As part of the 2017 winter NAMM show, the 32nd annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards (NAMM TEC Awards), the NAMM Foundation has announced, Aerosmith guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Joe Perry will receive the Les Paul Award, which honors individuals who 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 is set to be presented as part of the NAMM show, at a ceremony on January 21. Perry, one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” is also scheduled to perform live at the event. Perry will join an accomplished group of past Les Paul Award recipients, including Sir Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townsend, Slash and Don Was.
This year’s awards ceremony promises to be somewhat thematic, as legendary producer/engineer Jack Douglas will be inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame at the same event. The Hall of Fame award was established nearly 30 years ago to recognize great audio technology pioneers, producers and technicians. And Douglas has engineered and produced numerous multi-Platinum Aerosmith albums, including the smash seminal records Toys in the Attic and Rocks. He is also recognized for his work in the early days of the Record Plant Studio, where he engineered John Lennon’s Imagine and The Who’s Who’s Next, among other releases.
As it does each year, the NAMM TEC Awards will also recognize the accomplishments of sound engineers, producers and technology developers behind some of the past year’s most memorable recordings, tours and events, films, TV programs and videogames. Awards will be presented in eight creative and 25 technical categories. Two new categories were added this year to recognize achievements in Audio Education Technology, and DJ Production Technology.
Also at this year’s ceremony, eight products will be welcomed into the TECnology Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to products that have made a great impact on music and audio production. Front of House magazine editor (and former Mix magazine editor) George Petersen will present this year’s TECnology Hall of Fame inductees: the Decca Tree (1954), Neumann’s U67 condenser microphone (1960), the wah-wah pedal (1966), Tascam’s 80-8 8-track analog recorder (1976), the Wendel Drum Machine (1978), API’s Audio Lunchbox 500 Series (1985), Neutrik’s Speakon connector (1987), and AEA’s R44-C ribbon microphone (1998).
TEC Awards nominees and winners are chosen through a three-step process that is detailed on the TEC Awards’ website. For more information about the selection process or about this year’s nominees and honorees, or to purchase tickets, visit TECawards.org.
