Whenever you consider music’s largest night time, you in all probability image artists like Beyoncé and Paul McCartney, two of the highest Grammy winners of all time.
Nevertheless it’s not simply singers and musicians who’re honored by the Recording Academy. Comedians, politicians, and activists have additionally taken dwelling Grammy awards.
Listed below are 17 individuals you is perhaps shocked to be taught have gained large on the Grammys.
Martin Luther King Jr. was posthumously awarded a spoken-word Grammy.
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Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches made American historical past, however you won’t know that the minister and activist was posthumously awarded a Grammy. In 1971, King was honored with a spoken phrase award for his anti-war speech “Why I Oppose the Conflict in Vietnam.”
Two of his extra well-known addresses, “I Have a Dream” and “We Shall Overcome,” had been additionally nominated for Grammys.
Lily Tomlin gained a Grammy for finest comedy recording.
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Actor and former stand-up comedian Lily Tomlin took dwelling a Grammy for finest comedy recording in 1972 for her album “This Is A Recording.” The album options her efficiency as phone operator Ernestine, one of the crucial iconic characters she created.
Tomlin has been nominated a complete of 5 occasions.
Steve Martin has 5 Grammys throughout a number of classes.
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Since 1978, actor and comic Steve Martin has gained a complete of 5 Grammys. Along with two awards for finest comedy album, Martin, who can be a bluegrass musician, has garnered a handful of music awards for his nation and roots tunes.
Most not too long ago, Martin’s monitor “Love Has Come For You” gained a Grammy for finest American roots track on the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014. He was additionally nominated in 2015 and 2017.
Zach Braff gained a Grammy for the “Backyard State” soundtrack.
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“Backyard State,” Zach Braff’s 2004 directorial debut, attracted a cult following. A part of the movie’s attraction is its indie-driven soundtrack, which earned Braff, who starred within the film with Natalie Portman, a Grammy on the 2005 awards.
Joaquin Phoenix’s efficiency as Johnny Money in “Stroll the Line” earned him a Grammy.
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Joaquin Phoenix starred within the 2005 musical biopic “Stroll the Line” as Johnny Money. Phoenix’s portrayal of the nation singer earned him a Grammy for finest compilation soundtrack for visible media.
President Invoice Clinton has gained two Grammy awards.
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Former President Invoice Clinton gained his first Grammy in 2004 within the class of finest spoken-word album for youngsters for his narration of “Peter and the Wolf: Wolf Tracks.” He gained one other Grammy for the audiobook narration of his memoir, “My Life,” in 2005.
He was nominated twice extra for narrating his subsequent books, “Giving: How Every Of Us Can Change The World” and “Again To Work: Why We Want Sensible Authorities For A Robust Economic system.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton has additionally gained a spoken-word Grammy.
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Hillary Rodham Clinton gained a spoken-word Grammy in 1997 for “It Takes a Village,” her non-fiction guide about the way forward for kids in America.
She was nominated once more in the identical class in 2004 for her White Home memoir, “Dwelling Historical past.”
Orson Welles gained three spoken-word Grammys.
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Filmmaker Orson Welles gained three spoken-word Grammys. The primary was for “Nice American Paperwork,” for which he learn the Declaration of Independence. He additionally gained the award for his masterpiece “Citizen Kane” and for the sci-fi radio play “Donovan’s Mind.”
“Bizarre Al” Yankovic’s comedic songs have gained him a number of Grammys.
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For somebody whose musical profession relies on parody, “Bizarre Al” has made it large. The singer, recognized for hits like “Eat It” and “eBay,” has 5 Grammy wins and 17 nominations.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson has a spoken-word Grammy for his work in HIV/AIDS prevention advocacy.
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Johnson gained a spoken-word Grammy in 1993 for “What You Can Do to Keep away from AIDS.” The basketball legend, who introduced in 1991 that he had been identified with HIV, has been a vocal advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and schooling.
Stephen Colbert has two Grammys.
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Late-night host Stephen Colbert has gained two Grammys out of his three nominations.
On the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010, Colbert gained finest comedy album for “A Colbert Christmas: The Biggest Present of All!” Then, on the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, the recording of his guide “America Once more: Re-becoming the Greatness We By no means Weren’t” gained a spoken-word award.
President Barack Obama has gained two spoken-word Grammys for his memoirs.
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Former President Barack Obama gained spoken-word Grammys for narrating the recordings of his books “Desires From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope: Ideas on Reclaiming the American Dream.” He was nominated once more in 2022 for narrating the audiobook of his presidential memoir, “A Promised Land.”
Michelle Obama has additionally gained two spoken-word Grammys for her memoirs.
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The previous first woman’s audiobook for her memoir “Changing into” gained a spoken-word Grammy award in 2020. She gained once more in 2024 for “The Mild We Carry.”
Maya Angelou gained three spoken-word Grammys.
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In 1994, American poet Maya Angelou gained her first spoken-word Grammy award for “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she wrote for Clinton’s inauguration. She additionally gained the award for her poetry assortment “Phenomenal Girl” and for the autobiography “A Music Flung As much as Heaven.”
Betty White additionally gained a spoken-word Grammy.
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Betty White gained a Grammy on the 54th Annual Awards in 2012. The “Golden Women” actor obtained a spoken-word award for her autobiography, “If You Ask Me (And of Course You Will not).”
Carrie Fisher gained a posthumous spoken-word Grammy.
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On the sixtieth Annual Awards in 2018, Carrie Fisher was posthumously awarded a spoken-word Grammy for her memoir, “The Princess Diarist.”
President Jimmy Carter gained three Grammys throughout his lifetime and one posthumously.
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The previous president gained Grammys for finest spoken-word album for 3 of his books: “Religion — A Journey For All,” “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety,” and “Our Endangered Values: America’s Ethical Disaster.”
Carter, who died on the age of 100 in 2024, gained once more on the 2025 Grammys for the audiobook “Final Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration.”
