A highlight of the 2026 Grammy Awards was Cher accepting her Lifetime Achievement Award.
On stage, Cher recounted the ups and downs of her career. She said, “The thing I want to tell you, the only thing I wanted you to take away with you, and I’ve been in this business… Never give up on your dream, no matter what happens. Live it, be it, and if it’s not happening now, it will happen soon.”
The Grammys give a few different types of Lifetime Achievement honors each year, but most of the winners don’t get airtime on the telecast.
For instance, in 2026, while Cher got a nice moment during the show, five other people also received the Lifetime Achievement honor, including Whitney Houston. But she wasn’t even mentioned on the air.
Let’s go over the types of Special Merit Awards the Recording Academy offers, and then list every winner of these awards in history.
Types of Special Merit Awards at the Grammys
All of the different type of Lifetime Achievement Awards that the Grammys offer are, collectively, known as Special Merit Awards.
Lifetime Achievement Award: The Recording Academy says that this award goes to “performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.” It is typically given to 5-10 artists per year.
Trustees Award: The Academy says this award goes to “individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording.” In other words, it’s for folks who were not singers or bands. It’s been given to songwriters, producers, record company executives, and people like Walt Disney and Dick Clark.
Technical Grammy Award: This award is “presented by vote of the Producers & Engineers Wing Advisory Council and Chapter Committees and ratification by the Recording Academy’s National Trustees to individuals and/or companies/organizations/institutions who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.” It goes to one or two recipients per year. Winners have included Apple Computer and Beatles sound engineer Geoff Emerick.
Legend Award: The Academy says this award goes to “individuals or groups for ongoing contributions and influence in the recording field.” It is not clear what distinguishes this award from the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Legend Award is rarely given out, making it seemingly a higher honor than the Lifetime Achievement Award. It has only been presented to 15 artists in history, and was last awarded in 2003. Winners included Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and Johnny Cash.
Dr. Dre Global Impact Award: This award “recognizes artists whose influence transcends music. It celebrates not only artistic excellence but also entrepreneurial achievements, philanthropic contributions, and global cultural impact.” It was established in 2022, and named after Dr. Dre in 2023 when he won the award.
Most Recent Lifetime Achievement Grammys Honorees
2026 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients:
Cher, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon
2026 Trustees Award recipients:
Bernie Taupin, Eddie Palmieri, Sylvia Rhone
2026 Technical Grammy Award recipient:
John Chowning
Every Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
1963
Bing Crosby
1965
Frank Sinatra
1966
Duke Ellington
1967
Ella Fitzgerald
1968
Irving Berlin
1971
Elvis Presley
1972
Louis Armstrong
Mahalia Jackson
1984
Chuck Berry
Charlie Parker
1985
Leonard Bernstein
1986
Benny Goodman
The Rolling Stones
Andrés Segovia
1987
Roy Acuff
Benny Carter
Enrico Caruso
Ray Charles
Fats Domino
Woody Herman
Billie Holiday
B.B. King
Isaac Stern
Igor Stravinsky
Arturo Toscanini
Hank Williams
1989
Fred Astaire
Pablo Casals
Dizzy Gillespie
Jascha Heifetz
Lena Horne
Leontyne Price
Bessie Smith
Art Tatum
Sarah Vaughan
1990
Nat King Cole
Miles Davis
Vladimir Horowitz
Paul McCartney
1991
Marian Anderson
Bob Dylan
John Lennon
Kitty Wells
1992
James Brown
John Coltrane
Jimi Hendrix
Muddy Waters
1993
Chet Atkins
Little Richard
Thelonious Monk
Bill Monroe
Pete Seeger
Fats Waller
1994
Bill Evans
Aretha Franklin
Arthur Rubinstein
1995
Patsy Cline
Peggy Lee
Henry Mancini
Curtis Mayfield
Barbra Streisand
1996
Dave Brubeck
Marvin Gaye
Georg Solti
Stevie Wonder
1997
Bobby “Blue” Bland
The Everly Brothers
Judy Garland
Stéphane Grappelli
Buddy Holly
Charles Mingus
Oscar Peterson
Frank Zappa
1998
Bo Diddley
The Mills Brothers
Roy Orbison
Paul Robeson
1999
Johnny Cash
Sam Cooke
Otis Redding
Smokey Robinson
Mel Tormé
2000
Harry Belafonte
Woody Guthrie
John Lee Hooker
Mitch Miller
Willie Nelson
2001
The Beach Boys
Tony Bennett
Sammy Davis Jr.
Bob Marley
The Who
2002
Count Basie
Rosemary Clooney
Perry Como
Al Green
Joni Mitchell
2003
Etta James
Johnny Mathis
Glenn Miller
Tito Puente
Simon & Garfunkel
2004
Van Cliburn
The Funk Brothers
Ella Jenkins
Sonny Rollins
Artie Shaw
Doc Watson
2005
Eddy Arnold
Art Blakey
The Carter Family
Morton Gould
Janis Joplin
Led Zeppelin
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jelly Roll Morton
Pinetop Perkins
The Staple Singers
2006
David Bowie
Cream
Merle Haggard
Robert Johnson
Jessye Norman
Richard Pryor
The Weavers
2007
Joan Baez
Booker T. & the M.G.’s
Maria Callas
Ornette Coleman
The Doors
The Grateful Dead
Bob Wills
2008
Burt Bacharach
The Band
Cab Calloway
Doris Day
Itzhak Perlman
Max Roach
Earl Scruggs
2009
Gene Autry
The Blind Boys of Alabama
The Four Tops
Hank Jones
Brenda Lee
Dean Martin
Tom Paxton
2010
Leonard Cohen
Bobby Darin
David “Honeyboy” Edwards
Michael Jackson
Loretta Lynn
André Previn
Clark Terry
2011
Julie Andrews
Roy Haynes
Juilliard String Quartet
The Kingston Trio
Dolly Parton
Ramones
George Beverly Shea
2012
The Allman Brothers Band
Glen Campbell
Antônio Carlos Jobim
George Jones
The Memphis Horns
Diana Ross
Gil Scott-Heron
2013
Glenn Gould
Charlie Haden
Lightnin’ Hopkins
Carole King
Patti Page
Ravi Shankar
The Temptations
2014
The Beatles
Clifton Chenier
The Isley Brothers
Kraftwerk
Kris Kristofferson
Armando Manzanero
Maud Powell
2015
Bee Gees
Pierre Boulez
Buddy Guy
George Harrison
Flaco Jiménez
The Louvin Brothers
Wayne Shorter
2016
Ruth Brown
Celia Cruz
Earth, Wind & Fire
Herbie Hancock
Jefferson Airplane
Linda Ronstadt
Run-DMC
2017
Shirley Caesar
Ahmad Jamal
Charley Pride
Jimmie Rodgers
Nina Simone
Sly Stone
The Velvet Underground
2018
Hal Blaine
Neil Diamond
Emmylou Harris
Louis Jordan
The Meters
Queen
Tina Turner
2019
Black Sabbath
George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic
Billy Eckstine
Donny Hathaway
Julio Iglesias
Sam & Dave
Dionne Warwick
2020
Chicago
Roberta Flack
Isaac Hayes
Iggy Pop
John Prine
Public Enemy
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
2021
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Lionel Hampton
Marilyn Horne
Salt-N-Pepa
Selena
Talking Heads
2022
Bonnie Raitt
2023
Bobby McFerrin
Nirvana
Ma Rainey
Slick Rick
Nile Rodgers
The Supremes
Ann Wilson
Nancy Wilson
2024
Laurie Anderson
The Clark Sisters
Gladys Knight
N.W.A
Donna Summer
Tammy Wynette
2025
Frankie Beverly
The Clash
Bobby Jones
Taj Mahal
Prince
Roxanne Shanté
Frankie Valli
2026
Cher
Whitney Houston
Chaka Khan
Fela Kuti
Carlos Santana
Paul Simon
Grammy Trustees Award Winners By Year
1967
Georg Solti and John Culshaw
1968
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
Krzysztof Penderecki
1970
Robert Moog
1971
Chris Albertson
John Hammond
Larry Hiller
Paul Weston
1972
The Beatles
1977
Thomas Edison
Leopold Stokowski
1979
Goddard Lieberson
Frank Sinatra
1981
Count Basie
Aaron Copland
1983
Les Paul
1984
Béla Bartók
1985
Eldridge Johnson
1986
George Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
1987
Harold Arlen
Emile Berliner
Jerome Kern
Johnny Mercer
1989
Walt Disney
Quincy Jones
Cole Porter
1990
Dick Clark
1991
Milt Gabler
Berry Gordy
Sam Phillips
1992
Thomas A. Dorsey
Christine Farnon
Oscar Hammerstein II
Lorenz Hart
1993
Ahmet Ertegun
Nesuhi Ertegun
W. C. Handy
George T. Simon
1994
Norman Granz
1995
Pierre Cossette
1996
George Martin
Jerry Wexler
1997
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss
Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
1998
Holland-Dozier-Holland
Frances Preston
Richard Rodgers
1999
Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff
2000
Clive Davis
Phil Spector
2001
Arif Mardin
Phil Ramone
2002
Tom Dowd
Alan Freed
2003
Alan Lomax
New York Philharmonic
2004
Gerry Goffin and Carole King
Orrin Keepnews
Marian McPartland
2005
Hoagy Carmichael
Don Cornelius
Alfred Lion
Billy Taylor
2006
Chris Blackwell
Owen Bradley
Al Schmitt
2007
Estelle Axton
Cosimo Matassa
Stephen Sondheim
2008
Clarence Avant
Jac Holzman
Willie Mitchell
2009
George Avakian
Elliott Carter
Allen Toussaint
2010
Harold Bradley
Florence Greenberg
Walter C. Miller
2011
Al Bell
Wilma Cozart Fine
Bruce Lundvall
2012
Dave Bartholomew
Steve Jobs
Rudy Van Gelder
2013
Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Leonard and Phil Chess
Alan Livingston
2014
Ennio Morricone
Rick Hall
Jim Marshall
2015
Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Richard Perry
George Wein
2016
John Cage
Fred Foster
Chris Strachwitz
2017
Thom Bell
Mo Ostin
Ralph S. Peer
2018
Bill Graham
Seymour Stein
John Williams
2019
Lou Adler
Ashford & Simpson
Johnny Mandel
2020
Frank Buckley Walker
Ken Ehrlich
Philip Glass
2021
Ed Cherney
Benny Golson
Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds
2023
Henry Diltz
Ellis Marsalis Jr.
Jim Stewart
2024
Peter Asher
DJ Kool Herc
Joel Katz
2025
Erroll Garner
Glyn Johns
Tania León
2026
Bernie Taupin
Eddie Palmieri
Sylvia Rhone
Technical Grammy Award Recipients By Year
1994
Dr. Thomas G. Stockham
1995
Ray Dolby
1997
Rupert Neve
1998
George Massenburg
Sony/Philips
1999
Georg Neumann GmbH
2000
Bill Putnam
AMS Neve
2001
Les Paul
Digidesign
2002
Robert Moog
Apple Computer Inc.
2003
Geoff Emerick
Shure Inc.
2004
Douglas Sax
Solid State Logic
2005
Phil Ramone
JBL Professional
2006
Tom Dowd
Bell Labs/Western Electric
2007
David M. Smith
Yamaha Corporation
2008
John Eargle
Ampex Corporation
2009
Clarence “Leo” Fender
Universal Audio
2010
Thomas Alva Edison
AKG Acoustics GmbH
2011
Roger Linn
Waves Audio
2012
Roger Nichols
Celemony
2013
Ikutaro Kakehashi
Dave Smith
Royer Labs
2014
Emile Berliner
Lexicon
2015
Ray Kurzweil
2016
Harvey Fletcher
EMT
2017
Alan Blumlein
2018
Richard Factor
Anthony Agnello
2019
Saul Walker
2020
George Augspurger
2021
Daniel Weiss
2023
Audio Engineering Society
Dr. Andy Hildebrand
2024
Tom Kobayashi
Tom Scott
2025
Leo Beranek
2026
John Chowning
Grammy Legend Award Recipients By Year
1990
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Liza Minnelli
Willie Nelson
Smokey Robinson
1991
Johnny Cash
Aretha Franklin
Billy Joel
Quincy Jones
1992
Barbra Streisand
1993
Michael Jackson
1994
Curtis Mayfield
Frank Sinatra
1998
Luciano Pavarotti
1999
Elton John
2003
Bee Gees
Dr. Dre Global Impact Award Recipients By Year
This award was renamed after Dr. Dre following his win in 2023.
2022
John Legend
2023
Dr. Dre
Lil Wayne
Missy Elliott
Sylvia Rhone
2024
Lenny Kravitz
Jay-Z
Mariah Carey
2025
Alicia Keys
2026
Pharrell Williams
Last Updated on February 3, 2026