Nina Simone and Sly Stone (Wikimedia Commons)
After revealing the nominees for the 59th annual Grammy Awards earlier this month, The Recording Academy announced the show’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Monday, Dec. 19, and counts singer/activist Nina Simone and singer-songwriter Sly Stone among them.
Just as the Black performers of the Grammys get to shine with their many nominations — Beyoncé is up for nine statues and Chance The Rapper could score seven — this year’s mostly Black Lifetime Achievement nominees will be honored for their stellar contributions to music.
In addition to Simone and the Sly and the Family Stone frontman, jazz musician Ahmad Jamal, gospel singer Shirley Caesar and country artist Charley Pride also will earn Lifetime Achievement Awards. Plus, a Trustees Award will be given to Thom Bell, who helped pioneer the Philadelphia soul sound. All honorees are part of a group of Special Merit Awards recipients, which “comprise a prestigious group of diverse and influential creators who have crafted or contributed to some of the most distinctive recordings in music history,” according to The Recording Academy’s President/CEO Neil Portnow.
“These exceptionally inspiring figures are being honored as legendary performers, creative architects and technical visionaries,” he said in a new release. “Their outstanding accomplishments and passion for their respective crafts have created a timeless legacy.”
The Grammy Awards will air live Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, on CBS at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST.
