Award Winners Frequented SUNY Cortland in the 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s
Did you know that in addition to SUNY Cortland being a popular concert venue for many artists in the 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s, many of those same artists went on to be winners of awards from Grammys, to Kennedy Center Honors, to Inductees of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? It just shows the HUGE pool of talent that SUNY Cortland students had access to during those past decades that stretched across all music genres from Rock and Pop To Classical.
The Musical Legacy Project was formed in 2018 to document those performances. The result of the work of that committee, in addition to this website, is a sculpture, shadow boxes of memorabilia, and an interactive iPad, all located in Corey Union. These
commemorate all artists who performed here including the following partial list of Award Winners:
Rock and Pop
The Flamingos: appeared at Cortland in 1963; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001; “I Only Have Eyes for You” inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003
Simon and Garfunkel: 1966; RRHF:1990; seven Grammy Awards; Paul Simon has won 16 Grammy Awards in total, Kennedy Center Honors for Paul Simon
The Temptations: 1967; RRHF: 1989; five Grammy Awards
The Four Seasons: 1967; RRHF: 1990; two Grammy nominations
Little Anthony and the Imperials: 1967; RRHF: 2009; four Grammy Awards
The Hollies: 1967; RRHF: 2010
Martha and the Vandellas: 1968; RRHF: 1995; “Dancing in the Street” inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999
The Shirelles: 1968; RRHF: 1996
Neil Diamond: 1968; RRHF 2011; one Grammy Award, Kennedy Center Honors
Al Kooper: 1969; RRHF: 2023; one Grammy Award
The Beach Boys: 1970; RRHF: 1988; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grateful Dead: 1971; RRHF: 1994; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Byrds: 1971; RRHF: 1991; “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (2000); “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” (1999); “Eight Miles High” (1998); “Mr. Tamborine Man” (1997) inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
Billy Joel: 1972, 1974; RRHF: 1999; six Grammy Awards and the Grammy Legend Award (1990), Kennedy Center Honors
Peter Frampton: 1973; RRHF: 2024
Earth, Wind and Fire: 1973; six Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors
Aerosmith: 1973; RRHF: 1981; four Grammy Awards
James Brown: 1974; RRHF: 1986; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1992)
Jackson Browne: 1974; RRHF: 2004; five Grammy Awards
Linda Ronstadt: 1974; RRHF: 2014; 11 Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors
The Eagles: 1974; RRHF: 1998; six Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors
John Sebastian: 1974; RRHF: 2000 (as a member of The Lovin’ Spoonful); two Grammy Hall of Fame Awards: “Summer in the City” (1998); “Do You Believe in Magic” (2001)
The Ramones: 1984; RRHF: 2002; Grammy Life Time Achievement Award (2011)
The Kinks: 1990; RRHF: 1990; Grammy Hall of Fame Award “You Really Got Me” (1998)
James Taylor: 1985; RRHF: 2000; six Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors
Performing Arts
Louis Armstrong: 1959; RRHF: 1990; one Grammy Award, Grammy Life Time Achievement Award
Eileen Farrel (soprano): 1968; Grammy Award
Alexis Weissenberg (piano): 1970; two Grammy nominations
Vienna Boys Choir: 1971
Julian Bream (classical guitar): 1972; many awards including four Grammy Awards & a Grammy LifeTime Achievement Award
Igor Kipnis (harpsichord): 1972 & 1980; many awards including nine Grammy nominations
PDQ Bach (Peter Schickele): 1973 & 1975; four Grammy Awards, one Grammy nomination
The Waverly Consort: 1973 & 1981; many honors from various organizations
Shirley Varrett (soprano): 1974; many honors from various organizations and universities
Boys Choir of Harlem: 1987; National Medal of Arts
Chuck Mangione: 1987; two Grammy Awards, fourteen Grammy nominations
The Detroit Symphony: appeared at Cortland in 1962 & 1964; one time Grand Prix du Disque winner
The Baltimore Symphony: 1963; two Grammy Awards, three Grammy nominations
Leon Fleisher (piano) (w/The Baltimore Symphony): 1963; many awards including Kennedy Center Honors
Andres Segovia (classical guitar): 1965; Grammy Life Time Achievement Award and many other prizes and honors
Robert Shaw Chorale & Orchestra: 1966; at least two Grammy Awards
The Cleveland Orchestra: 1967 & 1972; seven Grammy Awards
The Buffalo Philharmonic: 1967; Grammy Award
Gregg Smith Singers: 1969; three Grammy Awards
Marian Anderson (soprano) (w/ Syracuse Symphony): 1964; many awards including Grammy LifeTime Achievement, Kennedy Center Honors & American Classical Music Hall of Fame