The Clash and the late Prince head the list of artists who will be honored with Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Awards one day before the 2025 edition of the Grammy Awards.
Other lifetime achievement honorees at the Feb. 1 ceremony will include blues and American roots music champion Taj Mahal, solo vocal star and Four Seasons front man Frankie Valli, rapper Roxanne Shante, gospel singer and TV and radio host Dr. Bobby Jones, and former Maze lead singer Frankie Beverly, who died Sept. 10 at the age of 74.
They will be celebrated at an in invitation-only ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.
Also being honored at the Grammy Special Merit ceremony will be three Recording Academy Trustees Award-winners: the late jazz piano giant Erroll Garner; pioneering Cuban composer and conductor Tania Leon; and recording engineer and producer Glyn Johns, who has worked on landmark albums by The Clash, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading, the Eagles and more.
The Technical Award will go to the late Dr. Leo Beranek, a pioneering audio acoustician, inventor and MIT professor.
“It’s an amazing privilege to honor this eclectic group of music icons during the year’s biggest week in music,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement.
“Each of this year’s Special Merit Award recipients has left an indelible mark on music, from paving the way for others to innovation that forever has changed the trajectory of the musical landscape. We can’t wait to celebrate this group and their achievements in February.”
Valli, who performed Aug. 4 in San Diego at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, will be the oldest honoree at the ceremony. He is 90.
Prince died in 2016 and his estate has been marred by multiple lawsuits. It is not yet known who will accept his Lifetime Achievement Award on his behalf. Joe Strummer, the co-founder of The Clash, died in 2002 at the age of 50. The pioneering English punk-rock band’s three other members are all still alive.
The 2024 Lifetime Achievement honorees included Laurie Anderson, N.W.A., Donna Summer, Gladys Knight, Tammy Wynette, and the Clark Sisters. A number of former San Diegans have been previous honorees, including Ravi Shankar, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Patti Page and members of the Kingston Trio.