This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of The Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers* who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. (*Through 1972, recipients included non-performers.)
Past Recipients
| Roy Acuff Awarded: 1987 | The Allman Brothers Band Awarded: 2012 | Marian Anderson Awarded: 1991 |
| Julie Andrews Awarded: 2011 | Louis Armstrong Awarded: 1972 | Eddy Arnold Awarded: 2005 |
| Fred Astaire Awarded: 1989 | Chet Atkins Awarded: 1993 | Gene Autry Awarded: 2009 |
| Burt Bacharach Awarded: 2008 | Joan Baez Awarded: 2007 | The Band Awarded: 2008 |
| Count Basie Awarded: 2002 | The Beach Boys Awarded: 2001 | The Beatles Awarded: 2014 |
| Bee Gees Awarded: 2015 | Harry Belafonte Awarded: 2000 | Tony Bennett Awarded: 2001 |
| Irving Berlin Awarded: 1968 | Leonard Bernstein Awarded: 1985 | Chuck Berry Awarded: 1984 |
| Art Blakey Awarded: 2005 | Bobby "Blue" Bland Awarded: 1997 | Blind Boys Of Alabama Awarded: 2009 |
| Booker T. & The MG's Awarded: 2007 | Pierre Boulez Awarded: 2015 | David Bowie Awarded: 2006 |
| James Brown Awarded: 1992 | Ruth Brown Awarded: 2016 | Dave Brubeck Awarded: 1996 |
| Shirley Caesar Awarded: 2017 | Maria Callas Awarded: 2007 | Cab Calloway Awarded: 2008 |
| Glen Campbell Awarded: 2012 | Benny Carter Awarded: 1987 | (Original) Carter Family Awarded: 2005 |
| Enrico Caruso Awarded: 1987 | Pablo Casals Awarded: 1989 | Johnny Cash Awarded: 1999 |
| Ray Charles Awarded: 1987 | Clifton Chenier Awarded: 2014 | Van Cliburn Awarded: 2004 |
| Patsy Cline Awarded: 1995 | Rosemary Clooney Awarded: 2002 | Leonard Cohen Awarded: 2010 |
| Nat "King" Cole Awarded: 1990 | Ornette Coleman Awarded: 2007 | John Coltrane Awarded: 1992 |
| Perry Como Awarded: 2002 | Sam Cooke Awarded: 1999 | Cream Awarded: 2006 |
| Bing Crosby Awarded: 1963 | Celia Cruz Awarded: 2016 | Bobby Darin Awarded: 2010 |
| Sammy Davis Jr. Awarded: 2001 | Miles Davis Awarded: 1990 | Doris Day Awarded: 2008 |
| Bo Diddley Awarded: 1998 | Fats Domino Awarded: 1987 | The Doors Awarded: 2007 |
| Bob Dylan Awarded: 1991 | Earth, Wind & Fire Awarded: 2016 | David "Honeyboy" Edwards Awarded: 2010 |
| Duke Ellington Awarded: 1966 | Bill Evans Awarded: 1994 | The Everly Brothers Awarded: 1997 |
| Ella Fitzgerald Awarded: 1967 | The Four Tops Awarded: 2009 | Aretha Franklin Awarded: 1994 |
| The Funk Brothers Awarded: 2004 | Judy Garland Awarded: 1997 | Marvin Gaye Awarded: 1996 |
| Dizzy Gillespie Awarded: 1989 | Benny Goodman Awarded: 1986 | Glenn Gould Awarded: 2013 |
| Morton Gould Awarded: 2005 | Stephane Grappelli Awarded: 1997 | Grateful Dead Awarded: 2007 |
| Al Green Awarded: 2002 | Woody Guthrie Awarded: 2000 | Buddy Guy Awarded: 2015 |
| Charlie Haden Awarded: 2013 | Merle Haggard Awarded: 2006 | Herbie Hancock Awarded: 2016 |
| George Harrison Awarded: 2015 | Roy Haynes Awarded: 2011 | Jascha Heifetz Awarded: 1989 |
| Jimi Hendrix Awarded: 1992 | Woody Herman Awarded: 1987 | Billie Holiday Awarded: 1987 |
| Buddy Holly Awarded: 1997 | John Lee Hooker Awarded: 2000 | Lightnin' Hopkins Awarded: 2013 |
| Lena Horne Awarded: 1989 | Vladimir Horowitz Awarded: 1990 | The Isley Brothers Awarded: 2014 |
| Mahalia Jackson Awarded: 1972 | Michael Jackson Awarded: 2010 | Ahmad Jamal Awarded: 2017 |
| Etta James Awarded: 2003 | Jefferson Airplane Awarded: 2016 | Ella Jenkins Awarded: 2004 |
| Flaco Jiménez Awarded: 2015 | Antonio Carlos Jobim Awarded: 2012 | Robert Johnson Awarded: 2006 |
| George Jones Awarded: 2012 | Hank Jones Awarded: 2009 | Janis Joplin Awarded: 2005 |
| Juilliard String Quartet Awarded: 2011 | B.B. King Awarded: 1987 | Carole King Awarded: 2013 |
| The Kingston Trio Awarded: 2011 | Kraftwerk Awarded: 2014 | Kris Kristofferson Awarded: 2014 |
| Led Zeppelin Awarded: 2005 | Brenda Lee Awarded: 2009 | Peggy Lee Awarded: 1995 |
| John Lennon Awarded: 1991 | Jerry Lee Lewis Awarded: 2005 | Little Richard Awarded: 1993 |
| Loretta Lynn Awarded: 2010 | Louvin Brothers Awarded: 2015 | Henry Mancini Awarded: 1995 |
| Armando Manzanero Awarded: 2014 | Bob Marley Awarded: 2001 | Dean Martin Awarded: 2009 |
| Johnny Mathis Awarded: 2003 | Curtis Mayfield Awarded: 1995 | Paul McCartney Awarded: 1990 |
| The Memphis Horns Awarded: 2012 | Glenn Miller Awarded: 2003 | Mitch Miller Awarded: 2000 |
| The Mills Brothers Awarded: 1998 | Charles Mingus Awarded: 1997 | Joni Mitchell Awarded: 2002 |
| Thelonious Monk Awarded: 1993 | Bill Monroe Awarded: 1993 | Jelly Roll Morton Awarded: 2005 |
| Willie Nelson Awarded: 2000 | Jessye Norman Awarded: 2006 | Roy Orbison Awarded: 1998 |
| Patti Page Awarded: 2013 | Charlie Parker Awarded: 1984 | Dolly Parton Awarded: 2011 |
| Tom Paxton Awarded: 2009 | Pinetop Perkins Awarded: 2005 | Itzhak Perlman Awarded: 2008 |
| Oscar Peterson Awarded: 1997 | Maud Powell Awarded: 2014 | Elvis Presley Awarded: 1971 |
| André Previn Awarded: 2010 | Leontyne Price Awarded: 1989 | Charley Pride Awarded: 2017 |
| Richard Pryor Awarded: 2006 | Tito Puente Awarded: 2003 | Ramones Awarded: 2011 |
| Otis Redding Awarded: 1999 | Max Roach Awarded: 2008 | Paul Robeson Awarded: 1998 |
| Smokey Robinson Awarded: 1999 | Jimmie Rodgers Awarded: 2017 | The Rolling Stones Awarded: 1986 |
| Sonny Rollins Awarded: 2004 | Linda Ronstadt Awarded: 2016 | Diana Ross Awarded: 2012 |
| Artur Rubinstein Awarded: 1994 | Run DMC Awarded: 2016 | Gil Scott-Heron Awarded: 2012 |
| Earl Scruggs Awarded: 2008 | Pete Seeger Awarded: 1993 | Andrés Segovia Awarded: 1986 |
| Ravi Shankar Awarded: 2013 | Artie Shaw Awarded: 2004 | George Beverly Shea Awarded: 2011 |
| Wayne Shorter Awarded: 2015 | Simon & Garfunkel Awarded: 2003 | Nina Simone Awarded: 2017 |
| Frank Sinatra Awarded: 1965 | Bessie Smith Awarded: 1989 | Georg Solti Awarded: 1996 |
| The Staple Singers Awarded: 2005 | Isaac Stern Awarded: 1987 | Sly Stone Awarded: 2017 |
| Igor Stravinsky Awarded: 1987 | Barbra Streisand Awarded: 1995 | Art Tatum Awarded: 1989 |
| The Temptations Awarded: 2013 | Clark Terry Awarded: 2010 | Mel Tormé Awarded: 1999 |
| Arturo Toscanini Awarded: 1987 | Sarah Vaughan Awarded: 1989 | Velvet Underground Awarded: 2017 |
| Fats Waller Awarded: 1993 | Muddy Waters Awarded: 1992 | Doc Watson Awarded: 2004 |
| The Weavers Awarded: 2006 | Kitty Wells Awarded: 1991 | The Who Awarded: 2001 |
| Hank Williams Awarded: 1987 | Bob Wills Awarded: 2007 | Stevie Wonder Awarded: 1996 |
| Frank Zappa Awarded: 1997 |
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