The 51st Grammys are officially over and according to all reports it was an evening full of stars, glamour and marching bands.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
The broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles sometimes had the appearance of a fantasy. There was no mention of the economic troubles across the country or of the music industry’s continuing declining sales. Though download sales are rising, album sales dropped 14 percent last year.
The Grammy Awards have been an American music institution for nearly half a century. But what is a “Grammy” anyway?
“Grammy” is short for “Gramophone” and the actual Grammy Awards given out each year are modeled after this odd record player.
According to Wikipedea, the actual trophy is manufactured exclusively by Billings Artworks. The trophies are all hand made and assembled. Years ago, the old smaller gramophone had to be revamped because the metals were too soft and there were many problems with the trophy breaking. The trophy was made bigger and grander. The Grammy is assembled in pieces and finally finished off in gold plating. The trophies used for the broadcast are called “stunt” Grammys.
The Grammy Awards are given by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. which was formed in 1957.
“In the beginning The Recording Academy owed its survival to members who donated long hours to the emerging professional association. A labor of love, the young Academy may not have prevailed had it not been for the dedication of its charter members…The GRAMMYs are the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position.” Grammy.com
Clay Aiken
The first Grammy Awards were held in 1959 in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton. The big winners that year were Domenico Modugno for “Nel Blue Dipinto di Blu (Volare)” which took home Record of the Year and Song of the Year and Henry Mancini for The Music from Peter Gunn which won Album of the Year.
Ella Fitzgerald won for Best Jazz Performance, Individual and The Kingston Trio won for “Tom Dooley” in the Best Country & Western Performance category.
Congratulations to Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Coldplay and all the other winners. Each musical group had something unique to add to the musical year.
Personally, I look forward to the year that beautiful voices win Grammys and that Clay Aiken wins his first Grammy.
Thanks for the Grammy information CANN – its all new to me and very interesting. Its also interesting how many people can actually win these things without being able to sing either!
Its Clays turn to shine and I hope they recognise him in the future..he so deserves it.
I love Alison Krauss, but that song she won a Grammy for with Robert Plant is terrible! I am with you in that I hope Clay is awarded his first Grammy very soon!
Yes, won’t it be wonderful, when someone that can actually sing can win an award…without all the smoke and mirrors… Some of the entertainers just made my ears bleed…terrible…sorry..but I don’t know how you can call that music…… To each their own…
I have no doubt that one day, Clay will be recognized….How is it that the man with the most beautiful voice, just gets ignored/snubbed…?? I honestly do not get it… It has to be all in the promotion, cause there were people up there, that I would have walked out of the room…and these are the best of the best….??? nope…don’t get it.
Clay’s time will come…of that I am sure…
Hugs,
Judy
I too look forward to the day when Clay will be on the Grammy’s and win one. He has the voice and I hope he is awarded for it in the future. I appreciate the information you provided on the Grammy’s since I did not watch it. I do realize there are some talented artists who are rewarded for their work by the Grammy’s. There are also some untalented people who are also awarded and that baffles me.
The background information about the grammys was very informative. I’ve never heard the history of the grammy before. I did see on television a comparison of Coldplay’s song to another artist’s song and it was the same melody and beat–but I don’t know that anything ever came of that. They still won a grammy. I agree there are singers who get recognized due to $ and promo not due to their voices. There is prejudice and popularity involved also. Sad, isn’t it?
My wish for Clay is that he makes wonderful music that he loves. The Grammy’s have ignored the best talent many, many times, so I don’t expect them to get any smarter in the future.
Thanks so much for the history of the Grammys.
I look forward to the day when Clay is honoured by the Grammys (which means, by his peers in the industry.)
Clay and others will one day dominate the air when all ears have been cleaned and hosed. Patience is a virtue! Here’s to Clay’s brighter future in music!
There are many talented and loved singers who have never won a Grammy, so Clay is in good company. (But, I still hope he wins one someday–he surely does deserve to win.)
Unfortunately the brightest star was missing.
I was just thinking…..can you imagine the day that Clay is nominated for a Grammy???? Claynation will explode….there will be parties all over the place……..
I’m all excited just thinking about it..because I truly believe one day he will be nominated….A voice like his cannot be denied…. Oh…I can’t wait for that day!!!!!!
Hugs,
Judy
Too bad that Grammies are not awarded for talent and voice, but for who gets the most Hype.
Thanks for the interesting article. I had never thought about what was behind the Grammy’s.