Among the nominees at the 2019 Grammy Awards were a few who already stood among the biggest winners of all time. So where does that list stand now that their categories have been decided? Three superstars just climbed higher in the Grammy record books: Quincy Jones, Beyonce and Jay-Z.
Jones is one of the most legendary producers and musicians in the history of the recording industry, and his victory this year for Best Music Film for the self-titled Netflix documentary about his life and career gives him a total of 28 prizes. That breaks his tie with Alison Krauss as the second most awarded individual in Grammy history. He now stands alone as the single most awarded artist currently living. The only person who ever won more was all-time record-holder Georg Solti, a classical conductor who prevailed 31 times and died in 1997.
The victory for Jones was doubly sweet. His daughter, actress and filmmaker Rashida Jones, was one of the directors of the Netflix doc, which means both father and daughter get to share the title of “Grammy winner.”
Beyonce and Jay-Z were nominated together three times: Best Urban Contemporary Album (“Everything is Love”), Best R&B Performance (“Summer”) and Best Music Video (“Apeshit”). They only won the first of those awards, but that was enough to move them both up the all-time list of champs.
Beyonce has now won 23 times, which breaks her tie with U2 and jazz pianist Chick Corea and places her eighth on the all-time list. And Jay-Z now has 22 wins, which ties him with U2 and Corea for ninth place. It also breaks Jay-Z’s tie with Kanye West as the most awarded rapper in Grammy history.
A few other top artists had a chance to increase their all-time Grammy hauls, but they fell short. West was up for Producer of the Year, but lost to Pharrell Williams. Fellow 21-time winner Vince Gill was in the running for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Maren Morris, but that award went to Dan and Shay for “Tequila.” And legendary composer John Williams lost his nominations for composing music from “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” so he remains at 24 victories.
