded: 2013
Dick Clark Awarded: 1990	Aaron Copland Awarded: 1981
Don Cornelius Awarded: 2005	Pierre Cossette Awarded: 1995
John Culshaw (see Solti) Awarded: 1967	Hal David (see Bacharach) Awarded: 1997
Clive Davis Awarded: 2000	Walt Disney Awarded: 1989
Thomas A. Dorsey Awarded: 1992	Tom Dowd Awarded: 2002
Lamont Dozier (see Holland/Dozier/Holland) Awarded: 1998	Thomas A. Edison Awarded: 1977
Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn Awarded: 1968	Ahmet Ertegun Awarded: 1993
Nesuhi Ertegun Awarded: 1995	Christine M. Farnon Awarded: 1992
Wilma Cozart Fine Awarded: 2011	Fred Foster Awarded: 2016
Alan Freed Awarded: 2002	Milt Gabler Awarded: 1991
Kenneth Gamble And Leon Huff Awarded: 1999	George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin Awarded: 1986
Ira Gershwin (see George Gershwin) Awarded: 1986	Gerry Goffin & Carole King Awarded: 2004
Berry Gordy Awarded: 1991	Norman Granz Awarded: 1994
Florence Greenberg Awarded: 2010	Rick Hall Awarded: 2014
Oscar Hammerstein II Awarded: 1992	John Hammond NOTE: This is different person from John Hammond the blues artist. Awarded: 1971
W.C. Handy Awarded: 1993	Lorenz Hart Awarded: 1992
Larry Hiller Awarded: 1971	Holland/Dozier/Holland (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland) Awarded: 1998
Jac Holzman Awarded: 2008	Leon Huff (see Gamble And Huff) Awarded: 1999
Steve Jobs Awarded: 2012	Eldridge R. Johnson Awarded: 1985
Quincy Jones Awarded: 1989	Orrin Keepnews Awarded: 2004
Jerome Kern Awarded: 1987	Carole King (see Goffin) Awarded: 2004
Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe Awarded: 1999	Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller Awarded: 1999
Goddard Lieberson Awarded: 1979	Alfred Lion Awarded: 2005
Alan Livingston Awarded: 2013	Frederick Loewe (see Lerner & Loewe) Awarded: 1999
Alan Lomax Awarded: 2003	Bruce Lundvall Awarded: 2011
Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil Awarded: 2015	Arif Mardin Awarded: 2001
Jim Marshall Awarded: 2014	George Martin Awarded: 1996
Cosimo Matassa Awarded: 2007	Marian McPartland Awarded: 2004
Johnny Mercer Awarded: 1987	Walter C. Miller Awarded: 2010
Willie Mitchell Awarded: 2008	Dr. Robert Moog Awarded: 1970
Ennio Morricone Awarded: 2014	Jerry Moss (see Alpert) Awarded: 1997
New York Philharmonic Awarded: 2003	Mo Ostin Awarded: 2017
Les Paul Awarded: 1983	Ralph S. Peer Awarded: 2017
Krzysztof Penderecki Awarded: 1968	Richard Perry Awarded: 2015
Sam Phillips Awarded: 1991	Cole Porter Awarded: 1989
Frances Preston Awarded: 1998	Phil Ramone Awarded: 2001
Richard Rodgers Awarded: 1998	Al Schmitt Awarded: 2006
George T. Simon Awarded: 1993	Frank Sinatra Awarded: 1979
Georg Solti & John Culshaw Awarded: 1967	Stephen Sondheim Awarded: 2007
Phil Spector Awarded: 2000	Leopold Stokowski Awarded: 1977
Mike Stoller (see Leiber & Stoller) Awarded: 1999	Chris Strachwitz Awarded: 2016
Billy Strayhorn (see Ellington) Awarded: 1968	Dr. Billy Taylor Awarded: 2005
Allen Toussaint Awarded: 2009	Rudy Van Gelder Awarded: 2012
Cynthia Weil (see Mann) Awarded: 2015	George Wein Awarded: 2015
Paul Weston Awarded: 1971	Jerry Wexler Awarded: 1996