Thursday, Feb. 05, 2009
AND THE GRAMMYS GO TO...
The National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences will present the 51st annual Grammy Awards at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS – locally that’s WBTW TV-13. The Holy Grail of music awards, the Grammy, was named for the 19th century version of a record player, the Gramophone, and became the music industry’s answer to the Oscars/Academy Awards for film. The Grammy Awards show was first televised in 1971 and now, for the sixth year in a row, will be presented live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Grammys will be awarded in 31 categories representing everything from Best Spoken Word Album to Best New Artist.
NARAS has rallied an impressive lineup of presenters and performers for this year’s award show, including Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Radiohead, Robert Plant with Alison Krauss, U2, Kid Rock, Paul McCartney, Rihanna, The Jonas Brothers, Kenny Chesney, Justin Timberlake, T.I. and several others.
The televised award show typically performs well in the ratings with 17 – 18 million viewers expected to tune in. A few of the most interesting categories and nominees to watch for:
Record Of The Year:
• “Chasing Pavements” – Adele
• “Viva la Vida” – Coldplay
• “Bleeding Love” – Leona Lewis
• “Paper Planes” – M.I.A.
• “Please Read the Letter” – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Best New Artist:
• Adele
• Duffy
• Jonas Brothers
• Lady Antebellum
• Jazmine Sullivan
Best Male Pop Performance:
• “All Summer Long” – Kid Rock
• “Say” – John Mayer
• “That Was Me” – Paul McCartney
• “I’m Yours” – Jason Mraz
• “Closer” – Ne-Yo
• “Wichita Lineman” – James Taylor
Best Hard Rock Performance:
• “Inside the Fire” – Disturbed (who will perform Feb. 18 at the House of Blues)
• “Visions” - Judas Priest
• “Wax Simulacra” – The Mars Volta
• “Saints of Los Angeles” – Motley Crue
• “Lords of Salem” – Rob Zombie
WORST GRAMMY PICKS EVER
The Grammy Awards have not been without controversy throughout its 51-year history. Many saw a conspiratorial attitude toward rock ‘n’ roll, especially in the Academy’s earliest years. The Grammys were thought to be out of touch with anyone younger than 30, and proved it time and time again.
In 1965 “The Shadow of Your Smile,” a sappy elevator tune, beat out The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” In 1970 Ray Stevens won the Grammy for Contemporary Male Vocalist beating out Joe Cocker, James Taylor and Elton John. In 1980 Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” lost to “Christopher Cross.” Rock fans will never forgive the Academy for snubbing Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1992 for Eric Clapton’s “Layla (Unplugged).” Eminem and Radiohead were both snubbed in 2000 when Steely Dan walked with Rock Album of The Year. Even die-hard Dan fans saw the folly in this choice.
The Best New Artist Grammy of 1978 went to A Taste Of Honey, a one-hit-wonder, studio-concocted disco group. Who was beaten? Elvis Costello. In 1988 the Academy gets hip and recognizes Rap music for the first time. Public Enemy gets passed over for the next two years before a nomination in 1991. Who wins? The Fresh Prince, a.k.a. Will Smith.
Another notable error came in the granting of 1990’s Best New Artist Grammy to… drum roll, please…Milli Vanilli. The Academy later revoked the Grammy when the lip-synching duo’s fakery was revealed. The Academy has been criticized for a few serious outright omissions, as well. Though nominated on a few occasions, Neil Young has never won a Grammy. Led Zeppelin and The Kinks have also never won Grammys.
To be fair, the Academy is made up of some 7,000 voting members, all industry insiders, and the voting is legit. They’ve made good choices too, and seem to be doing much better with representing the broad spectrum of popular music. Sunday night, we’ll see if that continues.