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Grammy Awards

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The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards) are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the record industry. It is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the U.S.; the others are the American Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. However, the Grammys, usually held in February, are considered to be the U.S. record industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards (or Oscars) for motion pictures. The 50th Annual Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 10, 2008 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. Nominations will be announced on December 6, 2007.

File:GRAMMY1.jpg
The Grammy awards are named for the trophy: a small, gilded gramophone statuette handcrafted by Billings Artworks.

Overview

Like the Oscars, the Grammys, which currently have 108 categories within more than 20 musical genres of music, are voted upon by peers (voting members of the Academy). Popularly recognized voting members include Jon Bon Jovi, Prince, Paul Simon, and Beyoncé Knowles. The current president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and GRAMMYs is Neil Portnow.

The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the more prominent Grammy Awards are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony. Of the "big three" music awards shows, the Grammys are the highest rated.

As of 2006, the eligibility period for the Grammy Awards begins October 1. For example, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album Double Fantasy was released in November 17, 1980, a month and 16 days too late to qualify for the 1981 Grammys; it was entered for the 1982 awards and eventually won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. This is a few months earlier than the Oscar calendar, which has had interesting results. For example, the movie Ray won the 2005 Oscar for Best Achievement in Sound but won the 2006 Grammys for Category 80 - Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media and Category 81 - Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media (i.e., best soundtrack and best score).

The Grammy Awards are currently broadcast on CBS. Prior to the first live Grammys telecast in 1971 on ABC (CBS bought the rights in 1973 after moving the ceremony to Nashville, Tennessee; the American Music Awards were created for ABC as a result), a series of taped annual specials in the 1960s called The Best on Record were broadcast on NBC.

The awards were held for several years at the shrine auditorium, known as the home of the Oscars and its famous red carpet, however due to the increase in categories and attendance it was moved to the Staples Center. Non presenting attendees and nominees must pay to attend the event, however, the fee is traditionally covered by the record label. A separate paid ticket is required to enter the official post party which is in addition to the ticket price. For 2007, tickets started at $750 for members, climbing to $2,500 per person. Anyone attending the official Grammy party pays $250, however attendees receive a gift bag with considerable "swag", which is, in industry parlance, "free" goods. This can include anything from perfume, gift certificates, jewelry, CDs and more, usually in an event commemorative bag. For 2007 the official Grammy post party swag gift was a Tigi Fashionista Frenzy 5 piece hair care assortment in a custom case with a Grammy award seal.

The 49th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony took place on February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. In 2008 the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place. This will be a milestone for the GRAMMYs and the Recording Academy. It will take place on February 10, 2008 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Criticism

There was well covered criticism of the Grammy Awards after the pop group Milli Vanilli won a Grammy, and it was later discovered that the two "singers" were actually just lip synching. As a result, their Grammys were withdrawn.

Some musical artists have had problems with the nature of the Grammys. The singer of progressive metal band Tool did not attend the Grammy ceremony to receive their award. Lead singer Maynard James Keenan explained his thoughts of the Grammys:

I think the Grammys are nothing more than some gigantic promotional machine for the music industry. They cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don't honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It's the music business celebrating itself. That's basically what it's all about.

As with all media awards, the Grammy Awards are often criticized for failing to adequately represent the popular sentiment of the public. The Recording Academy and record companies are responsible for entering the works that they deem most deserving. Once a work is entered, reviewing sessions are held by over 150 experts from the recording industry. This is done only to determine whether or not a work is eligible or entered into the proper category. The nomination process requires that members vote only in their fields of expertise. They may nominate in the four general categories (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist) and in no more than nine out of 31 fields on their ballots. Once the nominations are secured, Recording Academy members may then vote in the four general categories and in no more than eight of the 31 fields. Ballots again are tabulated in secrecy by the major independent accounting firm, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.[1] However, the nature of both the nominating and voting processes are becoming increasingly questioned by industry critics.

There is much debate about whether or not this sort of nominating process is the result of commercial, political or industry bias. Some conservative critics have argued that major award shows like the Grammy Awards are merely the recording industry's attempt to congratulate their own while advertising their products and ideas through the use of selection bias in the nominating process. The winners, critics argue, would naturally reflect "the social, political and artistic preferences of the nominating and voting members." Other critics, including those within the industry, openly question whether the Grammy Awards are even relevant in today's digital society.[2]

Praises

The Academy has been credited for recognizing many artists who are not as well known and have lower sales. For example; In 2003 Norah Jones won 5 Grammys including Record & Album of the year beating out Eminem, Bruce Springsteen and the Dixie Chicks. Her debut Album Come Away With Me has since been certified diamond in the United States. Also as a result of her accolades her sales skyrocketed and today she is the second Best selling Female artist of the 21st century with over 36 Million albums sold worldwide, less than Britney Spears who has sold 52 Million albums in this century.

In 2000 Christina Aguilera beat out Britney Spears to win the Award for Best New Artist. Spears was expected to win due to her high sales but Aguilera, whose sales were high, though not as high as Spears' managed to land the win.

In 2001 Steely Dan unexpectedly beat out Eminem to win Album of the Year. Eminem's Album "The Mashall Mathers LP" was controversal because of its homophobic and violent lyrics. [citation needed]

NARAS does much to help the recording community as well as helping fund Music Education. The Academy has been envolved with helping musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Grammy Awards records

The record for the most Grammy Awards in a lifetime is held by Sir Georg Solti, a Hungarian-British conductor who conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for twenty-two years. He personally won 31 Grammys and is listed for 38 Grammys (6 went to the engineer and 1 to a soloist); he was nominated an additional 74 times before his death in 1997.

  • To date, U2 has won more Grammy Awards than any other band for a total of 22 awards. They have won Rock Duo or Group seven times, Album of the Year twice, Record of the Year twice, Song of the Year twice and best Rock Album twice.

Johnny Cash has won 16 Grammys in a variety of categories:

  • 1968 – Best Country & Western Performance, Duet, Trio Or Group, "Jackson" (with June Carter Cash)
  • 1969 – Best Male Country Vocal, "Folsom Prison Blues"
  • 1969 – Best Album Notes, At Folsom Prison
  • 1970 – Best Male Country Vocal, "A Boy Named Sue"
  • 1970 – Best Country Song, "A Boy Named Sue" by Shel Silverstein
  • 1970 – Best Album Notes (written by Cash) for Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline
  • 1971 – Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, "If I Were A Carpenter", with June Carter Cash
  • 1987 – Best Spoken Word or Non-musical Album, Interviews From the Class of '55 Recording Sessions, with Carl Perkins, Chips Moman, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison and Sam Phillips
  • 1995 – Best Contemporary Folk Album, American Recordings
  • 1998 – Best Country Album, Unchained
  • 1999 – Lifetime Achievement
  • 2001 – Best Country Male Vocal, "Solitary Man"
  • 2002 – Best Country Album, Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute (Cash contributed a cover of "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night")
  • 2003 – Best Country Male Vocal, "Give My Love To Rose"
  • 2004 – Best Short Form Video, "Hurt", directed by Mark Romanek
  • 2006 – Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, "The Legend"

Pat Metheny and the Pat Metheny Group have won 17 Grammy Awards in total, including seven consecutive awards for seven consecutive albums. Metheny held the record for Grammy wins in the most different categories as of the 2005 Grammy Awards:

Bruce Springsteen has won 15 Grammy Awards, as follows (years shown are the year the award was given for, not the year in which the ceremony was held):

  • Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, 1984, "Dancing in the Dark"
  • Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, 1987, "Tunnel of Love"
  • Song of the Year, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"
  • Best Rock Song, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"
  • Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"
  • Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"
  • Best Contemporary Folk Album, 1996, The Ghost of Tom Joad
  • Best Rock Album, 2002, The Rising
  • Best Rock Song, 2002, "The Rising"
  • Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, 2002, "The Rising"
  • Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, 2003, "Disorder in the House" (with Warren Zevon)
  • Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2004, "Code of Silence"
  • Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2005, "Devils & Dust"
  • Best Traditional Folk Album, 2006, The Seeger Sessions: We Shall Overcome
  • Best Long Form Music Video, 2006, "Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run"

Session drummer Hal Blaine played on six consecutive records which won Record of the Year:

Stevie Wonder, as a solo artist, has won 22 Grammys.

The Beatles, as a group, won Grammy Awards for the following Albums & Songs in the following years:

George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann & Badfinger won Grammy Awards for the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.[8]

The Beatles' 2nd recording engineer, Geoff Emerick, who worked on the albums Revolver through Abbey Road, won the Technical Award in 2003.

Alison Krauss, as a female solo artist, collaborator, producer and with Union Station has won 20 Grammy Awards.

Aretha Franklin has won the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Grammy a record 11 times, 8 of them consecutively.

Michael Jackson:

  • Record of the Year - Beat It
  • Album of the Year - Thriller
  • Best Male Pop Vocal Performance - Thriller
  • Best Male Rock Vocal Performance - Beat It
  • Best Male R&B Vocal Performance - Billie Jean
  • Best R&B Song - Billie Jean
  • Best Recording For Children - E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
  • Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical)

Most Grammy Awards awarded to an artist in one night is a record currently held by Michael Jackson (8 for Thriller).

Santana:

  • Record Of The Year - Smooth
  • Album Of The Year - Supernatural
  • Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Maria Maria
  • Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals - Smooth
  • Best Pop Instrumental Performance - El Farol
  • Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Put Your Lights On
  • Best Rock Instrumental Performance - The Calling
  • Best Rock Album - Supernatural

Christopher Cross (Grammy Awards of 1981) is the only artist to receive the "Big Four" (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist) in a single ceremony. As a side note, Norah Jones (Grammy Awards of 2003) won Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist); that same year her guitarist, Jesse Harris, won the Song of the Year for writing 'Don't Know Why'. Although Norah sang the song, she did not receive the Song of the Year Grammy because it is a songwriter's award.

Béla Fleck has been nominated in more categories than any other musician, namely country, pop, jazz, bluegrass, classical, folk, and spoken word, as well as composition and arranging.

Victor Wooten is the only artist to be nominated for a Grammy on an independent record label for his 1997 jazz album Yin & Yang.

LeAnn Rimes is the youngest person to win a Grammy, at 14 years old. In 1997 she was awarded Best New Artist, succeeding former title holder David L Cook, who was 16 when he won.

Christina Aguilera is the youngest Latina to win a Grammy. In 2000 she was awarded Best New Artist at the age of 19.

Billy Gilman is the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Grammy. In 2001 he was nominated for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, losing out to Johnny Cash. He was 12 years, 273 days old when he earned the nomination.

Alan Parsons and Joe Satriani are tied for most Grammy nominations at thirteen without winning.

The most Grammys won by a record Producer in one night is five. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 Rick Rubin won Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Country Album for the Dixie Chicks. He was awarded best Rock Album for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and he also won Producer of the Year, Non Classical.

The Most Grammys won by a Female Artist in one night is five which is heald in a five way tie: Lauryn Hill in 1999, Alicia Keys in 2002, Norah Jones in 2003, Beyonce in 2004 and the members of the Dixie Chicks in 2007.

The Big Four

The Big Four are the most prestigious awards of all, and are the only awards which are not genre restricted:

Other Special Awards

  • Lifetime Achievement Award is a Special Merit Award presented to performers (and some non-performers through 1972) who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artist significance to the field of recording.
  • Trustees Award is a Special Merit Award presented to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance (and some performers through 1983), to the field of recording.
  • Technical Grammy Award is a Special Merit Award presented to individuals and/or companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.
  • Grammy Legend Award is a Special Merit Award is presented to individuals or groups for ongoing contributions and influence in the recording field; it was inaugurated in 1990.
  • Grammy Hall of Fame Award was established in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. Winners are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts.

Award Categories

Alternative

Blues

Children's

Classical

Comedy

Composing/Arrangement

Country

Dance

Disco

Film/TV/Media

Folk

Gospel

Jazz

Latin

Musical Show

Music Video

New Age

Packaging/Notes; Best Album Cover

Polka

Pop

Production/Engineering

R&B

Rap

Reggae

Rock

Surround Sound

Spoken

Traditional Pop

World

Awards by year

Years reflect the year in which the awards were presented, for music released in the previous year.

Host cities and venues

Popular culture

The long-time running animated show The Simpsons often mocks the Grammy Awards. Homer Simpson once won a Grammy statue for his barbershop quartet singing with The B Sharps, but threw it away in disgust. A passerby picked it up saying, "Ooooh, an award statue!" When he recognized the statue, he said, "Aww, it's just a Grammy", and also threw it away. In a later episode, The Mansion Family, Homer mentions again that he "never won an award that means something" after complaining for not getting any awards and being reminded that he once won a Grammy. A disclaimer then rolls at the bottom of the screen saying that "Mr. Simpson's opinions do not reflect those of the producers, who don't consider the Grammy an award at all".

In the episode I'm with cupid, Elton John gives Homer a Grammy, thanking him for the complemment, and Homer mumbles something and throws it away.

References

  1. ^ http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Voting/
  2. ^ http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=947881cc-b42d-47e3-b95c-2c66e27a396e&k=48420
  3. ^ HTTP://WWW.grammy.com/GRAMMY_AWARDS/Voting/
  4. ^ http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_AWARDS/Voting/
  5. ^ http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_AWARDS/Voting/
  6. ^ http://grammy.com/GRAMMY_AWARDS/Voting/
  7. ^ http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_AWARDS/Voting/
  8. ^ http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_AWARDS/Voting/

External links

Look up grammy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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