As part of the 56th GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy presented a Special Merit Award to Kraftwerk for their contributions to the recording field. Kraftwerk received the Lifetime Achievement Award, in addition to The Beatles, Mexican songwriter Armando Manzanero, country singer Kris Kristofferson, funk band the Isley Brothers as well as – posthumously – the blues musician Clifton Chenier and violinist Maud Powell.
Of this year’s Lifetime Award designees, Recording Academy head Neil Portnow said, “This astoundingly unique and gifted group have created some of the most distinguished and influential work in our musical history. Their legacies are timeless and legendary, and their creativity will continue to influence and inspire future generations.”
Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hütter used some of the lyrics to “The Robots” to accept their award:
“We’re charging our battery
And now we’re full of energy
We’re functioning automatic
And we are dancing mechanic
We are programmed just to do
Anything you want us to
We are the robots.
Thank you.”
So very happy to hear this. Definitely well deserved.
Yes well deserved. Kraftwerk has had a massive impact in my early life and still do to this day. In fact i was just listening to Autobahn the other day, awesome music for its time. I’m so glad Kraftwerk are still going, although with new members now apart from the legendary Ralf Hütter. Keep going Kraftwerk you rock 🙂
One of the most overrated bands ever
Kraftwerk is a “unique” PIONEERING band in a most often “misunderstood” music genre (electronic music / electronica [?]). The “so-called” fundamental music genre “purists” will ALWAYS have trouble accepting those “other” musicians who are willing to step “outside of the box” or introduce a musical “paradigm SHIFT” to expand the horizons of musical expression. That a band like Kraftwerk has been DOING this since the early 1970’s (late 1960’s???) AS WELL AS “having had” and continues to have a HUGE influence and impact on many, many other novice, amateur, and professional musicians for over 40 years is a CREDIT to their musical odyssey… in my “humble” opinion. Jus’ sayin’ and NOT hatin’ o anyone else out there who may read this posting. I REALLY like and enjoy listening to and trying to learn to play some of the parts of Kraftwerk’s music on my own collection of electronic music keyboards and synthesizers.
Lol cedric you are full of shit. Kraftwerk was an art school project making “schlagerlieder” with electronic intstruments. The same shit that’s now called EDM. I don’t see any innovation.
Google musique concrete, karlheinz stockhausen and throbbing gristle before you spout such drivel. People like you are insanely stupid.
“The same shit that’s now called EDM. I don’t see any innovation.”
Except that they were doing it 40 YEARS AGO.
Also, you know that Kraftwerk formed five years before Throbbing Gristle…right?
Grammies are for idiots
A welcome development to be sure, but depressing to think that the only grammy option for electronic music artists that don’t happen to make ‘dance’ music seems to be getting a ‘lifetime’ award long after they’ve reached commercial success. Separating the ‘Dance/Electronica’ genre would go a long way towards updating this increasingly archaic awards ceremony.
Clifton Chenier was known for playing zydeco, not blues. With an accordion.
Anyone getting starry eyed about Kraftwerk should read, the story from inside.
Wolfgang Flurs book, ‘I was a Robot’ lifts the lid on the inner workings.
Things like his contribution not recieving credits, not giving credit to Conny Plank .Conny Planks place in their sound was vital.
Read the book then slag me!!
I look forward to finally getting to ‘see” Kraftwerk live in concert in Asheville, North Carolina during MoogFest 2014 (Electronic Music Festival and Event) this coming April 23-27. “MUSIC… NON STOP”
I think “Ralf and Florian” was a better album than the majority of the Kraftwerk catalog. More creative and more varied. I also have to wonder how repeating the same thing you started with for 30 years is a lifetime achievement. I enjoy a lot of the band’s work, but like most of the synth gods, they’re hampered by having helped to define the synth lexicon early on. People will cut throats to preserve the image of their fuzzy childhood comforts, so change is a threat. Bowing to an entity that dutifully agreed to stay flash-frozen makes for a dubious award. Besides, the Grammys are rather like finding a 2-foot-long vibrator with a pull-starter in a Utah motel room: 17 kinds of lacquered Wrongheaded.
Kraftwerk is for self important hipsters with no taste of their own. If you are over 60 ok it’s your problem, if not, get a life you freakin lemmings. Fashion victims. Yuck