Kennedy Center Honors: 1978-2025

As the site says, the Kennedy Center Honors have fulfilled “a tradition of recognizing the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our nations' most-prestigious artists.” The Kennedy Center was established in 1971 and in 1978 the Honors program was created to recognize icons of the art in music, theater, dance, and film. Listed below are the music-related honorees and the years in which they received the honor. See other lifetime achievement awards. A-B Roy Acuff (1991) Debbie Allen (2020) Marian Anderson (1978) Julie Andrews (2001) Apollo Theater (2024) Martina Arroyo (2013) Fred Astaire (1978) Joan Baez (2020) Count Basie (1981) Harry Belafonte (1989) Tony Bennett (2005) Leonard Bernstein (1980) Chuck Berry (2000) Victor Borge (1999) Garth Brooks (2020) James Brown (2003) Dave Brubeck (2009) Grace Bumbry (2009) C-D Benny Carter (1996) Johnny Cash (1996) Ray Charles (1986) Cher (2018) Van Cliburn (2001) Betty Comden (1991) Perry Como (1987) Barbara Cook (2011) Aaron Copland (1979) Michael Crawford (2025) Roger Daltrey (2008) Sammy Davis Jr. (1987) Neil Diamond (2011) Justino Diaz (2021) Placido Domingo (2000) Bob Dylan (1997) E-F-G Eagles (2016) Earth, Wind & Fire (2019) Fredd Ebb (1998) Gloria Estefan (2017) Ella Fitzgerald (1979) Leon Fleisher (2007) Renée Fleming (2023) Aretha Franklin (1994) Gloria Gaynor (2025) Barry Gibb (2023) Dizzy Gillespie (1990) Philip Glass (2018) Benny Goodman (1982) Berry Gordy Jr. (2021) Morton Gould (1994) Amy Grant (2022) Grateful Dead (2024) Adolph Green (1991) Al Green (2014) Buddy Guy (2012) H-I-J Merle Haggard (2010) Lionel Hampton (1992) Herbie Hancock (2013) Jerry Herman (2010) Lena Horne (1984) Marilyn Horne (1995) Billy Joel(2013) Elton John (2004) George Jones (2008) Quincy Jones (2001) K-L John Kander (1998) Danny Kaye (1984) Gene Kelly (1982) B.B. King (1995) Carole King (2015) Kiss (2025) Gladys Knight (2022) Led Zeppelin (2012) Tania León (2022) Alan Jay Lerner (1985) James Levine (2002) LL Cool J (2017) Frederick Loewe (1985) Loretta Lynn (2003) M-N-O Yo-Yo Ma (2011) Paul McCartney (2010) Reba McEntire (2018) Zubin Mehta (2006) Gian Carlo Menotti (1984) Yehudi Menuhin (1986) Bette Midler (2021) Midori (2020) Nathan Milstein (1987) Joni Mitchell (2021) Rita Moreno (2015) Willie Nelson (1998) Jessye Norman (1997) Eugene Ormandy (1982) Seiji Ozawa (2015) P-Q-R Dolly Parton (2006) Luciano Pavarotti (2001) Itzhak Perlman (2003) Andre Previn (1998) Leontyne Price (1980) Queen Latifah (2023) Bonnie Raitt (2024) Lionel Richie (2017) Smokey Robinson (2006) Richard Rodgers (1978) Ginger Rogers (1992) Sonny Rollins (2011) Linda Ronstadt (2019) Diana Ross (2007) Mstislav Rostropovich (1992) Arthur Rubinstein (1978) S Arturo Sandoval (2024) Carlos Santana (2013) Alexander Schneider (1988) William Schuman (1989) Pete Seeger (1994) Rudolf Serkin (1981) Robert Shaw (1991) Wayne Shorter (2018) Beverly Sills (1985) Paul Simon (2002) Frank Sinatra (1983) George Solti (1993) Stephen Sondheim (1993) Bruce Springsteen (2009) Mavis Staples (2016) Isaac Stern (1984) Rise Stevens (1990) Sting (2014) George Strait (2025) Barbra Streisand (2008) Jule Styne (1990) T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z James Taylor (2016) Michael Tilson Thomas (2019) Virgil Thomson (1983) Pete Townshend (2008) Tina Turner (2005) U2 (2022) Dionne Warwick (2023) Andrew Lloyd Webber (2006) John Williams (2004) Marion Williams (1993) Brian Wilson (2007) Stevie Wonder (1999) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Lifetime Achievement Awards” Kennedy Center website Wikipedia: Kennedy Center Honors (list of recipients) Last updated 8/13/2025.