NEW YORK (Top 40 Charts) - U2's Bono has been named the 2003 MusiCares Person of the Year by the Recording Academy for his ongoing humanitarian efforts.
U2 frontman Bono has been named the 2003 MusiCares Person Of The Year by the Recording Academy in recognition of humanitarian activities throughout his career.
Most recently, Bono has been speaking out about the AIDS crisis in Africa, in addition to his work as an active supporter of and lobbyist for the International Jubilee 2000 Drop The Debt Campaign, which is urging the world's rich, industrialized countries to forgive the unpaid debts of developing nations.
U2, meanwhile, has long been involved in good causes, ranging from Band Aid and Live Aid to Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the Burma Action campaign.
In a statement, Recording Academy Chairman Garth Fundis said, "Bono is a living symbol of what the MusiCares Foundation and the Recording Academy stand for; his musical accomplishments are matched only by his endeavors to effect positive change on the human condition worldwide. We truly are privileged to be honoring this gifted and dedicated visionary."
Bono said taht his message to the world is that the fates of the world's poorer nations do affect the United States and other developed countries. "It's back to karma again, and unless you put it right everyone in a globalized economy, where everyone is interdependent, there's no escape. You can't close the door and say, 'That won't happen. That won't affect us over here.' In the end, it will, and America will spend more money trying to put out the fires, and we're just trying to convince people this is an effective value for it," he says.
U2 guitarist the Edge, meanwhile, tells on U2's official website that any award for Bono also reflects positively back onto the band. "I'm just really proud, I suppose, of him, and proud of the fact that our band--and our work--has created this environment where it's possible for him to walk into some of these corridors of power and actually get people to take him seriously," he says.
The event will help support MusiCares Financial Assistance Program, which helps music professionals in times of financial, medical, and personal hardships.
Bono will be honored at a tribute dinner, concert, and silent auction on Feb. 21, 2003 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York, during Grammy week. (The 45th Annual Grammy Awards are on Feb. 23 next year.)
Artists performing at the 13th annual gala event have yet to be announced.
