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Music's Television Empire

Netflix's "The Get Down" is the latest in a string of musical shows proving the new golden age of television is golden for music too

GRAMMYs/Aug 13, 2016 - 08:24 pm

Television series about musicians and the music industry are almost as old as TV. The first network television season was broadcast in the U.S. seven decades ago and within a few years musicians were a central part of the story. When "I Love Lucy" debuted in 1951 Lucille Ball's husband, Desi Arnaz, played a bandleader, with plenty of music performance segments on the show. In the 1960s the Monkees parlayed a hit show into pop stardom and the '70s found "The Partridge Family" telling everyone to "come on, get happy."

Reality TV hit the scene in the '00s, and the small-screen focus was on a few unscripted series that took fans into homes of their favorite artists, from Ozzy Osbourne to Snoop Dogg.

But television is always evolving. The latest resurgence of music on TV arguably started in 2009 with Fox's "Glee" and has been further punctuated by the more recent success of "Empire" — the network's latest bona fide hit, which debuted in 2015.

Last year also saw the debut of Denis Leary's FX comedy "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll." The introduction of two acclaimed music-centric series was just a warmup for 2016, which has seen some of the biggest names in film bring stories of musicians to the small screen.

The shift coincides with what critics are dubbing the new golden age of television, a period of increased production of critically acclaimed television shows beginning in the mid-2000s. While television used to be dominated by broadcast networks CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox, scripted shows have found success on cable networks such as HBO and Showtime and, more recently, streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon.

Two Oscar winners, Martin Scorsese and Cameron Crowe, and Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann, have all come to TV this year. Although short-lived, Scorsese, along with Mick Jagger, brought "Vinyl" to HBO in February while Crowe's "Roadies" premiered on Showtime in June. Luhrmann might be taking on his most ambitious project yet, bringing "The Get Down," his much-anticipated musical drama, to Netflix. Part one of the 12-episode first season premieres Aug. 12. 

Working with everyone from hip-hop artists Nas and Grandmaster Flash to author Nelson George, Luhrmann is recreating New York circa 1977, specifically the South Bronx neighborhood, where residents witnessed the birth of hip-hop and the decline of disco all while salsa and punk infiltrated other areas of the city.   

Luhrmann — the man behind films such as The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet — believes TV, or what we used to think of as TV, is currently the perfect home for shows about music.

"Television no longer describes what we're discussing here," says Luhrmann. "The streaming services are more in the nature of broadcast. It's so great. There needs to be a new word because television used to be the place where you were super constrained — you were constrained by the times and morally, the rules. Now those two things are almost reversed."

"[Today] you have much more creative freedom. When you're dealing with music, a story about music culture, the ability to do it in segments really suits that because it's a way and space to tell the story laterally, but also horizontally. You can explore in a way you simply couldn't within a two-hour sitting."

For Crowe, who won an Oscar for writing 2000's Almost Famous, a film about a young reporter covering the fictional rock band Stillwater, the new wave of TV shows centered around music validates his belief that music is as important as ever.

"I was just hearing all this stuff about music is dead as a meaningful art form. 'It's too available, there's too many formats, nobody's paying for it, nobody values it,' and I'm just thinking, 'Bull****, that's just not true,'" said Crowe in a June interview with Forbes. "And that's kind of the thesis of ["Roadies"], music matters more than ever."

The value of music in 2016 — in the age of streaming and YouTube — is a topic of frequent debate, but the current omnipotence of music as well as the massive success of touring and festivals lends credence to Crowe's belief that even if people are not spending as much they still love music as much, if not more, than ever.

Fandom is exactly what inspired Luhrmann's vision for "The Get Down" back in 2006.

"I started this concept with a question 10 years ago, which was, 'How did a totally new idea [hip-hop] get born from a borough in a time where there was little care for that borough or the people [there]?" says Luhrmann. "How did they come up with a brand-new, pure creative idea? I realized when we started to look at 1977, disco was the reigning music form, but there's something going on downtown called punk, you have salsa and the Latin influence and then you have this invention going on by a bunch of kids, which is essentially a kind of folk music in a way."

It was on that journey of discovery when Luhrmann started to realize the story he wanted to tell wouldn't fit within the two-hour confines typically reserved for film, which was exactly what the executives at Netflix wanted to hear.

"I started thinking of it as a movie, and as I did I thought, 'How do you tell all of that? The very nature of it is that it's unwieldy, the very nature of it has to be sprawling.' And sprawling and unwieldy are not words executives who make movies want to hear," he says. "But sprawling and unwieldy are exactly what Netflix wanted to hear because they want to hear something that has an ongoing life and cannot just be linear. The evolution of television caught up with me, and at the right moment the two things met." 

Unlike a movie, in which stories tend to be neatly wrapped, television allows Luhrmann to think of the future. He is optimistic "The Get Down" will be renewed for a second season potentially exploring 1979, when disco was symbolically destroyed in July at famed Comiskey Park in Chicago by Disco Demolition Night, a promotional stunt that saw disco records blown up on the field following a White Sox versus Detroit Tigers game. Two months later, in September, Sugarhill Gang released "Rapper's Delight," the song widely credited with bringing hip-hop to the masses, and one of the first hip-hop songs inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.  

For Luhrmann, as a fan of the music and the era, success is not his motivation. He is content to be the conduit to tell a story he loves.

"I care about [the story and] so many others care about it, I'm kind of the grand conductor. But it's a profound collaboration. That's also what drew me — it's a living history. In the past I've done things that were involved in the past. But this is a living history, the people are actually alive. And so I worked with them to help [tell their] story. And that's really enriching."

(Steve Baltin has written about music for Rolling StoneLos Angeles TimesMojoChicago Tribune, AOL, LA Weekly, Philadelphia WeeklyThe Hollywood Reporter, and dozens more publications.)

2024 Oscars Red Carpet: Music Icons & Artists Shine Including Billie Eilish, Mark Ronson, Danielle Brooks & More
Billie Eilish attends the 2024 Oscars on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.

Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images

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2024 Oscars Red Carpet: Music Icons & Artists Shine Including Billie Eilish, Mark Ronson, Danielle Brooks & More

Visit the intersection of music and movies with a spotlight on the musical talents dazzling the red carpet at the Oscars. Billie Eilish, Danielle Brooks, and more show the creativity and style these multi-talented stars bring to Hollywood's biggest night.

GRAMMYs/Mar 10, 2024 - 08:49 pm

Tonight, the red carpet becomes a runway that blends the art of fashion with the magic of cinema and sound. 

The intersection of music and film has never been more luminous than at this year's Oscars, where numerous GRAMMY-winning artists including Billie Eilish, Jon Batiste, and Bradley Cooper are not just attending but are nominated for their contributions to the silver screen. 

From enchanting melodies that tugged at our heartstrings to groundbreaking scores that redefined movie moments, these artists have already left an indelible mark on the music industry. Tonight, they grace the Oscars red carpet, showcasing not only their unparalleled talent but also their unique fashion sensibilities. 

Take a closer look at these multifaceted talents and their journey from the GRAMMYs to the 2024 Oscars.

2024 Oscars: Watch Performances & Highlights

Billie Eilish

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "What Was I Made For?" from Barbie

Billie Eilish, the alt-pop sensation with nine GRAMMY wins, brings her unique style to the Oscars wearing a tweed schoolgirl look from Chanel. At this year's Academy Awards, Eilish is nominated for the hauntingly beautiful "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture *Barbie*], the same track that won two GRAMMYs, for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media, at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Billie Eilish

*Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images*

Finneas O'Connell

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "What Was I Made For?" with Billie Eilish

Finneas O'Connell, the mind behind many of sister Billie Eilish’s hits and a 10-time GRAMMY winner in his own right, appears tonight in an ensemble that's as sleek as his production style. Nominated for the poignant "What Was I Made For?," he exudes confidence and creativity, showcasing the depth of his artistic vision.

FINNEAS on the 2024 Oscars red carpet

*Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images*

Jon Batiste

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "It Never Went Away" from American Symphony

Jon Batiste, a vision of grace on the red carpet in a monochromatic burgundy suit, brings the same passion to his music that won him five GRAMMYs and 19 nominations, including his Album Of The Year win for 2021's We Are

Tonight, he's recognized for his soul-stirring "It Never Went Away", a testament to his versatility and depth as an artist. He won his first Oscar in 2021 for Best Original Score with Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor for their work together on Pixar's Soul.

Jon Batiste

*Photo:* Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Mark Ronson

**Nominated for: Best Original Song, "I'm Just Ken" [From The Motion Picture Barbie]

Mark Ronson, the GRAMMY-winning producer known for hits like "Uptown Funk" and his work on Amy Winehouse's seminal Back to Black, brings well-suited sophistication to the red carpet. As an eight time GRAMMY winner, Ronson won his first Oscar award for Best Original Song in 2021 for "Shallow" for A Star is Born starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Mark Ronson on the 2024 Oscars red carpet

***Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images***

Ludwig Göransson

Nominated for: Best Original Score, Oppenheimer

Ludwig Göransson, took home the Oscar for Best Original Score with a win for Oppenheimer. Known for his innovative soundscapes, Göransson's attire tonight — a satin-lapel tuxedo with wide pants and Cartier jewels — is a harmonious blend of classic and contemporary, much like his music.

Ludwig Gorranson

*Photo: John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images*

Bradley Cooper

Nominated for: Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Maestro


Bradley Cooper, presents a masterclass in red carpet fashion in a double-breasted tie-less tux with turquoise buttons and boot cut suit pants. A two-time GRAMMY winner for A Star Is Born in 2019, Cooper's transformation into Leonard Bernstein in Maestro is both a critical and stylistic triumph. Tonight, his attire is as meticulously curated as his performance, with a nod to the classical elegance befitting one of the most legendary conductors of all-time.

Bradley Cooper

***Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images***

Danielle Brooks

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress, The Color Purple

Danielle Brooks dazzles in a black corseted gown with silver embellishments, a diamond necklace, and silver toned jewelry that speaks to her vibrant and powerful portrayal of Sofia in The Color Purple. A GRAMMY winner in 2017 for Best Musical Theater Album for her work in the Broadway revival, Brooks now shines on Oscars Sunday in an ensemble that is a tribute to Sofia's strength, resilience, and grace.

Danielle Brooks

*Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images*

Diane Warren

Nominated for: Best Original Song, "The Fire Inside" from Flamin' Hot

Diane Warren, whose pen has graced many an iconic ballad, steps onto the red carpet in a "Flamin' Hot" look that echoes her lyrical genius. Nominated once again for her songwriting prowess, Warren's attire tonight is a nod to the fiery Becky G track she's nominated for tonight. 

Warren has received 15 GRAMMY nominations through her career and a win for "Because You Loved Me" (Celine Dion, from Up, Close and Personal) which took home Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television in 1997. 

Diane Warren

*Photo:* Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande stepped onto the red carpet just days after the release of her album Eternal Sunshine in a custom Glinda-pink Giambattista Valli gown. Grande presented awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score with Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo at the 2024 Oscars.

Ariana Grande

*Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia Erivo graced the red carpet in an emerald green Louis Vuitton look with voluminous leather ruffles. Erivo presented awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score with Wicked co-star, Ariana Grande at the 2024 Oscars. 

Cynthia Erivo

*Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images*

Hailey Steinfeld

Nominated: Best Animated Feature, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Hailey Steinfeld showed up to the 2024 Oscars ready to put on a show. The actress and singer wore a couture Elie Saab gown from the Spring/Summer 2024 collection in light blue with butterfly cape sleeves and a pleated skirt, accentuated by metallic appliqués adorning the bodice and wrists of the sleeves.

Hailey Steinfeld

*Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/GettyImages *

Tia Carrere

Tia Carrere attends the 2024 Oscars red carpet. Carrere is a two-time GRAMMY winner for Best Hawaiian Music Album.

Tia Carrere

***Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images***

Slash

Slash, the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses assisted Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson with a performance of 'I'm Just Ken' at the 2024 Oscars. 

Slash
2024 Oscar Nominees Who Have Won A GRAMMY: Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese & More
Billie Eilish at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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2024 Oscar Nominees Who Have Won A GRAMMY: Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese & More

From Bradley Cooper to Diane Warren, 12 nominees at the 2024 Oscars have a golden gramophone to their name. Ahead of the Oscars ceremony on March 10, check out the GRAMMY history of this year's nominees.

GRAMMYs/Mar 6, 2024 - 04:33 pm

Music's Biggest Night and the film industry's biggest night are a little more intertwined than one might think.

The GRAMMYs have four Categories that tie in with the Hollywood machine, from Best Song Written For Visual Media to Best Music Film. And the Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording award has offered thespians such as John Gielgud, Viola Davis, and Mike Nichols a route to EGOT glory.

The Academy Awards, meanwhile, gives both composers and songwriters their dues in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories, respectively. And the latter's nominees will often be performed to help break up all the drama at the podium, no matter how un-Oscar-like the track may be. Who can forget the fever dream that was The Lego Movie's "Everything Is Awesome," for example?

The 2024 Oscars bring both ceremonies even closer together, with 12 nominees walking in as previous GRAMMY winners. Half of them were even victorious at the 2024 GRAMMYs, including Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell, and Mark Ronson, who all took home golden gramophones for their Barbie contributions (and are all up for the same film at this year's Oscars).

Ahead of the March 10 ceremony, take a look at the GRAMMY stories of 2024 Oscar nominees — from celebrated composers to iconic directors to a few of this year's performers.

2024 Oscars: Watch Performances & Highlights

Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste has had quite the GRAMMY run as of late, picking up 19 nominations in just the last three years alone; he scored five wins for 2021's We Are in 2022, including the prestigious Album Of The Year. The jazz maestro, formerly the bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has also enjoyed Oscars glory in the same time frame.

Firstly, in 2021, he shared the Best Original Score Oscar with Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor for their work on Pixar animation Soul. And this year, he's nominated in the Best Original Song category for "It Never Went Away," a track featured in his own powerful documentary biopic, American Symphony.

Danielle Brooks 

Two years into her memorable run as prisoner Taystee in "Orange Is the New Black," Danielle Brooks proved her talents extended far beyond the walls of the Litchfield penitentiary with an acclaimed turn in the 2015 Broadway revival of The Color Purple. After the Juilliard graduate picked up a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2016, she became a GRAMMY winner in 2017, when the cast won Best Musical Theater Album.

The all-singing, all-dancing film adaptation of the Alice Walker novel earned Brooks her first Academy Award nod, too. For she once again stole the show in its Hollywood transfer as the strong-minded Sofia, a character first played on the big screen by Oprah Winfrey.

Bradley Cooper  

Bradley Cooper spent six years practicing conducting just six minutes of music for his portrayal of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein in acclaimed biopic Maestro. And the multi-talent's admirable commitment paid off when he received Academy Award nods for Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Actor.

Cooper was also nominated in the latter two categories, along with Best Adapted Screenplay, five years ago for another musical, A Star Is Born, and earned two GRAMMYs for the same project. In 2019, he shared Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Lady Gaga for "Shallow," the spellbinding ballad which also picked up a Record Of The Year nod. A year later, the same film triumphed in Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

Billie Eilish  

Like Batiste, Billie Eilish has made an impressive GRAMMYs run in a short span of time. The alt-pop phenomenon has already picked up nine awards from 25 nominations (and she's only just turned 22!). And at her first GRAMMYs just four years ago, Eilish already cemented herself in GRAMMY history: not only did she become just the second artist to claim Best New Artist and Record, Song, and Album Of the Year, but she became the youngest artist to do so at 18 years old.

Eilish added to her GRAMMY legacy with two more wins at the 2024 ceremony, for "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture *Barbie*], which won the star her second golden gramophones for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media; her James Bond theme, "No Time To Die," won the latter in 2021.

"What Was I Made For?" —  played during the poignant scene where Margot Robbie's titular character meets her creator — has also enamored Oscar voters. In fact, it's the predicted favorite to clinch Best Original Song, which "No Time to Die" helped Eilish claim in 2022.

Ludwig Göransson

Ludwig Göransson is predicted to win his second Best Original Score Oscar this year thanks to his suitably intense arrangements for Oppenheimer; his first win came in 2019 for Black Panther. The Swedish composer has already won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for the same projects at the GRAMMYs.

But it's in the realm of socially conscious hip-hop where Göransson has been a GRAMMYs awards trailblazer. Childish Gambino's "This Is America," a powerful state of the nation address which he co-produced, picked up both Song and Record Of The Year at the 2019 ceremony — marking the first time a rap track had won either accolade. Göransson's fruitful partnership with Gambino has also seen him receive nods for Album Of The Year and Best R&B Song.

Finneas O'Connell 

Finneas O'Connell might have eight fewer GRAMMY nominations than his sister (Billie Eilish), but he does have one more win under his belt. Indeed, having masterminded Eilish's blockbuster breakthrough, 2019's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and hit the studio with artists such as Tate McRae, Camila Cabello, and Selena Gomez, the Californian picked up Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical at the 2020 ceremony. (Alongside the nine golden gramophones he's shared with his younger sibling — and primary collaborator — that takes his overall tally up to 10.)

As a co-writer on Eilish's James Bond theme "No Time to Die," Finneas and his sis will have two Oscars a piece should their co-written song, "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture Barbie], win Best Original Song as predicted.

Mark Ronson 

Mark Ronson first caught GRAMMYs attention for his behind-the-scenes efforts, winning Best Pop Vocal Album, Record Of The Year, and Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical in 2008 for his work on Amy Winehouse's seminal Back to Black. But eight years later, he scooped two GRAMMYs for his very own throwback, the Bruno Mars-featuring "Uptown Funk," and in 2019, picked up Best Dance Recording as part of the supergroup Silk City alongside Diplo and Dua Lipa.

Ronson and Lipa were once again nominated together at the 2024 GRAMMYs for their global chart-topper, "Dance the Night" [From The Motion Picture Barbie], which didn't receive a Best Original Song Academy Award nod. The DJ-turned-hitmaker still notched an Oscar nomination, though, thanks to a different Barbie number he co-wrote: the Ryan Gosling-sung "I'm Just Ken."

Martin Scorsese 

Here's a staggering fact: Martin Scorsese, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers in Hollywood history, has as many GRAMMYs to his celebrated name as he does Oscars: one.

The auteur received his GRAMMY in 2006, when his Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home, won in the Best Long Form Music Video Category. (He had been nominated the previous two years, in the same Category in 2005 for his PBS series Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey, and in the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media Category in 2004 for Gangs Of New York.)

His sole Best Director victory at the Academy Awards came not for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Goodfellas, but for his 2006 remake of The Departed in what many interpreted as a career win. He earned his tenth nomination in the coveted category at the 2024 Oscars, for Killers of the Flower Moon.

Diane Warren 

Diane Warren is responsible for some of the all-time great movie power ballads: see the late '90s holy trinity of Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live," and Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing." However, the prolific songwriter has never won an Oscar outright (she was awarded an honorary one in 2022). She has another shot at the 2024 Oscars thanks to Becky G's "The Fire Inside" from the Cheetos-inspired Flamin' Hot, which earned Warren her 15th Best Original Song nomination.

The songwriting dynamo has received the same number of nods at the GRAMMYs, and celebrated a win in 1997, when "Because You Loved Me" (from 1996's Up, Close and Personal) took home Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.

John Williams 

Where to start with John Williams? The veteran composer received his 54th Academy Award nod this year, with his work on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny recognized in Best Original Score. He remains second only to Walt Disney for the most Oscar nominations ever, he's the only individual to be recognized across seven decades in a row (his first came back in 1968 for Valley of the Dolls), and he became the oldest nominee ever in 2023 — a record which he topped again this year at 91.

And Williams has been even more successful at the GRAMMYS, picking up a remarkable 26 golden gramophones from 76 nominations. His latest came only last month when "Helena's Theme," the piece of music composed for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character in Dial of Destiny, was crowned Best Instrumental Composition.

Dan Wilson 

Dan Wilson picked up the first of his six GRAMMY nominations with his own band Semisonic's anthemic "Closing Time." But following the alt-rock trio's initial split in 2001, all of his other nods have been for his work as an in-demand songwriter. Wilson has won two of the General Field GRAMMYs, first for Song Of The Year for Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" in 2006 and Album Of The Year for his work on Adele's 21 in 2012.

And he added a third GRAMMY to his trophy haul this year, as his co-written Chris Stapleton track "White Horse" won Best Country Song. Thanks to his contribution to the aforementioned Batiste ballad, the hitmaker can also now call himself an Oscar nominee, too.

Andrew Wyatt 

Ronson co-produced and co-wrote "I'm Just Ken" [From The Motion Picture Barbie] with longtime collaborator Andrew Wyatt. The pair won the 2019 Best Original Song Oscar for their co-write on A Star Is Born cut "Shallow," and also picked up Best Song Written for Visual Media with the same tearjerker (alongside Cooper) at the GRAMMYs.

Wyatt, who first found fame as one-third of electronic trio Miike Snow before launching a solo career, has also enjoyed a taste of GRAMMY recognition elsewhere. The New Yorker's first nod came in 2012 when Bruno Mars' "Grenade," the emotive heartbreak anthem that counted him as one of six songwriters, was nominated for Song Of The Year.

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
Kendrick Lamar

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Remembering Robbie Robertson: 7 Essential Tracks From The Roots Music Trailblazer
Robbie Robertson in 2013

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

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Remembering Robbie Robertson: 7 Essential Tracks From The Roots Music Trailblazer

The driving force behind the influential act the Band died Aug. 9 at age 80.

GRAMMYs/Aug 10, 2023 - 02:17 pm

As a songwriter, guitarist, artist, composer and armchair historian, Robbie Robertson richly impacted music throughout a 50-plus-year career. The multiple GRAMMY nominee and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award died on Aug. 9 at age 80. 

Those who think of Robertson as the architect of the Band have unquestionably identified his most essential work, but they also risk selling short his immense contributions to music. He backed Bob Dylan, led a band that laid the foundation for Americana, was the subject of one of cinema’s great concert films, and enjoyed a long affiliation with Martin Scorsese as one of his musical muses. 

Born Jaime Royal Robertson in Toronto, Ontario, to a family with Jewish and Mohawk ancestry, Robertson found himself drawn to American traditions — from the blues and country music, and to both's ethos of self-invention. These traditions would greatly impact his prolific musical output, as well as the sound of rock. 

Robertson first hooked up with the members of the Band at age 15 when they were the Hawks, the backing band for rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins. In the mid-’60s they became the backing band for Bob Dylan’s famed first electric tour. That turned into recording sessions with the Bard in Woodstock, N.Y., ultimately released almost a decade later as the renowned the Basement Tapes

The Band’s first two albums — 1968’s Music from Big Pink and 1969’s self-titled the Band — were both critically acclaimed records that were unique amalgams of rock, folk, country and blues immersed in American iconography. Both albums, as well as the Basement Tapes, have been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. 

"The Band’s music shocked the excess out of the Renaissance and were an essential part of the final back-to-the-roots trend of ’60s," Stevie Van Zandt tweeted in eulogy. 

The Band’s breakup was immortalized with the 1978 Martin Scorsese-directed The Last Waltz, which Rolling Stone called the greatest concert film of all time. 

Not long after, Robertson began working with Scorsese as a composer and music supervisor, including on such towering films as Raging Bull and Goodfellas. His solo output included Storyville, a nod to the history and music of New Orleans, and Music for Native Americans, which honors the spirit of his own Mohawk roots. 

As a solo artist, Robertson has earned five GRAMMY nominations, including Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media for The Wolf Of Wall Street in 2015. Robertson also wrote several books, co-authoring Legends, Icons and Rebels: Music That Changed the World and an autobiography, among other tomes. At the time of his passing, Robertson had recently completed his 14th project with Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon.

In a statement, Scorsese called Roberston "one of my closest friends, a constant in my life and my work." The filmmaker continued to note that Robertson and the Band's music "seemed to come from the deepest place at the heart of this continent, its traditions and tragedies and joys. It goes without saying that he was a giant, that his effect on the art form was profound and lasting."

A career so varied deserves a varied list of essential musical memories. Read on for seven releases that demonstrate Robbie Robertson's varied musical genius. 

"Yazoo Street Scandal" (1967)  

The Robertson-penned "Yazoo Street Scandal" is one of the first true Band recordings, though they were still the Hawks at the time. Though released formally in 1975, the track was part of the original Basement Tapes bootlegs recorded with Dylan in 1967. 

The blueprint was already apparent: the earthy and rambling playing, Levon Helm’s unstudied and twangy singing, and Robertson playing where mythology meets reality in the form of a narrative around an actual Arkansas street called Yazoo.  

"The Weight" (1968) 

"The Weight" was most of America’s introduction to the Band and the group's first "hit" (it peaked at No. 63 on the U.S. charts), the song would prove more influential on the artist community than the mass market. The song established the Band as progenitors of what would become known as Americana, with blues and country overtones, roadhouse piano and its cryptic story rife with Southern gothic and Biblical allusions. 

Covered numerous times over the years, Aretha Franklin’s noteworthy version features Duane Allman on slide guitar. 

"Up on Cripple Creek"/"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (1969) 

This double-sided single was the Band’s biggest hit, with "Cripple," the A-side, hitting No. 25 in the United States. Though Robertson has said even he doesn’t know the meaning of the song, it seems to turn on the strength and solace men derive from women. 

But it’s "Dixie" that has become a Band signature. A story song that feels like authentic folklore, it takes a seemingly empathetic view on the Civil War South. Critics have argued it glorifies the antebellum South, while others see in it a personal story of a Southerner caught up in a senseless war. Joan Baez’ hit version made it a staple in the summer of 1971.  

"If You Know What I Mean" (1976) 

Neil Diamond would seem an unlikely client for Robertson the producer, but the latter likely related to Diamond’s Brooklyn roots and Brill Building history. Beautiful Noise was a song cycle of sorts about Diamond’s early years in Don Kirshner’s song factory and his bittersweet remembrances of a time gone by — all of which would have resonated with Robertson’s appreciation of music’s roots and traditions. 

"If You Know What I Mean" just missed the U.S. Top 10, but the album went platinum and was one of Diamond’s most critically well-received, proving Robertson’s versatile abilities. It’s also one of the few albums in pop history where the producer shares top billing with the artist on the album’s cover. 

"Webster Hall" (1980) 

Raging Bull, Robertson’s first collab with Scorsese as a music supervisor/composer, happened to produce what many critics consider one the top films of all time. 

"Webster Hall" is a jaunty jazz club instrumental with some sterling keyboard work by the Band’s Garth Hudson. Most importantly, it was the start of a yearslong association between Robertson and Scorsese that began with the latter directing the Band concert film the Last Waltz

 "Broken Arrow" (1987) 

Robertson released only a handful of solo albums, each one moving progressively toward ethereal instrumentals and new agey world music. "Broken Arrow" came from his first effort, released in 1987 and produced by Daniel Lanois

Robertson’s haunting growl, the detailed arrangements and guests such as Peter Gabriel and Manu Katché show he was exploring a broader soundscape than the Band allowed. A 1991 cover went Top 20 for Rod Stewart

Robbie Robertson Visits The GRAMMY Museum