Recordings by Jay-Z, Santana, Miami Sound Machine and More Inducted Into Grammy Hall of Fame: Full List

Release date: April 24, 1972

Original label: Ardent

Billboard 200 peak: Did not chart

Producer: John Fry

Singles: “Thirteen,” “When My Baby’s Beside Me,” “Don’t Lie to Me”

Notes: Big Star was formed in Memphis in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). Chilton had previously fronted The Box Tops, whose Hot 100-topping 1967 smash “The Letter” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.#1 Record was Big Star’s critically lauded debut studio album. The album sold fewer than 10,000 copies upon its initial release, but is now widely regarded as a power pop classic. Chilton died in 2010 at age 59.

Release year: 1975

Original label: Rounder

Billboard 200 peak: Did not chart

Producer: J.D. Crowe

Notes: Following J.D. Crowe & the Kentucky Mountain Boys’ 1973 album Bluegrass Evolution, Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas joined the reconfigured group for this eponymously titled album. The album featured traditional bluegrass instrumentation on songs by rising singer-songwriters, such as Gordon Lightfoot and Rodney Crowell, as well as on traditional songs. Crowe died from pneumonia in 2021 at age 84.

Release date: July 25, 1966

Original label: Stax

Hot 100 peak: No. 28

Producer: Jim Stewart

Notes: Floyd and Steve Cropper co-wrote “Knock on Wood,” which became the singer’s first Hot 100 single and the title track of his debut album. The song was recorded by Stax’s house band Booker T. & the M.G.’s, augmented by Isaac Hayes on piano and Wayne Jackson on trumpet. Otis Redding & Carla Thomas hit the top 30 on the Hot 100 in 1967 with a cover version, while Amii Stewart released a disco version in 1979 that went all the way to No. 1.

Release date: Sept. 26, 1995

Original label: Asylum

Billboard 200 peak: No. 94

Producer: Daniel Lanois

Singles: “Where Will I Be,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Goodbye”

Notes: This is Harris’ second album to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, following Trio, her 1987 collaboration with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton. Wrecking Ball, Harris’ 18th studio album, won a Grammy for best contemporary folk album. The album featured guest performances by Steve Earle, Larry Mullen Jr., Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Lucinda Williams and Neil Young, who wrote (and previously recorded) the title song and sang harmony vocals on Harris’ rendition. Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

Release date: June 25, 1996

Original label: Roc-A-Fella, distributed by Priority Records

Billboard 200 peak: No. 23

Executive producers: Jay-Z, Damon Dash, Kareem “Biggs” Burke

Singles: “Ain’t No N—a,” “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” “Feelin’ It”

Notes: This was Jay-Z’s widely acclaimed debut studio album. The LP features guest appearances by Memphis Bleek, Mary J. Blige and the Notorious B.I.G., among others. In 2017, Jay became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. Jay has gone on to win 25 Grammys (including one this year for his work on wife Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter), more than any other rapper.

Year of release: 1976

Original label: Coconut (Nigeria); Creole Records (U.K.)

Billboard 200 peak: Did not chart

Producer: Fela Kuti

Notes: Zombie is a studio album by Nigerian Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti, released in Nigeria by Coconut Records in 1976, and in the U.K. by Creole Records the following year. On the album, Kuti’s 25th, he criticized the Nigerian government. Kuti died in 1997 at age 58. The Grammys added a best African music performance category last year. The first two winners have been Tyla’s “Water” and Tems’ “Love Me JeJe.”

Release month: July 1969

Original label: Plantation

Hot Country Songs peak: No. 22

Producer: Shelby Singleton

Notes: “Color Him Father” was a cover version of a pop and R&B hit by The Winstons, which made the top 10 on the Hot 100 and won a Grammy for best R&B song. Singleton brought Martell the song and urged her to put her own stamp on it. The song was later included on Martell’s 1970 studio album, Color Me Country. Martell was the first Black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. She received a Grammy nod for best melodic rap performance this year for her featured role on Beyoncé’s “SPAGHETTII” and a respectful shoutout from Queen Bey on the Grammy stage.

Release date: Sept. 9, 1985

Original label: Epic

Hot 100 peak: No. 10

Producer: Rafael Vigil, Emilio Estefan Jr.

Notes: This festive recording was Miami Sound Machine’s first Hot 100 hit. “Conga,” which was written by Miami Sound Machine drummer Enrique Garcia,was the first single from the group’s second English-language album, Primitive Love. Gloria Estefan assumed star billing in 1987 with the similarly infectious “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You.” She and Emilio received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2019. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame four years later. She won her fourth Grammy on Feb. 2 for best global music performance as a featured artist on Sheila E.’s “Bemba Colorá.”

Release date: June 15, 1999

Original label: Arista

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (12 weeks)

Producer: Carlos Santana, Clive Davis, Jerry ‘Wonder’ Duplessis, The Dust Brothers, Alex González, Charles Goodan, Lauryn Hill, Art Hodge, Wyclef Jean, Fher Olvera, K.C. Porter, Dante Ross, Matt Serletic, Stephen Harris

Singles: “Smooth,” “Put Your Lights On,” “Maria Maria,” “Corazón Espinado,” “Love of My Life,” “Primavera”

Notes: This is Santana’s third album to be voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, following Santana and Abraxas.  Supernatural was the band’s 18th studio album. It reunited the band with Clive Davis, who had signed the group to Columbia Records in 1969. In 1998, a year before Supernatural’s release, the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Supernatural features numerous contemporary guest artists, including Rob Thomas, Eric Clapton, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, Maná, and CeeLo Green. At the 2000 Grammys, the band won eight awards, matching Michael Jackson’s 1984 record for most Grammys won in one night.

Release date: Nov. 23, 1970

Original label: A&M (U.S./Canada); Island (U.K./Europe)

Billboard 200 peak: No. 8

Producer: Paul Samwell-Smith

Singles: “Father and Son,” “Wild World”

Notes: Tea for the Tillerman was Stevens’ fourth studio album. The album includes many of his best-known songs, including “Where Do the Children Play?,” “Hard Headed Woman,” “Wild World,” “Sad Lisa,” “Into White” and “Father and Son.” Stevens, a former art student, created the artwork featured on the record’s cover. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019.

Release date: Aug. 12, 1981

Original label: Epic

Billboard 200 peak: No. 19

Producer: Luther Vandross

Singles: “Never Too Much,” “Don’t You Know That?”

Notes: Never Too Much was Vandross’ debut solo studio album. It brought the R&B star two Grammy nominations in 1982 — best new artist and best R&B vocal performance, male. The title track topped Hot Soul Singles (as the chart was then called) for two weeks. Vandross wrote all of the songs on the album except for the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic “A House Is Not a Home.” His more than seven-minute-long version of that song, first recorded by Dionne Warwick, became one of his signature hits. Vandross died in 2005 at age 54.

Year of release: 1951

Notes: Ward composed and published this gospel hymn in 1951. Mahalia Jackson sang the song at the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. A Jackson recording of the song won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance in 1977, five years after her death. Aretha Franklin recorded the song for her classic 1972 live album Amazing Grace, with James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir. That album won a Grammy for best soul gospel performance in 1973. Ward died in 1973 at age 48.

Year of release: 1930

Original label: Paramount Records

Notes: Wiley was born Lillie Mae Boone in 1908. The blues singer/guitarist wrote and performed this song, also known as “Last Kind Words,” with Elvie Thomas providing additional guitar accompaniment. The song’s haunting lyrics and atmosphere have made this a blues classic. Wiley died in 1950 at age 41.