The Rolling Stones Honored with Historic Award for Unmatched Longevity in Music Industry
LONDON, May 2025 — In a moment that cements their legacy as the most enduring rock band of all time, The Rolling Stones were awarded the Lifetime Longevity Achievement Award by the Recording Academy—the organization behind the Grammy Awards—during a special ceremony in London on Sunday.
The award, established this year to honor extraordinary and sustained contributions to music across decades, recognizes the band’s 63-year continuous career, an unprecedented feat in modern music history. Since their first performance in 1962, The Rolling Stones have remained creatively active, consistently recording new music and touring worldwide.
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, called the band “a living bridge between rock’s rebellious roots and its timeless future.”
> “There is simply no precedent for a band that has not only endured but evolved through six decades of cultural, political, and musical change,” Mason said during the ceremony. “The Rolling Stones are more than a band—they are an institution.”
Mick Jagger, accepting the award alongside bandmates Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, expressed gratitude and surprise.
> “When we started, we just wanted to play the blues and maybe get a gig or two,” Jagger joked. “To be standing here more than sixty years later—it’s wild. We’re honored, and we’re not done yet.”
The ceremony included tributes from artists such as Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, and Bruce Springsteen, all of whom credited the Stones with inspiring their own musical journeys.
The band’s recent success—winning the 2025 Grammy for Best Rock Album for Hackney Diamonds, and releasing a new tribute track to zydeco legend Clifton Chenier—proves that The Rolling Stones continue to thrive and innovate, well into their seventh decade.
With a sold-out U.S. tour scheduled to kick off in June, the band shows no signs of slowing down. As Richards quipped, “We’ve still got some riffs left in us.”
