Grammy Hall of Fame inductions latest honor for David Bowie and Prince
Bowie's song 'Changes' and Prince's album 'Sign "O" the Times' are among the inductees, as are 'Straight Outta Compton' by N.W.A. and R.E.M.'s 'Losing My Religion.'
Prince performs at the Hop Farm Festival near Paddock Wood in England in 2011.
Olivia Harris/Reuters
Music by artists including David Bowie, Prince, R.E.M., and Nirvana are some of the tracks and albums that will be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame's Class of 2017.
Twenty five works in total – both songs and albums – will be added to the list of works already in the Grammy Hall of Fame, bringing the total to more than a thousand.
Mr. Bowie’s “Changes,” the album “Sign ‘O’ the Times” by Prince, “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M., and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana will join the Grammy Hall of Fame, as well as the album “Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A., “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, “ABC” by the Jackson 5, and “When the Saints Go Marching In” by Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra.
The new inductions are the latest honor for artists Bowie and Prince, both of whom died earlier this year and who are both often cited as some of the most influential artists of all time. Bowie’s album “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” was previously added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, while Bowie won the Grammy Award for best video, short form in 1985 for “Jazzin' for Blue Jean.” He won a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
He had been nominated previously for multiple prizes, including album of the year for “Let’s Dance” and best rock album for “The Next Day.”
Prince has also been previously honored by the Recording Academy, the organization which distributes the Grammys. He won multiple Grammy Awards beginning in the 1980s, with his song “Kiss” winning the award for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal, and his album “Purple Rain” being added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.
Like Bowie, Prince was nominated for many other Grammy Awards, including his album “Purple Rain” being nominated for album of the year, and his track “Nothing Compares 2 U” being nominated for the song of the year prize.