Recording Academy Honors Khan, Cher, Simon, Santana, Houston and Fela Kuti
Chaka Khan accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre while family members accepted awards for Fela Kuti and Whitney Houston.
Overview
The Recording Academy honored Chaka Khan, Cher, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Fela Kuti and Whitney Houston with Lifetime Achievement Awards, and Chaka Khan accepted in person at Los Angeles' Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the Academy said.
The posthumous award for Fela Kuti made him the first African musician to receive the Grammys' Lifetime Achievement Award, a milestone the Academy highlighted at the ceremony.
Chaka Khan said "Music has been my prayer, my healing, my joy, my truth" as she accepted the award at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the Academy said.
Three of Fela Kuti's children accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award, while Pat Houston accepted the award for Whitney Houston, the Recording Academy said.
The Special Merit Awards were held on the eve of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards and precede the main televised ceremony, the Recording Academy said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as celebratory canonization, emphasizing overdue global recognition and Fela's cultural heroism. Sources' editorial choices — laudatory labels (e.g., 'king of Afrobeat'), selection of sympathetic voices (family, manager, designer), prominence of legacy/influence, and minimal engagement with personal controversies — create a corrective, celebratory narrative.
Sources (3)
FAQ
Chaka Khan, Cher, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Fela Kuti, and Whitney Houston.
'Music has been my prayer, my healing, my joy, my truth. Through it, I saved my life.'
Three of Fela Kuti's children accepted his award, and Pat Houston accepted for Whitney Houston.
He became the first African musician to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
It was held on Saturday night at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, on the eve of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
History
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