The music industry is filled with talented artists. Since 1959, those artists – singers, musicians, composers, producers, technicians, directors, sound engineers, and other professionals of various kinds – have been recognized by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences with music’s most prestigious award – the Grammy.
Of the industry’s most prominent members, several names come readily to mind: Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Jay-X, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé – the list goes on and on. The real question is who among them has won the most Grammy Awards?
People often say quantity doesn’t outmatch quality, but an argument can be made when it comes to Grammys, further evidenced by Beyoncé’s historic win at the 65th Grammy Awards ceremony in 2023. Officially breaking the record for the most Grammy awards in history, Queen Bey clawed past her competitors and emerged firmly at the top of the list with a whopping 32 awards.
Her achievement is record-breaking in and of itself but made even more significant given she did it at the ripe age of 41. Who did she beat out to get there? Well, we’ve got (you covered) the answer.
Who has the second-most Grammy wins of all time?
It may surprise you, but the record for most Grammy awards of all time was previously held by Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti. During his lifetime, Solti won a total of 31 Grammys, a record he held for 26 years until Beyoncé surpassed him in 2023. In 1997, Solti tragically passed away from a heart attack while vacationing with his wife and daughter, per The New York Times. He was 84 years old.
Solti is best known as the former music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he held from 1969 to 1991. According to Britannica, he was the orchestra’s eighth music director in history and is largely credited for reshaping its international reputation. Solti was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire in 1972, the same year he received his British citizenship. He was born in Budapest, Hungary.
Solti also served as the principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1979 to 1983, a position he held in tandem with his directorial seat at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was also the music director at the Orchestre de Paris from 1972 until 1975.
Solti was nominated 74 times for a Grammy in his lifetime and was posthumously awarded his final Grammy for Best Opera Recording at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998 for the opera Wagner: Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg.