4 Bands or Artists Who Surprisingly Never Won a Grammy Award

Since the Grammy Awards began in 1959, there have been countless winners throughout the years. There has also been a surprising number of bands or artists who were “snubbed.” These bands and artists had iconic careers and helped shape music in their respective eras. Though they fell short in the competitive categories of the Grammy Awards, they still had successful careers regardless. Here are 4 bands or artists who surprisingly never won a Grammy Award.

The Beach Boys

As much as The Beach Boys are ingrained in American culture, it’s a shock that they never won a Grammy. Their 1962 hit “Surfin’ Safari” sparked a five-year streak of 16 consecutive Top-40 hits. Released in 1966, Pet Sounds is often considered Brian Wilson’s masterpiece. It’s highly regarded as one of the most influential albums of all time, making it shocking to learn that it won a Grammy Award. The band did earn four Grammy nominations. Three were for “Good Vibrations” in 1967, with one for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Recording. They earned another in the category of Best Performance by a Vocal Group, and another nomination for Best Contemporary Group Performance. In 1989, they were nominated for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television for their song “Kokomo.” In 2001, the group won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, though they never won in a competitive category.

Guns N’ Roses

Guns N’ Roses were arguably the biggest rock band in the world in the late 1980s. They are often considered the bridge between hair metal and the then-emerging grunge scene. As vital as the group was to that shift in rock music, the group never won a Grammy Award. Their 1989 debut album, Appetite For Destruction, was a huge commercial success, but didn’t receive a nomination. They earned a nomination in 1990 for Best Hard Rock Performance for G N’ R Lies, but failed to win. In 1992, they were nominated a second time for Best Vocal Performance with Vocal for Use Your Illusion 1. Again, in 1993, they were nominated in the same category for their cover of “Live And Let Die,” but didn’t win.

Decades later, in 2019, they were nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for their Appetite For Destruction (Locked N’ Loaded Edition). Four nominations, and not a single win for one of the most iconic rock bands of the time.

Rush

Diehard Rush fans have pointed out for years how their group has been snubbed of a Grammy Award. Rush is often considered the most commercially successful prog-rock group in history. Rush has received a remarkable 7 Grammy Nominations, and didn’t win a single one. Among those nominations, they were nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for “YYZ” IN 1981. In the 1990s and 2000s, they were nominated in that same category five more times without a win. In 2011, they were nominated for Best Long Form Music Video for Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage. Though the group never won in competitive categories, they did receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.

Jimi Hendrix

In nearly every list and analysis of the greatest guitar players of all time, Jimi Hendrix is either No. 1 or in the top 3. The reason why the guitarist never won a Grammy may have to do with how short his career was. When you put into perspective that Hendrix was only famous for four years, it’s amazing the legacy he left behind. Jimi Hendrix was nominated two times, with his first nomination in 1971. He was nominated in the category of Best Contemporary Performance for his live performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” at Woodstock. Posthumously in 1992, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2022, he received a nomination for Best Music Film for the documentary Music, Money, Madness…Jimi Hendrix in Maui. He joins countless other artists and bands who never won in a competitive category, despite iconic careers.