Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis Honoured

R+B duo Jimmy Jam and TERRY LEWIS received the prestigious Heritage Award at the 18th annual Rhythm And Soul Awards last night (27JUN05).

In a video tribute to the pair, who have written and produced songs for Mariah Carey, JANET JACKSON AND MARY J BLIGE, producer Quincy Jones compared them to legendary songwriters JERRY LEIBER and MIKE STOLLER.

In his acceptance speech Lewis said, "The true meaning of 'heritage' is an inheritance, so I think we've gotten more out of music than music's gotten out of us, and I'm just happy to be able to share a little bit of ourselves and our music with everybody."

Alicia Keys was honoured for her work on four songs including IF I AIN'T GOT YOU.

She said, "Music is so special and spiritual to me. When people feel it back like how I feel it, it's a great honour for me."

Top producer Jermaine Dupri was also honoured and praised the awards show for its appreciation of behind the scenes work.

He said, "This is probably the best awards show for me, because all the songwriters, this is where we get recognized. A lot of times we get overlooked."