US EditionWhitney Houston, Cher, Carlos Santana & More to Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards from Recording Academy: Full List
The 2026 honorees include posthumous legends Whitney Houston and Fela Kuti, plus living icons like Chaka Khan with 10 Grammy wins, recognizing their lasting musical impact.
- The Recording Academy announced its 2026 Special Merit Award honorees, including Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Cher, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, and Fela Kuti; awards will be presented Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles.
- The awards honor performers who, by the Recording Academy's criteria, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to recording, the press release says, while Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, called this year's selections an extraordinary group spanning generations and genres.
- Additional honorees include Chaka Khan, at 72, recognized for her 10 Grammy awards and genre‑bending voice, along with Eddie Palmieri, Sylvia Rhone, and Bernie Taupin.
- The Academy said each Special Merit Award recipient has made a profound impact and looks forward to celebrating their achievements on the eve of Grammy Sunday.
- For Black music lovers the honors carry particular resonance, especially since two of the honorees are recognized posthumously, reinforcing cultural legacies.
19 Articles
19 Articles
San Diego Union Tribune
recorderonline.comCarlos Santana, Whitney Houston, Cher among 2026 Lifetime Grammy recipients
Latin-rock trailblazer Carlos Santana, who grew up in Tijuana, has been selected as a 2026 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award recipient. The legendary guitarist and band leader will be saluted alongside fellow Lifetime Achievement honorees Chaka Khan, Cher and Paul Simon at the Special Merit Awards, an invitation-only event hosted by the Recording Academy, under whose auspices the Grammy Awards are presented. Carlos Santana, the subject of new fi…
He's the first African musician to get a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The late, great Fela Kuti is known as the "Black President" for his role as both a musical and a political leader. Now he has become the first African artist to get this Grammy honor.
Fela Kuti to Receive Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at 2026 Grammy
Legendary Nigerian musician and Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will be posthumously honoured with a Special Merit Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy recognised Fela as the “architect of Afrobeat,” highlighting his transformative influence on the genre and his enduring impact on generations of artists. “An architect of Afrobeat, honoured for […] The post Fela Kuti to Receive Posthumous Lifetime Ach…
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