Steve Jobs was posthumously awarded a Grammy Award last night for his contribution to the music industry.

The Recording Academy announced in December that the late Apple co-founder would receive one of the organization's Special Merit Awards for helping "to create products and technology that transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies, and books."

The award was accepted by Eddy Cue, who was recently promoted to senior vice president for Internet software and services:

On behalf of Steve's wife, Laurene, his children, and everyone at Apple, I'd like to thank you for honoring Steve with the Trustees Grammy Award. Steve was a visionary, a mentor, and a very close friend. I had the incredible honor of working with him for the last fifteen years.



Accepting this award means so much to me because music meant so much to him. He told us that music shaped his life...it made him who he was. Everyone that knows Steve knows the profound impact that artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles had on him.



Steve was focused on bringing music to everyone in innovative ways. We talked about it every single day. When he introduced the iPod in 2001, people asked "Why is Apple making a music player?" His answer was simple: "We love music, and it's always good to do something you love."



His family and I know that this Grammy would have been very special to him, so I thank you for honoring him today.

The other Trustee Award honorees are musician, bandleader, composer, and arranger Dave Bartholomew and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who worked with jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk.