It has been a little over a year since the world lost David Bowie but the 2017 Grammy Award show is proof that we have not forgotten his impact. Bowie is a posthumous Grammy Award winner for his 25th album, Blackstar.
The rock icon won a total of four awards for his latest album prior to Sunday nights Grammy broadcast, including Best Recording Package, Best Engineered Album, Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Performance. Bowie just scored his fifth Grammy for the album’s title song, “Blackstar,” beating Radiohead and Metallica for Best Rock Song.
Engineer Kevin Killen, who worked with Bowie on the single “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)” from his release Nothing Has Changed and on Blackstar, told this to reporters Sunday afternoon, after his first two award wins were announced.
“This is his first music Grammy of any of his projects, so it’s kind of shocking” for someone who “had such an amazing presence in the business. But these things happen and I’m sure most of us that work in the business don’t necessarily think about getting awards. It’s just about the joy of making music and I’m sure it was for him, too.”
Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer, added this of Bowie’s recent success, “It’s truly well-deserved and it has been such a long time for him to finally get this recognition.”
Aside from Bowie’s 12 prior nominations, he only had a single Grammy win to his name before his recent success with Blackstar. He won the Grammy back in 1985 for best short-form video for Jazzin’ for Blue Jean.
David Bowie passed away from cancer on January 10 of last year. He was 69 years old. His death came just days after the release of Blackstar and continues to effect the music world today.