Apple and General Electric are grabbing headlines in the tech sector today with the announcement of their partnership to develop mobile apps for managing machinery, factories and power plants.
Though they have two completely different trajectories, the two companies share an interesting GRAMMY Awards history link. Both companies have founders who have been recognized with Special Merit Awards from the Recording Academy.
The late Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple, was saluted with a Trustees Award in 2012. As the mastermind behind major music-related innovations such as iTunes, the iPod and iPhone, Jobs was so honored for making significant non-performing-related contributions to the field of recording. Apple Computer Inc. was previously honored with a Technical GRAMMY Award in 2002.
Thomas A. Edison, a co-founder of General Electric (then named Edison General Electric Company) dating back to the 19th century, received a posthumous Technical GRAMMY Award in 2010. Edison registered nearly 1,100 patents during his lifetime, but it was his invention of the phonograph in 1877 that led to a revolution in entertainment, bringing music into the homes of people everywhere and laying a foundation for the recording industry.
The Recording Academy honors Special Merit Awards recipients annually. The class of 2017 was celebrated on the recent PBS TV special "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends."
