Few would argue that Apple has made a significant impact on the music industry in recent years, and over the weekend the company’s late CEO was honored with a posthumous Special Merit Grammy Award recognizing those accomplishments.
MacRumors is reporting that The Recording Academy has presented the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs with a Special Merit Grammy Award “in recognition of his contributions to the field of music with the iPod and iTunes Music Store. First announced in December, the Trustees Award was accepted by senior vice president of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, at a ceremony for the Special Merit Awards on Saturday.
“On behalf of Steve's wife, Laurene, his children, and everyone at Apple, I'd like to thank you for honoring Steve with the Trustees Grammy Award,” Cue said. “Steve was a visionary, a mentor, and a very close friend. I had the incredible honor of working with him for the last fifteen years.
“Accepting this award means so much to me because music meant so much to him,” Cue continued. “He told us that music shaped his life...it made him who he was. Everyone that knows Steve knows the profound impact that artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles had on him.”
Finally, Cue reminded the audience how this love of music flowed into the products Jobs helped create at Apple: “Steve was focused on bringing music to everyone in innovative ways,” Cue explains. “We talked about it every single day. When he introduced the iPod in 2001, people asked ‘Why is Apple making a music player?’ His answer was simple: ‘We love music, and it's always good to do something you love.’
“His family and I know that this Grammy would have been very special to him, so I thank you for honoring him today,” Cue said in conclusion.
The Recording Academy also posted a tribute to Steve Jobs written by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a personal friend of Jobs who has racked up an amazing 16 Grammy awards over his own career.
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(Image courtesy of MacRumors)
