Recording Academy Unveils 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees: Prince, The Clash, Taj Mahal and More

Today, the Recording Academy has announced the 2025 recipients of its Lifetime Achievement Award. The prestigious honor will be granted to seven iconic artists during the Special Merit Awards Ceremony at Los Angeles’ Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Feb. 1. Among those legends to be celebrated at this annual highlight of Grammy Week are The Clash, Taj Mahal and Prince.

Those honorees, who indisputably stand among the foundational creatives in punk and new wave, blues and world music and funk-rock-pop-fusion respectively, will be joined in the 48th class of Lifetime Achievement recipients by R&B vocal powerhouse and Maze frontman Frankie Beverly, groundbreaking golden-age female rapper Roxanne Shante, chart-topping Four Seasons falsetto Frankie Valli and beloved gospel vocalist and television/radio host Dr. Bobby Jones. The Special Merit Awards will also recognize Glyn Johns, Tania León and idiosyncratic pianist and “Misty” composer Erroll Garner with the Trustees Award, which recognizes non-performers, and Dr. Leo Beranek with the Technical Grammy Award.

The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 1962 to recognize performers and their creative accomplishments of outstanding import to the history of recorded music. Since Bing Crosby became the award’s first recipient in 1963, the Academy’s National Trustees have granted the high honor to a total of 243 artists and counting.

“It’s an amazing privilege to honor this eclectic group of music icons during the year’s biggest week in music,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. offered in a statement. “Each of this year’s Special Merit Award recipients has left an indelible mark on music, from paving the way for others to innovation that forever has changed the trajectory of the musical landscape. We can’t wait to celebrate this group and their achievements in February.”

Read more on the 2025 recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award here. Read about the nominees for the 67th Annual Grammy Awards here.