The Recording Academy announced today that Herbie Hancock is one of the honorees of the Lifetime Achievement Award. One of the most influential and idiosyncratic figures in contemporary jazz, Herbie Hancock has been at the forefront almost every development in electronic and acoustic jazz and R&B.
A stylistically diverse and ever-intriguing canon of songs, including “Maiden Voyage” and “Rockit,” has helped earn him 14 GRAMMY Awards during his impressive five-decade-plus professional solo career. Some of his most influential albums include Empyrean Isles (1964), Maiden Voyage (1965), Mwandishi (1970), Crossings (1972), Sextant (1973) and Head Hunters (1973).
Other honorees include Ruth Brown, Celia Cruz, Earth, Wind & Fire, Herbie Hancock, Jefferson Airplane, Linda Ronstadt, and RUN DMC. John Cage, Fred Foster, and Chris Strachwitz are Trustees Award honorees; and EMT and Dr. Harvey Fletcher are Technical GRAMMY Award recipients.
A special ceremony and concert celebrating the honorees will be held in the spring of 2016.