The annual Grammys Special Merit Awards took place the day before the Grammys (2/1) as it usually does and at its usual location the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, CA.
Following the awards was the nominee party. Under the Merit Awards are the Lifetime Achievement Awards, Trustee Awards, Technical Award, and Educational Award. The LTA honorees for 2025 were none other than Prince, Maze’s Frankie Beverly, The Four Season’s Frankie Valli, Prince, Gospel icon Dr. Bobby Jones, Blues legend Taj Mahal, Punk Rock Icons (The Clash), and Rap icon Roxanne Shante. Valli (90), Jones (85), Shante, and Taj Mahal (82) were all in person to accept their awards. On behalf of Prince who passed away in 2016, accepting the award was family members including his niece Brianna Nelson, Revolution drummer Bobby Z., middle school friend and original bassist Andre Cymone, Jerome Benton (The Time), and attorneys Charles F. Spicer Jr., and L. Londell McMillan (also Manager) who represented Prince at the time of his passing and handles Prince’s estate. Prince’s award was presented by all-star producer Jimmy Jam. Beverly passed away this last September following a Maze farewell tour and his son Anthony and Maze band-mate of nearly 50 years Ronald “Roame” Lowry and son accepted the award. The Clash frontman and guitarist Joe Strummer passed away in 2002 and on behalf of the band Public Enemy’s Chuck D. accepted the award.
The Trustee Awards went to Jazz Legend Errol Garner, engineer legend Glyn Johns (Led Zeppelin/The Beatles), and the great composer Tania Leon (also Kennedy Center Honoree). Johns and Leon were both in person to accept their awards while Garner who composed the Jazz standard “Misty” passed away in 1977 just at the age of 55 and to accept the award was 2023 Grammy P&E honoree and Jazz great Terri Lyne Carrington, historian Robert DG Kelley, and Peter Lockhart. The only technical Grammy went to acoustics expert Dr. Leo Beranek who passed away in 2016 at the age of 102 and his son Tom Haynes accepted the award. Haynes stated “My dad accomplished many things, working until he was 87 on concert halls in Japan,” he said. Also the Music Educator award founded in 2014 only goes to one receipt each year and the honoree was Adrian L. Maclin of Cordova High School located outside Memphis, Tenn. The final award of the night which is only in its third year but this was the first time it was presented after being named the Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award. Belafonte passed away in 2023 at the age of 96. Presenting the award was Belafonte’s daughters Gina and Shari. The winner was Iman Jordan for “Deliver.”
