The Recording Academy announced the recipients for the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award on Tuesday, including Talking Heads, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, and more. Other recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Salt-N-Pepa, Lionel Hampton, Selena, and Marilyn Horne.
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will take place on January 31st, 2021, though the Academy has not yet announced how they will take place. The Academy noted that due to the pandemic, details regarding the award ceremony will be revealed at a later date.
This year’s honorees represent a wide swath of the musical spectrum, from the jazz percussion of Lionel Hampton through the Talking Heads’ pioneering of New Wave past the early days of hip-hop with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and into the new age of R&B with Salt-N-Pepa. Talking Heads never won a Grammy—despite being nominated twice—nor did Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five or Lionel Hampton.
The Academy has also recognized the late Selena—born Selena Quintanilla-Pérez—who grew to become one of the most famous Mexican-American entertainers of the 20th century before her murder in 1995. Lastly, the Academy will honor 86-year-old Marilyn Horne who over her six-decade career has built a sterling reputation as one of the finest voices in opera as she earned four Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters from France’s ministry of culture, and a National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors.
“As we welcome the new class of Special Merit Award honorees, it gives us a chance to reward and recognize the influence they’ve had in the music community regardless of genre,” Harvey Mason Jr., Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, said. “As a music creator and music lover, I am grateful that we are able to look back at our influences and see the impact that they have made on our community. In a year where music has helped keep us together, I look forward to honoring this iconic group of music creators.”
Tuesday’s announcement of the Academy’s Special Merit Awards also included Ed Cherney, Benny Golson, and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds who are all Trustee Awards honorees. The 63rd annual Grammys will also see Daniel Weiss receive the Technical Grammy Award.
For more information on the Lifetime Achievement recipients and the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards head over to the Recording Academy website.