Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
In the weeks leading up to the telecast, we will take a stroll through some of the golden moments in GRAMMY history with the GRAMMY Rewind, highlighting the "big four" categories — Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist — in 10-year increments before capping off with a look at the last five years. In the process, we'll discuss the winners and the nominees who just missed taking home a GRAMMY, while also shining a light on the artists' careers and the eras in which the recordings were born.
Join us as we take an abbreviated journey through the trajectory of pop music from the 1st Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 to this year's 53rd telecast. Today, the GRAMMY Awards celebrates its 40th anniversary.
40th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Feb. 25, 1998
Album Of The Year
Winner: Bob Dylan, Time Out Of Mind
Babyface, The Day
Paula Cole, This Fire
Paul McCartney, Flaming Pie
Radiohead, Ok Computer
The venerable Dylan edged out a diverse field in claiming his second Album Of The Year award for Time Out Of Mind, produced by Daniel Lanois. (His first came in 1972 for his participation on The Concert For Bangla Desh.) Dylan's unforgettable performance on the telecast included an encounter with a stage crasher bearing the words "Soy Bomb" on his torso. Smooth R&B songwriter/producer Babyface made the cut with The Day, which featured the touching title track written about the day his then-wife Tracey Edmonds told him she was pregnant with their first child, Brandon. Babyface won back-to-back Producer Of The Year awards in 1995 and 1996. Singer/songwriter Cole, who impressively scored nods in all four General Field categories, was recognized for her sophomore album. Current MusiCares Person of the Year honoree McCartney, who won Album Of The Year 30 years prior with his friends from Liverpool, was cited for Flaming Pie, a stripped-down song cycle inspired by the then-recent GRAMMY-winning The Beatles Anthology. Though Radiohead would lose out in this category, the British alternative rockers won their first GRAMMY for Best Alternative Music Performance.
Record Of The Year
Winner: Shawn Colvin, "Sunny Came Home"
Paula Cole, "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?"
Sheryl Crow, "Everyday Is A Winding Road"
Hanson, "MMMbop"
R. Kelly, "I Believe I Can Fly"
"Sunny Came Home," which depicts the tale of a woman who sets her home ablaze in an attempt to escape her haunting past, was Colvin's highest-charting single (No. 7) on the Billboard Hot 100, and paved the way for her long-standing career. Cole's "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?"— which name-drops the Duke, John Wayne — marked her only charting single in the Top 10. Coming off three GRAMMYs the year prior, Crow was shut out twice in 1997, but would pick up awards in 1998 and 1999. The brother trio Hanson, who literally emerged out of the Middle Of Nowhere, was recognized with the smash "MMMbop," which soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Kelly's inspirational anthem "I Believe I Can Fly" would miss the cut here, but it racked up three GRAMMYs, including Best Rhythm & Blues Song. "I Believe…" just missed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 2.
Song Of The Year
Winner: Shawn Colvin, "Sunny Came Home"
Paula Cole, "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?"
R. Kelly, "I Believe I Can Fly"
No Doubt, "Don't Speak"
LeAnn Rimes And Trisha Yearwood, "How Do I Live"
It was a big year for the South Dakota-born Colvin and "Sunny Came Home," which she penned with John Leventhal. Cole and Kelly also reprised their Record Of The Year nods. "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?" was written by Cole, whose album showed a lyrical depth similar to contemporaries such as Jewel and Sarah McLachlan. "I Believe I Can Fly," with its elements of R&B and soul, was written, produced and performed by Kelly. Hailing from Anaheim, Calif., No Doubt made the grade with their heartbreaking ballad "Don't Speak," written by vocalist Gwen Stefani and her brother Eric. The alt-ska outfit would win their first GRAMMY five years later. Country teen sensation Rimes, who won Best New Artist in 1996, and Yearwood were each nominated for "How Do I Live," which was penned by Diane Warren. This marked a GRAMMY first, with two artists representing the same song in a category. Rimes' version would chart higher, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, but Yearwood's rendition won a GRAMMY for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Best New Artist
Winner: Paula Cole
Fiona Apple
Erykah Badu
Hanson
Puff Daddy
Emerging from a genre-rich pool, the Massachusetts-native Cole would not walk away empty-handed in securing the coveted Best New Artist award. Apple, who had been a bad, bad girl throughout 1996, was good enough to get a nomination, and also a win for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Criminal." While R&B/soul songstress Badu would not win for Best New Artist, she won two awards in 1997, including Best R&B Album for her debut Baduizm. Marking the beginning of his empire-to-be, hip-hop all-star Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, now simply known as Diddy, lost out but would not walk away empty-handed by scoring a GRAMMY for "I'll Be Missing You," a tribute to the fallen Notorious B.I.G. containing samples of the Police's GRAMMY-winning "Every Breath You Take." The brothers Hanson, whose sunny pop sound contrasted with the murky sounds of grunge in the mid-'90s, rounded out the nominees.
Come back to GRAMMY.com on Feb. 2 as we revisit the 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
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