Grammys have long, notorious history of missteps

 

Mary J. Blige, with a successful comeback, a best-selling album and a leading eight nominations, looks poised to emerge from the Grammy Awards as the night's big winner.

 

 

But then again, Mariah Carey was in much the same boat last year. And look what happened to her. Carey led the nominations in 2006 for her "The Emancipation of Mimi" album, yet won only in the R&B categories, not the coveted Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year categories. U2 was instead the big winner of the night, with five awards.

 

Are the Grammys trying to mend their reputation of being a sucker for chart-topping pop acts while overlooking "important" artists? Certainly, over the years they have been accused of being pitifully out of touch with music fans and music trends.

 

To wit: the Grammys started in 1959 but didn't have a category for rock and roll until 1962. The awards ceremony weren't broadcast on TV until 1971; and the most recent oversight: a hip hop album didn't win Album of the Year until 1999, when Lauryn Hill cleaned up.

 

Who did the Grammys reward in its formative years? Artists such as Henry Mancini, Glen Campbell, and Frank Sinatra. And Grammy members got excited about such new artists as Robert Goulet, José Feliciano, and The Swingle Sisters. (Single who?)

 

The Grammys presented a glimmer of forward thinking in 1965 when they handed out Best New Artist to a spunky little band named The Beatles. But it wasn't until 1968 that a rock band ever won Album of the Year. The Beatles' seminal "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" took it by beating out such old favourites as "My Cup Runneth Over" by Ed Ames, and "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobbie Gentry (Again, who?!)

 

It's not only the Grammys' questionable taste that angers many music fans; it's their confusing selection of categories. The Awards currently have 108 categories within more than 20 genres of music -- many of which blend together together.

 

For example, who defines what is Rock and what is Metal? (Metallica has won in both categories). What exactly is Alternative? (That award has been handed out to such polar opposites as The Beastie Boys and Coldplay). Why did it take until 1989 to offer a Rap category? And why in the world did DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince win it?

 

Award organizers were so uncomfortable with the category back in 1989, they handed it out during the pre-show ceremony, not the televised broadcast. Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Salt-N-Pepa and L. L. Cool J all responded by boycotting the show entirely. To try to keep up with the times, organizers do try to change up or rename the categories, some times less successfully than others.

 

The four big categories have remained the same: Album of the Year, Record of the Year (which goes to the best single of the year), Song of the Year (which goes to the songwriter) and Best New Artist. But other categories have just left us scratching our heads.

 

A Grammy was handed out for Best Disco Recording in 1980 -- and never handed out again. (For the record, Gloria Gaynor and her producers won for karaoke fave "I Will Survive"). Best Reggae Album began to be awarded in 1985 -- 10 years after "I Shot the Sheriff" and four years after Bob Marley died.

 

The Best Polka Album category began in 1986 (when someone must have noticed a surge of interest in polka). Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra has won it 15 of the last 20 years. Canada's own Walter Ostanek has managed to steal the prize only three times.

 

But of course, the Grammys' worst misjudgment of all time has to have been the awarding of Best New Artist to Milli Vanilli in 1989.

 

The pop duo was topping the charts with catchy if somewhat insipid ditties that we all now know they never actually sang. Four days after the scandal broke, Grammy organizers sheepishly retracted their award -- a first, and a move they thankfully have never had to repeat.

 

Here are a few other unforgettable Grammy moments:

 

* Jennifer Lopez's name become forever locked into the minds of viewers of the 2000 Grammys, when she arrived on the arm of Puff Daddy - as he was then known -- wearing a taped-on Versace dress cut down to there.

 

* Bob Dylan's otherwise unmemorable performance at the 1998 Grammys took a turn for the bizarre when a man with "Soy Bomb" scrawled across his naked chest leapt onto stage to dance before security whisked him away.

 

* Eminem's embrace of gay icon Elton John after their performance of "Stan" at the close of the 2001 Grammys was seen as a landmark by many -- and just plain cringe-worthy to the rest of us.

 

* Justin Timberlake apologized at the 2004 Grammys for the Super Bowl "nipplegate" fiasco one month before. Janet Jackson was notably absent from the show that year.

 

* When 2004's Best New Artist award was handed to Evanescence, 50 Cent, fellow nominee and odds-on favourite, leapt onto the stage and snatched away the trophy. A few seconds later, he handed the statue back to singer Amy Lee before gleefully leaving the stage.

 

* Metallica offered a mesmerizing performance of their song "One" in 1989 and seemed poised to win the first-ever Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance award. They were as shocked as anyone when flute-lovers Jethro Tull took home the award. (Metallica won the following year.)

 

* In 1991, many music fans were stunned with Nirvana's groundbreaking "Nevermind," album was passed over for Best Alternative Music Album in favour of R.E.M.'s radio-friendly "Out of Time."

 

* Sinead O'Connor became the first to refuse a Grammy after she was awarded Best Alternative Music Performance in 1990. She said she wanted no part of the awards show's commercialism.

 

* Christopher Cross became in 1981 the first performer to win the Big Four at a single ceremony: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. As the music legend goes, the advent of the video age was not kind to Cross in the following years and he dropped off the music radar.

 

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070209/grammys_070209/20070210?hub=TopStories

The Doors celebrate Grammy honour

 

 

Iconic rock group The Doors and folk singer Joan Baez have received Grammy awards for lifetime achievement. They were among the acts celebrated by the US Recording Academy in recognition of careers that changed music.

 

Also honoured were psychedelic rockers The Grateful Dead, soul band Booker T and The MGs, jazz legend Ornette Coleman and opera singer Maria Callas.

 

The lifetime awards were presented on the eve of the main Grammy ceremony, where Mary J Blige leads nominations.

 

The Doors' guitarist Robby Krieger said the band's late singer, Jim Morrison, would have been "very honoured" to be recognised.

 

"People think he was anti-establishment, but in reality he wanted to be bigger than the Beatles," he said.

 

Surviving members of The Grateful Dead, whose lead singer Jerry Garcia died in 1995, also paid tribute to their former bandmate.

 

"I wish the rest of my brothers in the band could be here," said Bill Kreutzmann, one of the group's two drummers.

 

Booker T. Jones, whose band epitomized the Memphis soul sound, thanked his family "for keeping me alive all these years.

 

"It's been a difficult thing to do," he said.

 

He and other musicians from his group made reference to band-member Al Jackson, who died from a gunshot in 1975.

 

Saxophonist Ornette Coleman, one of the main innovators in the 1950s free jazz movement, also used his speech to muse about the meaning of life and death.

 

"How do we kill death since it kills everything?" he asked. "You don't have to die to kill and you don't have to kill to die."

 

Bush tribute

 

Protest singer Baez, who was a key figure in the anti-Vietnam war movement. closed the ceremony by paying tribute to US President George W Bush.

 

"President Bush is the best publicity agent I've ever had," she said.

 

"People always ask me to compare then versus now. It's very much like a re-run."

 

Other prizes handed out at the ceremony included the Trustees award, presented to Stax Records co-founder Estelle Axton, theatrical composer Stephen Sondheim, and New Orleans-based engineer Cosimo Matassa.

 

The award recognises outstanding contributions to the recording industry in a non-performing capacity.

 

Recording engineer David M. Smith and the Yamaha Corporation, which manufactures a variety of recording equipment and musical instruments, each won a Technical Grammy award.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6351549.stm

I really hope Mary J. takes home gold...... she deserves it and has had one hell of a year, if not to say one hell of a career thus far!! I am so happy for her.. and she is truly one of my inspirations in life.....

 

GO MARY!!!

I really hope Mary J. takes home gold...... she deserves it and has had one hell of a year, if not to say one hell of a career thus far!! I am so happy for her.. and she is truly one of my inspirations in life.....

 

GO MARY!!!

 

She's one of the few US R&B stars I actually have respect for, because she has a unique style.

I cant wait to hear The Police.

Ah it's the Grammies :dozey:

I cant wait to hear The Police.

Me too.

:shocked3: U2 is the best

:shocked3: U2 is the best

 

 

 

 

...and this applies to the Grammys how?

Ah it's the Grammies :dozey:

 

Agree...:(

I'd like to see Police reunited! Anything else is almost what I got tired of... All these Justins... Every show with him I concider distastable!

I'm going to sound like an idiot, but I don't really care, haha...

I was very impressed with Justin Timberlake last night.

I'm not really a JT fan or anything, But I do have respect for him, it was nice to see him playing piano and guitar, I think it showed musicianship, and showed that hes not just a singing dancing pop star.

I really enjoyed his performances.

 

So go ahead, and throw things at me..

he played guitar? i didnt see that

I'm going to sound like an idiot, but I don't really care, haha...

I was very impressed with Justin Timberlake last night.

I'm not really a JT fan or anything, But I do have respect for him, it was nice to see him playing piano and guitar, I think it showed musicianship, and showed that hes not just a singing dancing pop star.

I really enjoyed his performances.

 

So go ahead, and throw things at me..

 

OK - you asked for it!!

 

I thought the Police sounded great (Except I was a little disappointed that the backing voices were dubbed in), but wish they could've sang a couple more songs. Oh well guess I'll have to see them on tour. Grammys are worthless anyway, considering the fact that the Dixie Chicks took album of the year. :rolleyes:

he played guitar? i didnt see that

 

Yeah.. I he performed twice, it was the second time, and Mark, thank you for that.:laugh4:

JT was channeling Chris last night. Good performance. I'm starting to like him again. Although I miss the hair.....haha.

i don't know, but i'm getting quite bored with the Grammy's.

i find that it's becoming more about the hip-hop-rap-r&b music....erm. maybe it's just me?

i don't know...

 

the only performances that i liked was James Blunt (and that's just cuz i find him quite attractive :D ) and Mary J. Blige's performance.

oh and Christina's song too...

 

on side note about both Christina's and Mary J.'s performances, my god. can they ever belt out their notes. :o :o

imagine the two of them performing...!

 

anywho.

Grammy's, right.

i would've also liked it more if Coldplay performed :lol: :lol:

teehee...of course!

OK - you asked for it!!

 

YAY! The return of the 'puke' smilie!

I get bored with them too. But not because it's hip hop or rap. They have to give awards for all kinds of music. I also think they shouldn't hand out so many of the awards before. Just because it's not popular. Sometimes I'd rather see those less know artists get their recognition and hear their thank you speech. But until the networks get the hint it will just be the big celebs.

 

What's boring is the fact that all of the songs that were performed are old, as in were played to death on the radio for the past year. But that's what they have to play because that's what the nomination is for. *yawn* And the crowd of fans and directly behind them all the stiff artists sitting pretty, dressed to the nines, is so odd to me.

i don't know, but i'm getting quite bored with the Grammy's.

i find that it's becoming more about the hip-hop-rap-r&b music....erm. maybe it's just me?

i don't know...

 

I've noticed that too, that is why I didn't watch them. Well it was on in the background because dad was watching them but I could care less.

.

 

the only performances that i liked was James Blunt (and that's just cuz i find him quite attractive :D )

 

:stunned:

 

I'm amazed he didn't send the entire audience to sleep!!:rolleyes:

In fact, he probably did!!:P

I Loved Mary's performance... Gnarls Barkley... and Christina Aguilera!!!

...and this applies to the Grammys how?

U2 was instead the big winner of the night, with five awards.

U2 was instead the big winner of the night, with five awards.

 

Yeah, 3 award shows ago.

oh ok then