Pulitzer Prize: Special Awards and Citations for Musicians

The Pulitzer is an award best known for honoring excellence in journalism, but they also award excellence in the arts. Just over a dozen musicians have been honored through the years with special awards. While this page has been updated through 2026, the most recent recipient is Aretha Franklin in 2019. See other lifetime achievement awards. Milton Babbitt (1982) John Coltrane (2007) Bob Dylan (2008) Duke Ellington (1999) Aretha Franklin (2019) George Gerswhin (1998) Oscar Hammerstein II (1944) Scott Joplin (1976) Thelonious Monk (2006) Richard Rodgers (1944) William Schuman (1985) Roger Sessions (1974) Hank Williams (2010) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Lifetime Achievement Awards” Pulitzer.org: Prize Winners by Year RollingStone.com (4/15/2019). “Aretha Franklin Posthumously Awarded Pulitzer Prize Special Citation” First posted 4/12/2010; last updated 5/4/2026.