Sometimes, it takes a lifetime to be recognized.

Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin--who amazingly never won a competitive Grammy--lead the list of recipients of this year's Lifetime Achievement Grammys.


by Charlie Amter
Jan 4, 2005, 4:55 PM PT

Despite selling over 100 million records worldwide over the course of their careers and being enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, neither Zeppelin nor Joplin ever received Grammy recognition. It wasn't until 1998 that Zep vocalist Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page finally got some hardware for Best Hard Rock Performance for their "Most High."

Also in this year's class of honorees: rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis, jazz greats Jelly Roll Morton and Art Blakey, country stars Eddy Arnold and the Carter Family, gospel/blues stars the Staple Singers, blues pianist Pinetop Perkins and conductor-composer Morton Gould.

The artists will be presented with Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award on Feb. 12 and will be acknowledged a day later during the award telecast on CBS.

Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are decided annually by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees. The trophy honors "Lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium." Past winners include Bob Marley, Fred Astaire, Bob Dylan, the Who and Stevie Wonder.

"These profoundly inspiring figures are being honored as legendary performers," Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said in a statement.

"Their outstanding accomplishments and passion for their craft have created a timeless legacy that has positively affected multiple generations, and will continue to influence generations to come."

The 47th Annual Grammy Awards will take place Feb. 13 at Los Angeles' Staples Center. It may well be a huge night for Chicago rapper Kanye West who leads all comers with 10 nods.