Aerosmith co-founder and lead guitarist Joe Perry will receive the prestigious Les Paul Award at the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) TEC Awards on January 21, 2017, the NAMM Foundation revealed today (October 27). From the announcement: “The annual award is given on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation and honors individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording technology in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer, inventor and musician, Les Paul.”
The award will be presented at a ceremony to be held in Anaheim, Calif., as part of the 2017 NAMM Show. Perry is also scheduled to perform live before an audience of pro audio and sound production inventors, musicians and industry friends.
“Any time my name is mentioned in the same sentence as Les Paul, it’s a huge honor,” says Perry. “Getting an award bearing his name is the icing on the cake.”
“Joe Perry was a friend of Les Paul’s and is undoubtedly one of the most innovative and talented musicians of our time,” says Michael K. Braunstein, Executive Director, Les Paul Foundation. “His ability to push boundaries of the electric guitar with his signature sound and deft playing ability embodies the true spirit of what Les Paul and the award given in his name stands for.”
Related: Perry collapsed onstage earlier this year while performing with the Hollywood Vampires
Paul died on August 13, 2009, at age 94. Previous recipients include classic rock figures Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Slash and last year’s recipient, Don Was.
Along with Perry, longtime Aerosmith engineer and producer Jack Douglas will be inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame, which was created nearly 30 years ago to honor pioneers of audio technology, as well as the music industry’s most accomplished producers and audio technicians. Douglas engineered and produced many of the band’s multi-platinum albums including Toys in the Attic and Rocks. Douglas rose to prominence at the Record Plant Studio and engineered John Lennon’s Imagine album, among many others.
Related: Perry has been working on a solo album
