This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers* who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. (*Through 1972, recipients included non-performers.)
Past Recipients
Roy Acuff Awarded: 1987 |
Allman Brothers Band, The Awarded: 2012 |
Marian Anderson Awarded: 1991 |
Julie Andrews Awarded: 2011 |
Louis Armstrong Awarded: 1972 |
Eddy Arnold Awarded: 2005 |
Fred Astaire Awarded: 1989 |
Chet Atkins Awarded: 1993 |
Gene Autry Awarded: 2009 |
Burt Bacharach Awarded: 2008 |
Joan Baez Awarded: 2007 |
The Band Awarded: 2008 |
Count Basie Awarded: 2002 |
Beach Boys Awarded: 2001 |
The Beatles Awarded: 2014 |
Bee Gees Awarded: 2015 |
Harry Belafonte Awarded: 2000 |
Tony Bennett Awarded: 2001 |
Irving Berlin Awarded: 1968 |
Leonard Bernstein Awarded: 1985 |
Chuck Berry Awarded: 1984 |
Black Sabbath Awarded: 2019 |
Hal Blaine Awarded: 2018 |
Art Blakey Awarded: 2005 |
Bobby "Blue" Bland Awarded: 1997 |
Blind Boys Of Alabama Awarded: 2009 |
Booker T. & The MG's Awarded: 2007 |
Pierre Boulez Awarded: 2015 |
David Bowie Awarded: 2006 |
James Brown Awarded: 1992 |
Ruth Brown Awarded: 2016 |
Dave Brubeck Awarded: 1996 |
Shirley Caesar Awarded: 2017 |
Maria Callas Awarded: 2007 |
Cab Calloway Awarded: 2008 |
Glen Campbell Awarded: 2012 |
Carter Family Awarded: 2005 |
Benny Carter Awarded: 1987 |
Enrico Caruso Awarded: 1987 |
Pablo Casals Awarded: 1989 |
Johnny Cash Awarded: 1999 |
Chicago Awarded: 2020 |
Ray Charles Awarded: 1987 |
Clifton Chenier Awarded: 2014 |
Van Cliburn Awarded: 2004 |
Patsy Cline Awarded: 1995 |
George Clinton & Parliament - Funkadelic Awarded: 2019 |
Rosemary Clooney Awarded: 2002 |
Leonard Cohen Awarded: 2010 |
Nat "King" Cole Awarded: 1990 |
Ornette Coleman Awarded: 2007 |
John Coltrane Awarded: 1992 |
Perry Como Awarded: 2002 |
Sam Cooke Awarded: 1999 |
Cream Awarded: 2006 |
Bing Crosby Awarded: 1963 |
Celia Cruz Awarded: 2016 |
Bobby Darin Awarded: 2010 |
Miles Davis Awarded: 1990 |
Sammy Davis Jr. Awarded: 2001 |
Doris Day Awarded: 2008 |
Neil Diamond Awarded: 2018 |
Bo Diddley Awarded: 1998 |
Fats Domino Awarded: 1987 |
Bob Dylan Awarded: 1991 |
Earth, Wind & Fire Awarded: 2016 |
Billy Eckstine Awarded: 2019 |
David "Honeyboy" Edwards Awarded: 2010 |
Duke Ellington Awarded: 1966 |
Bill Evans Awarded: 1994 |
Everly Brothers Awarded: 1997 |
Ella Fitzgerald Awarded: 1967 |
Roberta Flack Awarded: 2020 |
Four Tops Awarded: 2009 |
Aretha Franklin Awarded: 1994 |
Funk Brothers, The Awarded: 2004 |
Judy Garland Awarded: 1997 |
Marvin Gaye Awarded: 1996 |
Dizzy Gillespie Awarded: 1989 |
Benny Goodman Awarded: 1986 |
Glenn Gould Awarded: 2013 |
Morton Gould Awarded: 2005 |
Stephane Grappelli Awarded: 1997 |
Grateful Dead Awarded: 2007 |
Al Green Awarded: 2002 |
Woody Guthrie Awarded: 2000 |
Buddy Guy Awarded: 2015 |
Charlie Haden Awarded: 2013 |
Merle Haggard Awarded: 2006 |
Herbie Hancock Awarded: 2016 |
Emmylou Harris Awarded: 2018 |
George Harrison Awarded: 2015 |
Donny Hathaway Awarded: 2019 |
Isaac Hayes Awarded: 2020 |
Roy Haynes Awarded: 2011 |
Jascha Heifetz Awarded: 1989 |
Jimi Hendrix Awarded: 1992 |
Woody Herman Awarded: 1987 |
Billie Holiday Awarded: 1987 |
Buddy Holly Awarded: 1997 |
John Lee Hooker Awarded: 2000 |
Lightnin' Hopkins Awarded: 2013 |
Lena Horne Awarded: 1989 |
Vladimir Horowitz Awarded: 1990 |
Iggy Pop Awarded: 2020 |
Julio Iglesias Awarded: 2019 |
The Isley Brothers Awarded: 2014 |
Mahalia Jackson Awarded: 1972 |
Michael Jackson Awarded: 2010 |
Ahmad Jamal Awarded: 2017 |
Etta James Awarded: 2003 |
Jefferson Airplane Awarded: 2016 |
Jelly Roll Morton Awarded: 2005 |
Ella Jenkins Awarded: 2004 |
Flaco Jiménez Awarded: 2015 |
Antonio Carlos Jobim Awarded: 2012 |
Robert Johnson Awarded: 2006 |
George Jones Awarded: 2012 |
Hank Jones Awarded: 2009 |
Janis Joplin Awarded: 2005 |
Louis Jordan Awarded: 2018 |
Juilliard String Quartet Awarded: 2011 |
B.B. King Awarded: 1987 |
Carole King Awarded: 2013 |
Kingston Trio Awarded: 2011 |
Kraftwerk Awarded: 2014 |
Kris Kristofferson Awarded: 2014 |
Led Zeppelin Awarded: 2005 |
Brenda Lee Awarded: 2009 |
Peggy Lee Awarded: 1995 |
John Lennon Awarded: 1991 |
Jerry Lee Lewis Awarded: 2005 |
Little Richard Awarded: 1993 |
The Louvin Brothers Awarded: 2015 |
Loretta Lynn Awarded: 2010 |
Henry Mancini Awarded: 1995 |
Armando Manzanero Awarded: 2014 |
Bob Marley Awarded: 2001 |
Dean Martin Awarded: 2009 |
Johnny Mathis Awarded: 2003 |
Curtis Mayfield Awarded: 1995 |
Paul McCartney Awarded: 1990 |
Memphis Horns, The Awarded: 2012 |
The Meters Awarded: 2018 |
Glenn Miller Awarded: 2003 |
Mitch Miller Awarded: 2000 |
Mills Brothers Awarded: 1998 |
Charles Mingus Awarded: 1997 |
Joni Mitchell Awarded: 2002 |
Thelonious Monk Awarded: 1993 |
Bill Monroe Awarded: 1993 |
Sam & Dave Awarded: 2019 |
Willie Nelson Awarded: 2000 |
Jessye Norman Awarded: 2006 |
Roy Orbison Awarded: 1998 |
Patti Page Awarded: 2013 |
Charlie Parker Awarded: 1984 |
Dolly Parton Awarded: 2011 |
Tom Paxton Awarded: 2009 |
Pinetop Perkins Awarded: 2005 |
Itzhak Perlman Awarded: 2008 |
Oscar Peterson Awarded: 1997 |
Maud Powell Awarded: 2014 |
Elvis Presley Awarded: 1971 |
André Previn Awarded: 2010 |
Leontyne Price Awarded: 1989 |
Charley Pride Awarded: 2017 |
John Prine Awarded: 2020 |
Richard Pryor Awarded: 2006 |
Public Enemy Awarded: 2020 |
Tito Puente Awarded: 2003 |
Queen Awarded: 2018 |
Ramones Awarded: 2011 |
Otis Redding Awarded: 1999 |
Max Roach Awarded: 2008 |
Paul Robeson Awarded: 1998 |
Smokey Robinson Awarded: 1999 |
Jimmie Rodgers Awarded: 2017 |
Rolling Stones Awarded: 1986 |
Sonny Rollins Awarded: 2004 |
Linda Ronstadt Awarded: 2016 |
Diana Ross Awarded: 2012 |
Artur Rubinstein Awarded: 1994 |
Run DMC Awarded: 2016 |
Gil Scott-Heron Awarded: 2012 |
Earl Scruggs Awarded: 2008 |
Pete Seeger Awarded: 1993 |
Andrés Segovia Awarded: 1986 |
Ravi Shankar Awarded: 2013 |
Artie Shaw Awarded: 2004 |
George Beverly Shea Awarded: 2011 |
Wayne Shorter Awarded: 2015 |
Simon And Garfunkel Awarded: 2003 |
Nina Simone Awarded: 2017 |
Frank Sinatra Awarded: 1965 |
Bessie Smith Awarded: 1989 |
Georg Solti Awarded: 1996 |
Staple Singers Awarded: 2005 |
Isaac Stern Awarded: 1987 |
Sly Stone Awarded: 2017 |
Igor Stravinsky Awarded: 1987 |
Barbra Streisand Awarded: 1995 |
Art Tatum Awarded: 1989 |
The Temptations Awarded: 2013 |
Clark Terry Awarded: 2010 |
Sister Rosetta Tharpe Awarded: 2020 |
Doors, The Awarded: 2007 |
Mel Tormé Awarded: 1999 |
Arturo Toscanini Awarded: 1987 |
Tina Turner Awarded: 2018 |
Sarah Vaughan Awarded: 1989 |
Velvet Underground Awarded: 2017 |
Fats Waller Awarded: 1993 |
Dionne Warwick Awarded: 2019 |
Muddy Waters Awarded: 1992 |
Doc Watson Awarded: 2004 |
Weavers, The Awarded: 2006 |
Kitty Wells Awarded: 1991 |
The Who Awarded: 2001 |
Hank Williams Awarded: 1987 |
Bob Wills Awarded: 2007 |
Stevie Wonder Awarded: 1996 |
Frank Zappa Awarded: 1997 |