February 09, 2013 - 5:10 AM
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Legendary Toronto pianist Glenn Gould is to be honoured with a posthumous lifetime achievement award tonight at a Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles.
Others who will receive the accolade include folksinger Carole King and sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who died last year.
Gould — who died in 1982 — joins a select group of Canadians who've been given the prestigious prize.
The pianist's former lawyer and the sole executor of his estate, Stephen Posen, was to accept the prize at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theater Gould's behalf.
Coincidentally, that's the same venue where Gould played his final public performance on April 10, 1964.
Posen says his former acquaintance would have been "amused" by the honour but also deeply touched.
"The lifetime achievement award from the Grammys is the pinnacle of a career of a recording artist — and Gould was, above all else, a recording artist, that's how he chose to pursue his career, and he pursued it to perfection," Posen said.
"I think, honestly, despite his amusement, he'd probably be very, very proud of it. And he should be because it's a great honour."
Previous Canuck musicians to receive the award include Montreal jazz legend Oscar Peterson, Saskatchewan-raised folksinger Joni Mitchell and the mostly Canadian outfit the Band.
Meanwhile, rounding out this year's lifetime achievement award winners were jazz musician Charlie Haden, Texas blues guitarist Lightnin' Hopkins, late pop singer Patti Page and Motown institution the Temptations.
Other artists and industry pioneers being honoured with special awards include "The Way We Were" songwriters Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Chess Records founders Leonard and Phil Chess, late Capital Records executive Alan Livingston, MIDI developers Ikutaro Kakehashi and Dave Smith and Royer Labs.
The Grammy Awards will be handed out Sunday night.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013