The connection between Roland and the artist community has always been a strong and vital one. In 2016, Head of Artist Relations, Brian Alli, decided to make an effort to document Roland’s history while simultaneously honoring its artists. To achieve this goal, the company introduced the annual Roland and BOSS Lifetime Achievement Awards. “We were so involved in the creation of sound, and even musical genres. I felt we needed to tell these stories and honor the people involved,” Alli says. From their start onward, the growth of the Lifetime Achievement Awards mirrors Roland’s evolution.
1972: The Year When Intuition Met Innovation
The late Ikutaro Kakehashi founded the Roland Corporation in Osaka, Japan in 1972. One year later he added the BOSS division of Roland to focus on bass and electric guitar effects pedals. Immediately, Roland differentiated itself from competitors.
The company did so with instruments that were affordable, intuitive, and small enough to transport with ease. The TR-33, TR-55, and TR-77 Rhythm Machines were the first products released under the Roland name. Additionally, the SH-1000 synthesizer proved a significant early success. BOSS marked its start with the B-100 acoustic guitar preamp and the GE-10 Graphic Equalizer. Both quickly cemented their popularity with guitarists.
Roland’s ability to offer alternatives to the often massive and expensive studio gear of the day was transformative. “It was huge in terms of the creative community because we had a piece of that rock,” Terry Lewis says. Half of the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award-winning production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, he adds, “They gave us access.”
“This is our brand saying thank you to the people that helped build it." -Brian Alli
Introducing the Lifetime Achievement Awards
There are no strict guidelines dictating winners in terms of commercial success, genre, or name recognition. Artists receive acknowledgment annually at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show. Due to COVID-19, this year’s festivities happened via an impressive virtual ceremony.
Above all, the focus is on nominating artists with deep tied to Roland and BOSS. All demonstrate an ongoing commitment to incorporating their instruments into recording and performance. “This is our brand saying thank you to the people that helped build it,” Alli says. To appreciate the impact of the Lifetime Achievement Awards, let’s look at past winners and their use of Roland and BOSS instruments.
2016
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Skunk Baxter
2016: The Year of Genre-Spanning Careers
Super producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have had an illustrious career. Highlights include five Grammy awards and credits on 100-plus albums with sales ranging from Gold to Diamond. They incorporated Roland’s TR-808 drum machine masterfully on early productions like The S.O.S. Band’s “Just Be Good To Me” and “Tell Me If You Still Care.” The latter Lewis noted while thanking Roland for “adding the boom in the music” during their acceptance speech.
The Minneapolis natives used the 808 alongside the LinnDrum by “wild-syncing” it to the existing track of Janet Jackson’s “When I Think of You.” The machine’s presence is especially notable on the video version of the song. “Nothing had that 808 swing, the way it moves is different than all the other drum machines,” Lewis says.
Innovative Pair
Their use of Roland products runs deep. The single “If” from Janet Jackson’s Janet (1993) features what sounds like an electric guitar. However, the riffs actually come from a JD-800 keyboard played by Jimmy Jam, a fact that may surprise fans. “It expanded what you thought you could do with a keyboard,” he says. “If you played it authentically, correctly, you would basically fool people.”
Later, producer Rockwilder worked with Jam and Lewis to create five songs for Jackson’s All For You album. The pair were so impressed by his XP-60 Music Workstation skills, they used the keyboard on the album. In fact, they crafted the song “China Love” with it exclusively.
Looking back on the experience, Jam praises the XP-60’s drum loops. “It was very easy to write to because you never have to worry about finding a beat or programming a drum machine,” he says. “It was like, ‘Oh, just go through, find a loop, turn it on, and go for it.’”
They appreciate Roland’s connection to artists and effort to increase access to gear. To the pair, this is what makes their 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award so special. “That’s why I love this company so much,” Lewis says. “They do so much for so many.”
Musical Polymath
The legendary Skunk Baxter was a founding member of Steely Dan, later joining The Doobie Brothers for their celebrated mid-’70s run. Baxter’s diverse skill set includes playing keyboards and pedal steel as well as scoring films like Bull Durham, Roxanne, and Class of 1984. He’s toured with Elton John and done sessions for John Cougar Mellencamp and Joni Michell. Along the way, the guitarist has earned multiple Gold and Platinum plaques and two Grammy awards.
Over the past four decades, he’s maintained a strong bond with Roland and BOSS. Baxter holds a special affinity for Roland’s JC-120 Jazz Chorus amplifier. You can hear it on contributions to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” Donna Summers’ “Hot Stuff,” and music for Mike Judge’s King of the Hill.
“It was huge in terms of the creative community because we had a piece of that rock. They gave us access.” -Terry Lewis
2017
Jean-Michel Jarre
Andy Summers
2017: The Year of Remarkable Influence
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Andy Summers’ use of guitar synthesis was essential to The Police discography. Summers has remained a dedicated BOSS and Roland enthusiast throughout his storied career.
He employed a GR-300 analog guitar synthesizer on the track “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” from Zenyatta Mondatta and on the ’81 follow-up, Ghost in the Machine. Roland products feature heavily on era-defining radio tracks like “Walking on the Moon” and “Every Breath You Take.” During his acceptance speech, Summers acknowledged Roland for expanding his range of sonic possibilities.
Acclaimed for his work in ambient, avant-garde, and electronic music is French composer and producer Jean-Michel Jarre. He’s sold 80 million records throughout his career, including 12 million copies of his influential 1976 release, Oxygène. Jarre recorded the classic in his home studio. Hear the Roland D-50 on Revolutions (1988) and the JD-800 on the Stephen Hawking-inspired Chronologie (1993).
These days, Roland instruments like the SYSTEM-8 help Jarre achieve his desired sound. Additionally, he has a reputation for complex, dynamic, and visually stunning live shows like a virtual reality performance on New Year’s Eve 2020.
2018
Thomas Dolby
Steve Vai
2018: The Year of Musical Disruptors
Occupying a unique realm of the sonic spectrum are Thomas Dolby hits like “She Blinded Me with Science” and “Hyperactive!” Roland and BOSS have been key to Dolby’s career as a musician, author, educator, and Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
He initially picked up BOSS’s DR-55 Dr. Rhythm Drum Machine, the company’s first step sequencer. The artist used the distinct percussion hits on his 1981 b-side “Therapy / Growth.” Dolby later moved on to the JUPITER-4, JUPITER-8, and the D-50, even recording tour bus demos with the TR-808 and TB-303.
Now a Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University, he published a memoir in 2017. In 2018, Dolby toured with a laptop, MIDI controllers, the TR-08, and several Roland Cloud synths. He praises the meticulously recreated SYSTEM-100 plug-in.
Flexible Six-Stringer
Idiosyncratic Steve Vai cut his teeth at eighteen with Frank Zappa, first as a transcriptionist and then as “stunt” guitarist. Other highlights in Vai’s colorful career include the classic 1984 solo album Flex-Able, releases with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake, and a “Stairway to Heaven” cover featuring Mary J. Blige and Travis Barker.
A longtime Roland and BOSS user, Vai is a huge fan of Roland’s SDE-3000 Digital Delay. In fact, he bought a pair not long after they hit shelves in 1983. The product was essential to his workflow and appears on his ’80s and ’90s projects. “They’re on virtually every recording I’ve done up to The Story of Light,” he wrote in 2015. “They were in my live guitar rig all through Alcatrazz, Roth, Whitesnake, and beyond.”
“On every record made in L.A., there is a Roland or BOSS product. Their gear has been incredibly valuable for us all.”
-Danny Kortchmar
2019
DJ Pierre
Danny Kortchmar
2019: The Year of Innovators and Hitmakers
The 2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards provided an emotional moment. Chicago legends DJ Pierre and late collaborator Spanky received the honor with the latter’s family in attendance. As founding members of pioneering group Phuture along with Herb J, cementing their legacy meant a great deal to Pierre. “When this award happened, I was like, ‘Wow, Spanky you’re a legend. It’s written in stone right now,’” he says.
Their relationship with the Roland TB-303 began when Spanky picked one up secondhand. Pierre’s knob twisting altered the frequency and resonance of 303 bass patterns. Soon, Phuture recorded their 1987 single “Acid Tracks” and created the trademark “squelchy” sound that birthed the acid genre. Additionally, Phuture provided the memorable “acid” name for the new sound.
Acid Inventors
Pierre and Phuture pushed the boundaries of the TB-303 to create an entirely new genre. He stresses the importance of acknowledging the people behind the machine. “What made the acid was the manipulation of the 303,” he says.
Outside of the 303, the JUNO-106 was essential to the majority of Pierre’s tracks that defined his Wild Pitch alias. It gave songs a more menacing feel or a bit of squelch as needed. A legendary TR-808 with mysterious origins also played a critical role in Pierre’s music and the emerging Chicago house music scene in the 1980s. “We literally had one 808 that just traveled around the city,” he says. “It was like a community instrument.”
"When this award happened, I was like, ‘Wow, Spanky you're a legend. It's written in stone right now.'" -DJ Pierre
Gentleman Journeyman
Guitarist to songwriter to producer—Danny Kortchmar has done it all. He wrote Don Henley’s “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” and co-wrote Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s Baby” and “Tender Is the Night.” Kortchmar’s reputation led to work with Billy Joel (River of Dreams), Jon Bon Jovi (“Blaze of Glory”), and Neil Young (Landing on Water). You can even hear his guitar on classics like Carole King’s Tapestry and James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James. These prestigious projects are but a few from his impressive resume.
During his 2019 acceptance speech, Kortchmar emphasized the prevalence of Roland and BOSS gear in studios. “On every record made in L.A., there is a Roland or BOSS product that is on that recording or on that stage. Their gear has been incredibly valuable for us all.”
2020
Omar Hakim
Yngwie Malmsteen
2020: The Year Where Technique Meets Passion
2020 Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Omar Hakim has demonstrated a lifetime of dedication to the art of drumming. As a middle schooler in the early ’70s, he recorded and toured with Jay Mason and opened for Sly and the Family Stone and The Doobie Brothers. By the time he reached high school, he was working with Patty Labelle. This led to a lengthy stint with Weather Report and records for David Bowie. From there, Hakim built a dizzying array of credits. These include Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Jewel, Daft Punk, Bruce Springsteen, and Sting.
Grooving with Technology
Hakim embraced drum technology as part of his process early on. This began with the Pollard Syndrum before learning how to program a LinnDrum machine in the early ’80s. He noticed how Roland incorporated electronic drum elements into playable kits and picked up their TD-5 and TD-7. Hakim then replayed samples of Michael Jackson hitting different parts of his body for Jackson’s 1995 LP HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.
An avid fan of Roland’s V-Drums, Hakim brought the TD-10 Percussion Sound Module on Madonna’s Ray of Light tour, increasing the product’s visibility.
Shredding with Style
Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen is known for his neoclassical style and unparalleled technique. Malmsteen’s 1984 debut Rising Force earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance and Guitar World later dubbed him the “greatest shredder of all time.” His 1986 LP Trilogy was a commercial success that received critical notice for the dexterity, speed, and technical precision of the playing.
Malmsteen praised the Roland DC-10 Analog Echo during his speech. Like other artists, he’s spoken about Roland and BOSS products being pivotal early in his career. “It was a revelation that a little white box with a 9-volt battery could blow away this $2,000 thing,” he told BOSS about the NS-2 noise suppressor.
"You hear guitarists talk about the Les Paul or the Stratocaster they can’t do without. For me, this has always been the JUPITER-8."
-Nick Rhodes
2021
Nick Rhodes
Johnny Marr
2021: The Year of the Alternative Icons
Amid a global pandemic, it was important to Roland to continue its tradition of giving the Lifetime Achievement Awards as a form of celebration. This year, they honored Duran Duran’s founding member and keyboardist Nick Rhodes.
A fan of the intuitive nature of Roland synths, Rhodes used the JUPITER-4 extensively on Duran Duran’s 1981 self-titled platinum debut. It’s all over the hit title track of their critically-acclaimed 1982 follow-up Rio. You’ll also hear a great deal of the JUPITER-8 throughout the record. He has since cited the JUPITER-8 as his favorite because of its warm sound and ease of manipulation. “You often hear guitarists talking about the ultimate Les Paul or the 1959 Stratocaster that they can’t do without,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Well, for me, this has always been the JUPITER-8.”
Rhodes’ use of Roland continued into the 2000s. He played the JD-XA on Duran Duran’s celebrated 2015 return Paper Gods.
From Manchester with Marr
2021 BOSS recipient Johnny Marr began his prolific career in Manchester with The Smiths. This kicked off a legacy as one of the most influential songwriters and guitarists in the history of British music.
The formidable Marr is known for eclectic collaborations with acts across many genres. His career boasts recording and live work with the Talking Heads, Electronic, Modest Mouse, Hans Zimmer, and Billie Eilish. His acclaimed solo career has seen multiple Top Ten albums.
To honor Marr on receiving his award, artists from around the globe shared their warm congratulations. These included Billy Duffy, Iggy Pop, Rick Nielson, and many others.
Looking Ahead: 2022 and Beyond
Since their inception, Roland and BOSS’s Lifetime Achievement Awards have been a resounding success. They’ve honored deserving artists while providing a timeline of how artists continue to shape music using these innovative tools. The awards will likely continue to evolve and develop in new and exciting ways in the years to come. Above all, they’ve strengthed the collaborative dialogue and mutual respect that exists between Roland, BOSS, and musicians.
