Jimmy Carter Wins Posthumous Grammy for Narrating an Audiobook of His Sunday School Lessons

AP

13:40 JST, February 3, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter has won a posthumous Grammy award.

Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, died in December at age 100. Prior to his passing, Carter was nominated in the audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category at the 2025 Grammys for “Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration,” recordings from his final Sunday School lessons delivered at Maranatha Baptist Church in Georgia. Musicians Darius Rucker, Lee Ann Rimes and Jon Batiste are featured on the record.

It’s Carter’s fourth Grammy. His posthumous Grammy joins his three previous ones for spoken word album.

If the former president won before his death, he would’ve become the oldest Grammy award winner in history.

Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson who now chairs The Carter Center governing board, received the award on his behalf. “Having his words captured in this way for my family and for the world is truly remarkable,” he said in an acceptance speech. “Thank you to the academy.”

In the category, Jimmy Carter beat out Barbra Streisand, George Clinton, Dolly Parton and producer guy Oldfield.

If Streisand won instead of Carter, it would have been her first Grammy win in 38 years.

Currently, the oldest person to win a Grammy was 97-year-old Pinetop Perkins in 2011.

“He’s such an enormous music fan. He loves the creative aspect of music,” Jason Carter said backstage about his grandfather. “It’s been an important part of his political life, an important part of his personal life. He’s an artist in many ways.”

Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have two Grammys apiece. First ladies Michelle Obama and Hilary Clinton have also each won.

Former presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were all nominated, but didn’t win.