Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton; Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers; country hitmaker (and Variety‘s 2023 Hitmakers Songwriter of the Year) Ashley Gorley;

McDonald is a five-time Grammy winner. Simmons and Jerkins are both two-time Grammy winners. All three musicians have won record of the year — McDonald and Simmons as performers on The Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes”; Jerkins for co-producing Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me (Darkchild Mix),” the subtitle a nod to Jerkins’ nickname.