The Grammys have been around since 1959. Currently, there are 94 distinct categories. That adds up to approximately five hundred thousand little gold statuettes given out over the last 64 years, give or take a few owing to the vagaries of the categories. As you probably know, Beyonce has won more than a quarter of a million Grammys on her own, but that still leaves quite a few left over for mere mortals.
Still, the number of iconic singers and bands who have never taken home a Grammy is mind-boggling. The Recording Academy has attempted to right a few wrongs by handing out “Lifetime Achievement Awards” since 1963.
Therefore, even though titans like the Beach Boys and Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix and Diana Ross, Bob Marley, and Patsy Cline, never won individual awards, you cannot say they never won a Grammy because of those Lifetime awards. Diana Ross got two of them – as a soloist and as a member of the Supremes – to help offset the 13 times she was nominated without ever claiming victory.
These five great artists deserved more love from the Grammy Awards
Even with the Lifetime Achievement loophole, there are still a surprising number of musical giants who have never tasted Grammy gold. Not for individual performances. Not for their lifetime work. Some have had a single or an album recognized by induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame – yet another loophole designed to right past wrongs – but induction for an achievement is not the same as actually winning a statue.
We’re going to take a look at the five biggest acts to have never won a Grammy, but first, let me just give you a taste of the honorable mentions. None of these artists have ever won a Grammy:
- Snoop Dogg (16 nominations)
- Katy Perry (13)
- Nikki Minaj (12)
- Frankie Valli (with or without the Four Seasons) (7)
- The Spinners (6)
- Guns 'N Roses (3)
- Oasis (2)
- The Byrds (1)
- Kiss (1)
Those are by no means the most nominations without a win. But they are among the most surprising omissions. Here are the five most egregious omissions, never having won a single individual Grammy, or been awarded one of the 242 Lifetime Achievement Grammys that have been handed out over the past sixty years.
BLONDIE
Not only did Debbie Harry and Chris Stein form the core of an outstanding rock & roll band – not only did they chart four number-one singles and four top twenty albums during their heyday. They were arguably among the most influential bands of the 1970s and ‘80s because of their incorporation of different types of music into their repertoire.
Blondie began as a punk band, but they ruled the New York City club scene due to their ability to make disco seem cool. Garage and surf rock also contributed to their initial sound, and by the time of the time they reached the ‘80s, they were scoring number-one songs with their own takes on reggae (“The Tide is High”) and rap (“Rapture”). If this wasn’t the best reggae or rap, it was good enough to open up new ears to the sounds. If it was cultural appropriation, Fab Five Freddy didn’t seem to mind. He was blown away that he found his way into a good song by a great band.
Blondie has only received two Grammy nominations to date, one for “Call Me,” and another for the video of “Eat to the Beat.” Their single “Heart of Glass” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the band itself was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame almost twenty years ago. But still no Grammy for Blondie.
ABBA
Ten top twenty singles (one of which hit number one) and five top twenty albums have not been enough to earn the Swedish quartet a Grammy statue. Despite their massive success, they never even received a nomination until they reunited in the last few years, fifty years after they began their recording career.
ABBA won Eurovision in 1974 and has won too many international awards to count, including recognition as Ivor Novello and Brit Billions honorees. Their influence extended well beyond music, into fashion and film. But if you just stick to music, they have had an outsized impact on pop vocal performance and on the entire genre of world music.
“Dancing Queen,” which has to be on the shortlist of greatest pop vocal songs ever, was included in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015, but pleasant, forgettable songs like Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now,” and Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight,” slurped up most of the Grammy love the year of “Dancing Queen’s” release.
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
You’d think that five top ten albums in 1969 and ’70 alone would merit at least one Grammy. Two of those albums went all the way to Number One. I suppose if you want to ding them, you could say that they never had a number one single – they merely had five songs that made it to number two.
Frontman John Fogerty, as a solo artist, has in fact won a Grammy, and been nominated a bunch of other times. But the band he formed with his brother Tom was never so honored. They have not one, not two, but three different achievements inducted into the Grammy HOF – the singles “Fortunate Son” and “Proud Mary,” and the album Cosmo’s Factory. And they were inducted into the Rock & Roll HOF thirty years ago.
Cosmo’s Factory was not going to win the Album of the Year Grammy in 1971, because it was a foregone conclusion that Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters was going to win that year. But in 1970, recognizing albums that were released in 1969, CCR had three masterpieces, any one of which was better than Blood, Sweat and Tears’ self-titled album that took the prize.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
You could make the case that Joan Jett, whether on her own, as a member of the seminal girl group The Runaways, or with her usual band, The Blackhearts, is the most important female performer in the history of rock & roll.
She has the resume – five Top Twenty singles, including one that went all the way to the top, and three Top Twenty albums. Beyond that, her influence on multiple generations of punk rockers – especially, but not limited to – female punk rockers, is immense. Jett has been a fairy godmother in black leather to too many artists to count.
She only managed a single nomination during her career – Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1989 for “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” The Blackhearts lost to U2’s “Desire” that year. Good tune – no argument. But for the record, U2 has won 22 Grammys (and 46 nominations.) I would suggest the gap between Bono and Joan is not as vast as those figures would suggest.
“I Love Rock & Roll” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016, a year after the Blackhearts were enshrined in the Rock & Roll HOF.
THE KINKS
Ray Davies – I’m sorry – Sir Raymond Douglas Davies CBE, was knighted in 2017. Yep, good enough for a knighthood but not a Grammy. In 1980, just two years after the Beatles and a year after the Stones, the Kinks were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They scored seven Top Twenty singles and five Top Twenty albums between the ‘60s and the ‘80s.
I do remember Ray Davies presenting Cyndi Lauper with the Best New Artist Award in 1984 (she was escorted onto the stage by Hulk Hogan), but to the best of my knowledge, the Kinks have never even been nominated for a Grammy. Still, they have been recognized by some of the biggest punk acts in history, including the Ramones and the Clash, for their influence.
Davies was able to blend his pop-punk sensibilities with some of the most literate songwriting ever heard in pop music. Over time, he moved well beyond those punk roots, looking back to music hall and pastoral music, as well as forward to disco and synthpop.
“You Really Got Me,” one of Rock & Roll’s foundational singles, has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, but the Kinks never did win an individual Grammy.