By Frank “Smokin” Truatt
The Grammy Awards are over and as usual, a majority of the choices they made perplex me., however I have always felt that way. They are not really a popularity contest, but more of an industry award for the music that the music community finds award worthy. They also reflect the way we view the music industry in any particular year. The award itself was originally called the Gramophone Award, hence the gramophone trophy that has always been handed out. It’s believed to be the most important award a musical performer can receive. The first Grammy Award ceremony took place in 1959, honoring those songs of 1958. The award practically coincides with the beginning of Rock and Roll and has grown to have 94 categories this year. The recording academy will occasionally tweak the categories to reflect the current music to the joy or dismay of artists who fit into a specific genre. The Grammys have received various criticisms over the years for their choices in an ever-changing quest to stay politically correct. Love them or not, winning a Grammy puts your career into high gear and sets you apart from your fellow artists. Winning multiple Grammys puts you in that elite category that your talent reflects staying power on the charts. The fun part of following Grammy winners is the statistics that surround them. Beyonce has the most wins at 32. U2 has won 22 Grammys, making them the group with the most awards. 28 awards have been handed out to Quincy Jones in the producer category. The youngest individual to win a Grammy was LeAnn Rimes. The 14-year-old was also the youngest to receive Best New Artist honors. On the other end of the scale, Pinetop Perkins was the oldest person to win a Grammy for a blues album released in 2011 when he was 97 years of age! Aretha Franklin won Grammys in the same category for 8 consecutive years for Best Female R&B Performance. On the other hand, there are many artists who have dominated the charts that have never won a Grammy Award. That list includes Sammy Davis Jr., ABBA, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, Blake Shelton, Queen, Katy Perry, The Backstreet Boys, ‘NSync and even Diana Ross! To put all of this in perspective, it is hard to be in that right place to win a Grammy. Add to the evening that Taylor Swift just broke a Grammys record and announced a new album—and she still has an (almost certain) appearance at the Super Bowl to come. It’s safe to say we’re living through her unprecedented imperial phase. But just how massive is it? Taylor Swift became the first artist ever to win the Grammy for album of the year four times. In doing that, she surpassed Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder. The Beatles have only seven wins out of 23 nominations and The Rolling Stones collected only 3 out of 12 nominations. Even the king, Elvis, has only won three out of 14 nominations. That’s why it’s so hard to pick a Grammy winner when the nominees are announced. Keep listening as next year’s nominees may already be playing on your radio!
