Which composer was among the first Grammy Legend Award recipients in 1990?

Andrew Lloyd Webber was among the first Grammy Legend Award recipients in 1990.

The Recording Academy created the Grammy Legend Award to honor recording artists whose continuing work had made an exceptional contribution to music. The inaugural group included Webber, Smokey Robinson, Willie Nelson, and Liza Minnelli. Although Webber is best known as a composer of musical theatre, the honor recognized his broader influence on recorded music and large-scale stage productions.

Webber’s major works include Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Sunset Boulevard. Several of these productions produced highly successful cast recordings, and he also won competitive Grammy Awards, including for the albums Evita and Requiem. His Grammy Legend recognition is therefore distinct from a nomination or a win in a standard performance or album category.

A common mix-up is assuming that Tim Rice received the 1990 honor because of his long creative partnership with Webber. Rice was an important lyricist and collaborator, but he was not one of that year’s inaugural Grammy Legend recipients.