Gladys Knight, Donna Summer and more have been awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards at this years Grammy Awards

Ahead of the 66th Annual Grammy Awards today, the Recording Academy has released the Lifetime Achievement Award honourees.

This year four of the honours were presented posthumously, to Donna Summer, Tammy Wynette, Eazy-E of N.W.A and a Technical Grammy Award to sound engineer Tom Kobayashi. 

Donna Summer's award was accepted by Bruce Sudano, who was married to her for more than 30 years, along with their daughters Mimi, Brooklyn and Amanda.

Bruce said that the phone call in which he was notified of the honour stirred “feelings I didn’t anticipate. My body filled with pure joy, connected to a tear in my eye. It’s gratifying for us that, more than 10 years after her passing, her voice and music are still omnipresent in the zeitgeist.”

“I’m grateful that she continues to inspire young fans, [whether newcomers or] beautiful Beyoncé and her Summer Renaissance.”

Donna's daughter Mimi sang a few ethereal lines from the 1977 dance/electronica classic I Feel Love.

She was the first female artist to win Grammy Awards in four different genres: R&B (Last Dance), rock (Hot Stuff), inspirational (He’s a Rebel and Forgive Me) and dance (Carry On).

Honours were also presented to Gladys Knight, Laurie Anderson, N.W.A, and The Clark Sisters.

Gladys spoke emotionally about family when accepting her award. She noted that her mother would never allow her to sing “easy” It had to come from a deeper place.

All credit, then, to Gladys Knight’s mother for encouraging her daughter to find the perfect blend of “pain and glory” that has always been her trademark.

In 1974, Gladys Knight & the Pips became the first group to win Grammys in both pop and R&B categories the same night.