BEIJING, Feb. 9 -- A diverse group of entertainers, including late comedian Richard Pryor, opera singer Jessye Norman and Island Records mogul Chris Blackwell, received honorary Grammy statuettes on Tuesday, the eve of the music industry's biggest night of the year.

late comedian Richard Pryor

    Also feted during the low-key event that often ran high on emotion were folk group the Weavers, Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, rock icon David Bowie, country outlaw Merle Haggard, rock trio Cream, Nashville producer Owen Bradley and recording engineers Al Schmitt and Tom Dowd.

    Pryor, the iconoclastic comic who died of complications from multiple sclerosis in December, was represented by his widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor. She recalled that when her husband was informed he would be getting the award, he replied, "It's about f---in' time."

    The award came too late for Johnson, "the king of the Delta blues," who was murdered in 1938, at the age of 27. Although he recorded just 29 compositions, they are treated as the holy grail of blues by generations of rock stars. He was represented by his son, Claude, who only in recent years was recognized as Johnson's only true heir.

folk group the Weavers

    The Weavers, represented by members Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman, struck a chord with the crowd as their struggles with political witch hunts during the 1950s were recounted.

    Of the other Weavers, Lee Hays died in 1981, while 85-year-old Pete Seeger does not travel much these days.

    Soprano Norman said she was humbled to follow in the footsteps of only three other opera singers to receive honorary Grammys: Enrico Caruso, Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily)