23 February 1999
Brian Setzer receives the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
Chet Atkins Country Gentleman
The picture above and the text below are taken with permission from and are copyrighted by Gibson.
In a ceremony honoring the world's best guitarists at the Hard Rock Cafe Los Angeles today, rockabilly/swing guitarist extraordinaire Brian Setzer was presented with the 1999 Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award. Other honorees include John Fogerty, Courtney Love, Steve Earle, Melissa Ehteridge, Jon Scofield, and Mike Ward (Wallflowers).
The annual Orville H. Gibson Awards are held the day prior to the Grammy Awards and bring out the best of the world's guitarists. The awards are determined by a process that includes nominations by the editors of the leading guitar magazines, with the final honoree in each category chosen by music critics from around the country.
Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Musical Instruments, said of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, "From his early success as a Stray Cat to his current Grammy nominated multi-platinum triumphs with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Brian continues to demonstrate his creative genius as one of America's great musicians and accomplished guitarists. And for that, we honor him today with the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award."The Brian Setzer Orchestra's current album, The Dirty Boogie, is double- platinum and has received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Album ("The Dirty Boogie"), Best Pop Performance Duo/Group with Vocal ("Jump Jive An' Wail"), and Best Pop Instrumental Performance ("Sleepwalk"). The only other recipients of this prestigious award are B.B. King, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill and John Fogerty.