HOLLYWOOD — Another jewel has been added to the King of Pop’s crown.

Michael Jackson was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a special Grammy ceremony held Saturday afternoon.

“What more is there to be said?” asked National Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences president Neil Portnow. “The world wept at his sudden and untimely passing last year — because we know that a talent so remarkable will not likely grace our presence again for a lifetime.”

Fair enough. But Jacko’s longtime manager Frank DiLeo — who accepted the award on behalf of the late star and his three children — was more interested in remembering Michael the man than Michael the star.

“He was a good friend and a funny guy,” said an emotional DiLeo. “He had a sense of humour like none of you really know.

“I remember the times he would call me up and say, ‘Are you watching the Grammys? Do you believe what that person just said?’ ... Then he would laugh like hell and then just hang up.”

Earlier, producer Jimmy Jam told reporters on the red carpet that his music career began shortly after he discovered the Jackson 5’s first LP.

“I saw on the back of the album that Michael Jackson was 10,” he said. “I was 10 years old too. That totally changed my viewpoint of music. I didn’t have to wait. I could start making music now. And I did.”

Jackson’s posthumous honour was one of several awards handed out at the affair, a noticeably intimate and low-key affair in contrast to the arena-sized Grammy ceremony held at Staples Center.

“We all love the Grammys, and we love the glitz and the glamour,” said Portnow, “but these awards are the heart and soul of the Academy and what we do.”

The other Lifetime Achievement Award winners:

Leonard Cohen

The 75-year-old poet laureate of Canadian folk showed up to the ceremony clad in his usual dapper black outfit, complete with rumpled fedora and string tie. He didn’t have anything to say to reporters on the red carpet — nor did he offer many nuggets during his acceptance speech, which consisted almost entirely of the lyrics to his tune Tower of Song. Cohen was far more eloquent and moving at Thursday’s gala celebrating Canadian artists — so maybe he really is as patriotic as he seems.

Bobby Darin

The other posthumous honouree on the list, the versatile, multifaceted and underappreciated singer-songwriter was represented by Dodd Darin, his son with singer Sandra Dee. “I’ve accepted various awards over the years on his behalf,” said Dodd, who broke down several times during his lengthy speech. “This day, however, is the sweetest of all.” Recalling how his father — who died in 1973 at age 37 — imparted him with life lessons because “he knew he wasn’t going to be around for the long haul,” Darin suggested that “it’s not the duration of a man’s life that’s important, but what he leaves behind.”

David (Honeyboy) Edwards

A blues guitarist who was a contemporary of the legendary Robert Johnson — and even claims to have been in the same bar on the night of his death — Edwards now stands alone as the last of the original Delta bluesmen. If that weren’t enough to earn him an award, the fact that he still tours at age 95 should seal the deal. “I’m still knocking ’em dead,” boasted the singer-guitarist, earning a well-deserved round of applause. Sadly, his status didn’t earn him a limo ride; Edwards pulled up to the ceremony (and presumably left) in a cab.

Loretta Lynn

Country icon Lynn was unable to accept her award in person due to a family illness, but she sent daughters Patsy and Peggy Lynn — “the coal miner’s grand-daughters,” as Portnow called them. “My mom didn’t just come into Nashville and come into country music and open the doors for females,” said Patsy, “she kicked them off the hinges. She’s still kicking them off the hinges.” Given that their mom is celebrating her 50th year in music, it’s hard to dispute.

Clark Terry

The legendary jazz trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso — who played with Louis Armstrong and influenced Miles Davis — arrived in a wheelchair, and seemed almost too frail to make it up the stairs to accept his award. But as Portnow assured him, “it was worth the climb.”

Andre Previn

Also unable to accept his award in person for health reasons, the pianist, composer and conductor sent in a videotaped speech, noting that he had given several of his previous Grammy awards to his children — but intended to “hang on to this one for a while.”

A trio of Trustee’s Awards were also handed out to:

Harold Bradley

You may not know Bradley, but you’ve heard him. The former Nashville session cat is the most-recorded guitarist in history, with his chiming licks appearing on everything from Roy Orbison’s Only the Lonely and Patsy Cline’s Crazy to Jingle Bell Rock and Loretta Lynn’s Coal Miner’s Daughter.

Florence Greenberg

A music industry pioneer, Greenberg was was a New Jersey housewife who became the first woman to own a record label. Along the way, she penned several hits and discovered artists like The Shirelles, Dionne Warwick, B.J. Thomas and The Kingsmen.

Walter C. Miller

The longtime Grammy show producer and director was also the life of the party, tossing off a gag-filled monologue in which he claimed that the first award show he directed “was the Lincoln inauguration.” He also mischievously enjoyed the fact that no one could play him off.

Some technical awards were also handed out, including one to:

Thomas Alva Edison

Yes, the guy who actually invented the phonograph — which pretty much created the entire music industry that the Grammys celebrate — finally got a Grammy. You’d think that would have happened by now. Still, several of his descendants seemed sincerely pleased to accept the honour, calling their great-great-grand-ancestor “a 19th-century superstar who virtually invented the 20th century, and is still relevent in the 21st century.” You can’t really come up with a better lifetime achievement than that.