Nirvana, Nile Rodgers and Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammys

It was a successful evening for guitar-based artists at the 65th Grammys ceremony this past Sunday (February 5), with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Bonnie Raitt, Edgar Winter, Wet Leg, Madison Cunningham and Molly Tuttle all scooping awards.

And though the event was dominated largely by pop artists – including Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Adele, Kendrick Lamar and Lizzo – a number of six-string-wielding artists also received Lifetime Achievement Awards.

They included Nirvana, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson and Nile Rodgers, who were given the accolade alongside Bobby McFerrin, Ma Rainey, Slick Rick and The Supremes.

Those presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys are recognized for their “creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording” throughout their careers.

Krist Novoselic, who accepted Nirvana’s award alongside Dave Grohl and the band’s touring rhythm guitarist, Pat Smear, recalled Kurt Cobain’s quip that “teenage angst has paid off well,” adding that Nirvana’s fan base continues to grow with each generation.

“I do fan mail – old-fashioned fan mail – and I get letters from around the world, like, [from] Nirvana fans,” he said. “A lot of young people. There’s a new generation of Nirvana fans and I’m just very grateful for that.”

In his acceptance speech, Nile Rodgers said: “When I was informed by the Academy that I was to receive this honor, I didn’t see this shit coming at all. I sincerely appreciate the hundreds of folks who’ve helped me get to this moment, and I know I can’t thank them all, because it would be longer than all the sequels of Star Wars combined.”

“In 1974, I followed my calling which pulled me out of my college dorm room to capture this dream I had with my sister since we were little kids,” Nancy Wilson said in her acceptance speech. “The dream was to be The Beatles. We followed our muse through the decades, we blazed a few trails and broke a few glass ceilings along the way for both men and women.”

Further highlights from the 2023 Grammys included Ozzy Osbourne winning Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance for his 2022 album Patient Number 9 and single Degradation Rules (with Tony Iommi), respectively, and indie rockers Wet Leg winning Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Music Album with Chaise Longue and their eponymous debut album, respectively.

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Sam is a Staff Writer at Guitar World, also creating content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He’s a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar (opens in new tab).