Who’s the New Jersey music legend the Grammy Awards forgot?

A music great from Asbury Park did not make the cut.

Hitmaker Lenny Welch, who passed away on April 8, 2025, was not recognized in the In Memoriam segment of the Sunday, Feb. 1 Grammy Awards broadcast.

Welch’s 1963 hit, “Since I Fell for You,” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rhythm and Blues Recording category at the 1964 awards.

Welch was the first hitmaker from Asbury Park in the rock ‘n’ roll era and his songs included “Ebb Tide,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “A Taste of Honey” and more in the early ’60s.

“He was Mr. Asbury Park” said Bruce Springsteen in 2011.

Welch’s version of “A Taste of Honey” was released in 1962. The song’s structure and guitar riff is similar to the Beatles’ 1963 version, which featured Paul McCartney on lead vocals, and is widely considered to have been based on Welch’s version. It was released on the Beatles debut album, “Please, Please Me.”

The In Memoriam segment began with a recorded tribute by Springsteen to the late Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Later, Lauryn Hill of Maplewood led an all-star ensemble that include fellow Fugees member Wyclef Jean of East Orange in tributes to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack. The Fugees famously covered Flack’s “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” and Hill and Jean performed the song on Sunday.

An all-star rock band fronted by Post Malone paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath. Images of musicians and music industry members were show on the backdrop of the stage during the tributes.

Welch sang in the city band the Mar-Keys early in his career and was still performing when he passed in Florida.

The Recording Academy keeps a running list of names of musicians and music industry members who have died and Welch’s name is listed there.

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