The President/CEO of The Recording Academy celebrates the GRAMMYs' past and future

GRAMMY.com

(For a complete list of 51st GRAMMY Awards winners, please click here.)

There's something about the new president of the United States that you probably don't know — he's a two-time GRAMMY recipient.

I mention this for several reasons: First, because at the time we presented the GRAMMY to then-Senator Obama, he told us that it was his one accomplishment that really impressed our new first lady, but second, because to the creative community it means that he is "one of us"— he's an artist — in this case, a writer and GRAMMY winner for the recorded performance of his books.

You know in these challenging and complex times, people turn to our creative community for everything from plain entertainment and escape, to deep inspiration and hope.

And it's The Recording Academy's mission to ensure that our music family can continue to create the music and inspiration they bring to you and to our world.

So when it comes to providing a safety net for music people in need — any time…any place — our MusiCares Foundation says, "Yes we can!" and we do, with millions of dollars every year to help them.

When it comes to pledging ourselves to the proposition that every young person deserves an opportunity to experience music and the arts in public school, our GRAMMY Foundation says, "Yes we can!" and we provide programs and fight for this right every day.

And when it comes to protecting a musician's intellectual property and the right to earn a living, The Academy says, "Yes, we can!" And with a new Congress, we will champion the passage of pending legislation to ensure that, just like in every developed country in the world, all music creators are compensated for their performances when played on traditional radio.

When it comes to learning about music and its history through the lens of the GRAMMYs, we said, "Yes we can!" and just two months ago, we opened the extraordinary GRAMMY Museum right here in Los Angeles for all to visit and enjoy.

And to our new president, we have a request: Our finest national treasure is our culture and the arts. It's also one of our most embraced and economically significant exports all around the world.

So it's time that we acknowledge that fact with the creation of a cabinet position of secretary of the arts to promote and develop this vital contribution to society everywhere.

You know just three weeks ago, the whole world watched as change was ushered in — but the whole world also listened to the extraordinary music that provided the soundtrack to history. So having a GRAMMY winner in the White House provides great hope for the future of music and the arts in our country, and for that we say, "Thank you Mr. President" for the inspiration to loudly shout, "Yes we can!"