38th Post: The Grammy’s (57)

While reading through my All-Time Greatest Music (1950-60s) blog, many references have been made to artists winning Grammy Awards. At this point I thought it would be wise to provide you with an overview about the history of the Grammy Awards. Later on in this post I will also look into other awards like the Tony Award (or, the Antoinette Perry Award) and OBIE Awards.

Started in 1958

Beginning in 1958, the idea grew out from what were called Gramophone Awards. So, that was sixty-two years ago. Back then, the Oscars and Emmy Awards were recognizing leading artists in film and television but not music.

The Walk of Time Project kindled the emergence of the Grammy Award as a way to honor the music industry’s most talented composers, songwriters and musicians. The first Grammy Award event (May 4, 1959) included 28 categories. In 2019 there were 84!

20 Genres honored

Today there are (20) genres that are being considered for Grammy Awards:

Alternative American Roots, Children’s, Classical, Comedy, Contemporary Instrumental, Country, Dance & Electronics, Gospel & Contemporary Christian, Jazz, Latin, Musical Theater, New Age, Pop, Raggae, Rap, Rhythm & Blues, Rock, Spoken Word, and World Music.

4 Awards Across Genres

In addition to Awards based upon genres, there are four major awards given across all genres including: Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Album if the Year and Record of the Year.

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Plus, there have been “Lifetime Achievement“ Awards given to an artist that made am impact on the music industry overall. To date, there have been (22) Lifetime Achievement Awards given:

The Beatles (2014), Johnny Cash (1999), Ray Charles (1987), Bing Crosby (1963), Neil Diamond (2018), The Doors (2007), Bob Dylan (1991), Ella Fitzgerald (1967), Aretha Franklin (1994), Emmylou Harris (2018), Jimi Hendrix (1992), B.B. King (1987), Led Zeppelin (2005), John Lennon (1991), Jerry Lee Lewis (2005), Willie Nelson (2000), Dolly Parton (2011), Queen (2018), The Rolling Stones (1986), Frank Sinatra (1965), Tina Turner (2018), and Hank Williams (1987).

Best All-Time Song Awards

The Grammy Hall of Fame also has recognized (35) significant musical composition and songs by well- known artists:

“Dream On” (https://youtu.be/89dGC8de0CA) (RQ 10+) by Aerosmith.

“Walk This Way” (https://youtu.be/4c8O2n1Gfto) (RQ 9) by Aerosmith.

“I Get Around” (https://youtu.be/KnPL5OXSBNE) (RQ 8) by The Beach Boys.

“Good Vibrations” (https://youtu.be/mdt0SOqPJcg) (RQ 10+) by The Beach Boys.

“Margaritaville” (https://youtu.be/CICf8xoLyG8) (RQ 10+) by Jimmy Buffet.

“Ring of Fire” (https://youtu.be/1WaV2x8GXj0) (RQ 9) by Johnny Cash.

“Georgia on My Mind” (https://youtu.be/qIp9TwSEgFg) (RQ 8) by Ray Charles.

“Fortunate Son” (https://youtu.be/ec0XKhAHR5I) (RQ 10+) by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

“Proud Mary” (https://youtu.be/5hid10EgMXE) (RQ 9) by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” (https://youtu.be/1vrEljMfXYo) (RQ 10+) by John Denver.

“Like a Rolling Stone” (https://youtu.be/IwOfCgkyEj0) (RQ 8) by Bob Dylan.

“Mr. Tambourine Man” (https://youtu.be/OeP4FFr88SQ) (RQ 10) by Bob Dylan.

“Hotel California” (https://youtu.be/FVsbvFkhzY4) (RQ 10+) by The Eagles.

“Respect” (https://youtu.be/6FOUqQt3Kg0) (RQ 10+) by Aretha Franklin.

“Boom Boom” (https://youtu.be/X70VMrH3yBg) (RQ 10+) by John Lee Hooker.

“Shout” (https://youtu.be/nEjLFpU2pJ4) (RQ 10) by The Isley Brothers.

“At Last” (https://youtu.be/1qJU8G7gR_g) (RQ 10+) by Etta James.

“The Thrill is Gone” (https://youtu.be/oica5jG7FpU) (RQ 10+) by B.B. King.

“You Really Got Me” (https://youtu.be/-2GmzyeeXnQ) (RQ 6) by The Kinks.

“California Dreamin” (https://youtu.be/N-aK6JnyFmk) (RQ 10+) by The Mamas & the Papas.

“Always on My Mind” (https://youtu.be/R7f189Z0v0Y) (RQ 10+) by Willie Nelson.

“On the Road Again” (https://youtu.be/Gdlyi5mckg0) (RQ 10) by Willie Nelson.

“Jolene” (https://youtu.be/L0eeSoU35wM) (RQ 8) by Dolly Parton.

“Hound Dog” (https://youtu.be/aNYWl13IWhY) (RQ 4) by Elvis Presley.

“Jailhouse Rock” (https://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk) (RQ 10+) by Elvis Presley.

“Purple Rain” (https://youtu.be/TvnYmWpD_T8) (RQ 10+) by Prince.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” (https://youtu.be/fJ9rUzIMcZQ) (RQ 10+) by Queen.

“We Will Rock You” (https://youtu.be/_uVb7Ju8VQk) (RQ 10) by Queen.

“Sitting On the Dock of the Bay” (https://youtu.be/rTVjnBo96Ug) (RQ 10) by Otis Redding.

“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” (https://youtu.be/NEjkftp7J7I) (RQ 5) by The Rolling Stones.

“Paint It Black” (https://youtu.be/5wCUlPNlQuA) (RQ 8) by The Rolling Stones.

“I’ve Got the World on a String” (https://youtu.be/Tu8TCMk5VjU) (RQ 8) by Frank Sinatra.

“My Way’ (https://youtu.be/w019MzRosmk) (RQ 10) by Frank Sinatra.

“Sweet Home Alabama” (https://youtu.be/ye5BuYf8q4o) (RQ 10) by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

All Time Greatest Number of Grammys

Overall, one man, one woman and one group have been awarded the most overall Grammy Awards. The man is Sir Georg Solti, a orchestral and operatic conductor (1912-1997). He was born in Hungary. His grand total Grammy Awards is 31! He has made 250 recordings and 45 complete sets of orchestra performances. Here is his photo:

The woman with the greatest number of Grammy Awards (27) is Alison Krauss (1971-Present). Alison was born in Champaign, Illinois. She is a county/bluegrass performer with 736 single and 14 album recordings! Here is a photo of her:

The group with the most Grammy Awards (22) is U2 (1976-Present). The group hails from Dublin, Ireland. The group members are: Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr., and The Edge. Here is a photo of the group:

The Tony Award recognizes excellence in live Broadway Theatre. The 79th annual award was held in 2019. The awards (40) are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway Wing at an annual ceremony in Midtown Manhattan. There are four specific awards that recognize singing:

1. The Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Santino Fontana won this award in 2019 for Tootsie, “Unstoppable” (https://youtu.be/WWWR6tQJiX8) (RQ 5).

2. The Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical.

3. The Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Stephanie Block won this award in 2019 for The Cher Show “I Found Someone” (https://youtu.be/k9n5EAJ4Xds) (RQ 9).

4. The Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Angela Lansbury was one of the most recognized all time in this category in Mame (1966) (https://youtu.be/Fi15Nmvdb7w) (RQ 4) wear World (1969), Gypsy (1975), Sweeney Todd (1979) and A Little Night Music (2010).

The awards were founded by Brock Pemberton are named after Antoinette “Tony” Perry. an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a medallion, with a face portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel.

The Obie Awards honor the highest calibre of off-Broadway and off-off Broadway theatre to recognize brave work, champion new material, and advance careers in theatre.

For more than sixty years, the Village Voice has put off and off-off Broadway on the map by recognizing the artistic power of downtown theatre. The Voice was a forum for heated artistic discussion, including theatre reviews, that sparked awareness and excitement for New York’s emerging theatre movement. Alongside the publication, The Voice developed the Obie Awards in 1955 to celebrate the important work being staged south of Broadway. The Obie Awards honor the boundary-pushing theatre seen in the city’s intimate performing spaces, supporting an incubator for emerging work, with an award that validates off-Broadway as a league of its own.

In 2015, Lea DeLaria sings “Welcome To My Party” (https://youtu.be/o4X5qR4hRjw) (RQ 4) at the Obie Awards show.

Another example of a singing performance at the 2013 Obie Awards Show: “Here Lies Love” (https://youtu.be/agDWoQ9AJOo) (RQ 4) by Florence Welch.

Francis Jue won an OBIE Award in 2019 for “Wild Goose Dreams” (https://youtu.be/hzb1MbP12jo) (RQ 3).