Today, a large number of award shows are telecasted. But only handfuls are considered as ‘real’ or ‘big’ ones. Say for movies you have Oscars, for TV you have Emmys and for music you have Grammys. Yea! Here go all interesting facts of Grammys for music lovers. The first Grammy Award was presented in the year 1958. The ultimate aim of Grammys was to set a quality standard in the music industry. Only Grammys are considered as mother of all music award shows. They are popularly known for recognizing artistic achievements, technical proficiency and overall excellence of the artists in the recording industry. The awards are originally presented by National Academy of Recording Arts and Science for the outstanding achievements in music industry.
Did You Know?
Here are few facts and figures which you may want to know about Grammy
- The Grammys blasted off on 4th May 1959 to keep rock ‘n’ roll at bay. It is in 1962 that the Best Rock and Roll Recording category was added to the Grammy Award Categories.
- Every year approximately 7,000 academy members cast their vote; further Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, an accounting firm, takes care of tabulation of all ballots.
- Grammys have grown in length and prestige over the span of 52 years. In 1959, Grammy honored 22 awards, whereas in 2010 they presented 109 awards.
- Winning one of the Big Four Grammy Award categories is considered to be the most prestigious. As these are the only awards which are not restricted to any genre in specific.
- In 1981, Christopher Cross was 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.
- Michael Jackson is the Male Artist who won most Grammys (eight in one night) in the year 1983. The list was followed by Carlos Santana in the year 1999.
- DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince (who is also known as actor Will Smith) were announced the first Grammy winners for a Rap Performance in 1989.
- The first artists to be stripped off from Grammys were Milli Vanilli in 1989, when it was discovered that the album was not originally sung by them.
- For the first time, enigmatic singer Maynard James Keenan with his 12-year-old-son attended the Grammy Award ceremony in 2008. When interviewed, he says, “Well, it’s the 50th anniversary, and my son’s never been to the Grammys, and I’ve never been to one, so I figured it’s probably time,”
- Sinead O’Connor was awarded for Best Alternative Album. But she refused to accept her award and boycotted the Grammy ceremony. By maintaining her absence, she protested against the ‘extreme’ commercialism of the Grammy Awards.
- Elvis Presley is a rock ‘n’ roll singer and actor, who never achieved a Grammy in top category. Though he was honored with 3 Grammys for his gospel music.
- Heavy metal had already fallen into line around the late ‘60s, but the Grammy committee took notice in the year 1989. The first Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental was honored to Jethro Tull for “Crest of a Knave”. It practically shocked the metal community as they expected Metallica to win over the award for their landmark album. Thus the awards lose their integrity and importance.
- After Grammy 2010, some critics aimed at Swift’s performance being off-key at the ceremony. But the star’s record label boss came down for her defense, insisting that the 20 year old was battling with technical difficulties as she couldn’t hear herself like she had in rehearsal.
- Sir Georg Solti has been honored with Most Lifetime Grammy Awards. He was nominated 74 times and won 31 Grammys.
- Quincy Jones pulls the record for the most Grammy nominations (i.e. 79).
- The youngest person ever to be nominated for a Grammy is Billy Gilman. He was exactly 12 years, 273 days old when he earned the nomination.
- Snoop Dogg is an American rapper, record producer and actor. He had been nominated for Grammy Award 12 times, but has failed to win an award.
- Till date, U2 are the only band who has been honored with a total of 22 Grammy awards. They were awarded with Rock Duo or Group for seven times, Album of the Year twice, Record of the Year twice, Song of the Year twice and Best Rock Album twice.
- Stevie Wonder is the most ever Grammy Awards winner, as he has been honored with 28 Grammys. He has also been presented with Lifetime Achievement Award.