Gladys Knight and Donna Summer are among the artists who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Recording Academy’s upcoming Special Merit Ceremony.
According to the Recording Academy, this honor is bestowed upon those who “during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.”
“The Academy is honored to pay tribute to this year’s Special Merit Award recipients — a remarkable group of creators and industry professionals whose impact resonates with generations worldwide,” says Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy.
He continues, “Their contributions to music span genres, backgrounds and crafts, reflecting the rich diversity that fuels our creative community. We look forward to honoring these music industry trailblazers next month as part of our week-long celebration leading up to Music’s Biggest Night.”
Knight has won seven Grammy Awards throughout her career as a soloist and frontwoman of Gladys Knight & The Pips. She won her first awards for the songs “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “Neither One of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)” in both the pop and R&B categories at the 16th Grammy Awards in 1974.
Knight last won a Grammy award in 2005 for Best Gospel Performance. The award was for “Heaven Help Us All,” a collaboration between her and Ray Charles from his album Genius Loves Company.
She was also nominated for the 22nd time the following year at the 48th Grammy Awards.
As for Summer, she received 18 nominations and won five awards. She is the only artist to win in these four fields: dance, inspirational, rock, and R&B.
Her first award was for Best R&B Vocal, Female for “Last Dance” in 1979, and her last was for Best Dance Recording for “Carry On” in 1998.
Also being acknowledged with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the event are The Clark Sisters, N.W.A., Laurie Anderson, and Tammy Wynette.
Other honors will be presented at the ceremony, including the Trustees Award and the Technical GRAMMY Award.
Peter Asher, DJ Kool Herc, and Joel Katz will receive the former, while Tom Kobayashi and Tom Scott will receive the latter.
Additionally, the Best Song For Social Change Award will be conferred upon K’naan for “Refugee” and its additional songwriters Steve McEwan and Gerald Eaton.
The Special Merit Ceremony will take place Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, California, just a day before the 66th Grammy Awards, where SZA leads with nine nominations.
