Grammy Global Header

Grammy Hamburger Menu

Global Hamburger Menu

GRAMMY_lockup_stacked_black

Subscribe Nav

Subscribe Nav Newsletter Form

Be the first to find out about GRAMMY nominees, winners, important news, and events.

checkmark-gold

Subscribe Social Links

Join us on Social

Following Whitney Houston’s inspired opening performance of “One Moment In Time” — a song she recorded for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea — host Billy Crystal proclaimed, “This year promises to be a kinder, gentler GRAMMY,” borrowing one of then-President George H.W. Bush’s stated objectives for the nation.

Ultimately, it wasn’t all kinder and gentler — however it was a year in which Bobby McFerrin’s famously upbeat “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was named Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, not to mention another McFerrin win for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male, for a different song (“Brothers”). McFerrin — billed by Crystal as “the GRAMMY Symphony Orchestra” — also performed a wide-ranging and witty history of music, vocalizing as Crystal spoke.

Yet this was also a very big year for Tracy Chapman, whose “Fast Car” spoke powerfully to real life worries and the eternal desire for escape. By the end of the evening at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Chapman was named Best New Artist and took home the GRAMMY Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, and Best Contemporary Folk Recording.

Other performing artists brought a welcome edge to the 31st proceedings, including the always-interesting Sinéad O’Connor performing “Mandinka” from her debut album, The Lion And The Cobra, and Lyle Lovett, who brought his brilliantly offbeat brand of down-home music to a country sequence that also featured a memorable duet by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens on “Streets Of Bakersfield.”

But it was the addition of some new metal at the 31st GRAMMY Awards that would prove more controversial. During the show, Crystal explained, “Not too long ago heavy metal was confined to the underground, but times change and the GRAMMYs change with the times. And we acknowledge the art form that is keeping the rebellious essence of rock and roll alive, and have added a GRAMMY Award in that category for the first time this year.” The new category was called Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Vocal Or Instrumental, and Crystal then introduced one of the nominees — Metallica. The group performed a characteristically intense and explosive version of “One” from the album ...And Justice For All (which likely included the first use of machine gun sound effects on the GRAMMYs). However, when Alice Cooper and Lita Ford came out to present the award, the GRAMMY went to veteran rock act Jethro Tull — a fine group of longstanding musicians, but arguably the least hard or metal of the nominees. The category and Metallica performance were proof of GRAMMY’s ambition, though the category proved too broad. The next year it would be dubbed more purely Best Metal Performance, and Metallica’s “One” would take the prize.

In an ever changing musical world, the 31st Annual GRAMMYs also significantly marked the very first year of the Best Rap Performance category with the award going to D.J. Jazzy Jeff &amp; The Fresh Prince for “Parents Just Don’t Understand” during the pre-telecast ceremonies. As presenter Kool Moe Dee eloquently commented: “On the behalf of all MCs, my co-workers and fellow nominees — Jazzy Jeff, J.J. Fad, Salt-N-Pepa and the boy who’s bad — we personify power and a drug-free mind, and we express ourselves through rhythm and rhyme. So I think it’s time that the whole world knows rap is here to stay.”

<a href="/grammys/artists/linda-ronstadt">Linda Ronstadt</a>, meanwhile, showcased her Mexican-American heritage with a fine performance of “La Charreada” from her winning Canciones De Mi Padre, complete with a mariachi band and dancers. She followed this performance by taking home the Best Mexican-American Performance GRAMMY.

Other moments on this show were reminders of the GRAMMY Award’s unique ability to blend genres and bring together generations with ease and grace. Three Lifetime Achievement Award recipients — Leontyne Price, Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie — all gave vital, crowd-pleasing performances, and famed violinist Itzhak Perlman made an excellent point when he noted that he was happy to see classical music doing so well in the “race for space on the GRAMMY show. We may not sell as many records as our associates in the pop, rock and country fields, but you must admit our hits last a long time.”

On the GRAMMY Awards telecast, it’s all good in the end. As Billy Crystal rightly said in his closing thought for the night: “The more you love music, the more music you love.”

Roll With It (Single)

Man In The Mirror (Single)

Giving You The Best That I Got (Single)

Fast Car (Single)

Don't Worry Be Happy

Record Of The Year

Tracy Chapman (Album)

Simple Pleasures (Album)

Roll With It (Album)

Faith

...Nothing Like The Sun (Album)

Album Of The Year

Piano In The Dark (Single)

Fast Car

Be Still My Beating Heart (Single)

Song Of The Year

Best New Artist

Tell It To My Heart (Album)

One Moment In Time (Single)

Get Here (Album)

Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm (Album)

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female

Father Figure (Single)

A Groovy Kind Of Love (Single)

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male

Wild, Wild West (Single)

Piano In The Dark (Track)

Kokomo (Single)

Brasil

Anything For You (Spanish-English Version) (Single)

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal

Silhouette (Album)

Pump Up The Volume (Single)

Music From La Law And Otherwise

Close-up

Always With Me, Always With You (Single)

Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group Or Soloist)

Tina Live In Europe

The Lion And The Cobra (Album)

Don't Walk Away (Track)

Bring Me Some Water (Track)

All Fired Up (Single)

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female

Unchain My Heart (Album)

Simply Irresistible

Robbie Robertson (Album)

Forever Young (Single)

After Midnight (Single)

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male

Let It Roll (Album)

Kick (Album)

I Hate Myself For Loving You (Single)

Desire

Beds Are Burning (Single)

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal

Writes Of Winter (Track)

Surfing With The Alien (Album)

Hideaway (Track)

Guitar (Album)

Blues For Salvador

Best Rock Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group Or Soloist)

Nothing's Shocking (Album)

Crest Of A Knave

Cold Metal (Single)

Blow Up Your Video (Album)

...And Justice For All (Album)

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal Or Instrumental

The Way You Love Me (Single)

The Right Stuff (Single)

I'll Always Love You (Single)

Giving You The Best That I Got

Girlfriend (Single)

Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female

Nite And Day (Single)

Joy (Album)

Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'arby

Characters (Album)

Any Love (Album)

Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male

Rocket 2 U (Single)

Love Overboard

If It Isn't Love (Single)

Da'butt (Track)

Acting This Way (Track)

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal

I Came To Play (Album)

What's Going On (Track)

So Amazing (Single)

Reflections (Album)

Light Years

Coast To Coast (Album)

Best R&B Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group Or Soloist)

Just Got Paid (Single)

Don't Be Cruel (Single)

Any Love (Single)

Best Rhythm & Blues Song

Wild Wild West (Track)

Supersonic (Single)

Push It (Single)

Parents Just Don't Understand

Going Back To Cali (Single)

Best Rap Performance

Neverland (Album)

Local Color (Album)

Folksongs For A Nuclear Village

Down In Belgorod (Track)

Castalia (Album)

Best New Age Performance

Street Dreams (Album)

Politics

John Patitiucci (Album)

Every Step Of The Way (Album)

Amaretto (Track)

Best Jazz Fusion Performance

The Men In My Life (Album)

Miss Peggy Lee Sings The Blues (Album)

Look What I Got!

Fine And Mellow (Album)

Autumn Leaves (Track)

Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female

September Ballads (Album)

Live In Montreaux (Album)

Ever Since The World Ended (Album)

Brothers

A Vintage Year

Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male

The Carmen McRae And Betty Carter Duets (Album)

Strings 'N' Swing "I Remember Bird" (Album)

Spread Love

One More Rose (Album)

I Won't Leave You Again (Track)

Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo Or Group

The Wynton Marsalis Quartet Live At Blues Alley (Album)

Random Abstract (Album)

Music From Siesta (Album)

Duets (Album)

Don't Try This At Home

Best Jazz Instrumental Performance Soloist (On A Jazz Recording)

Still Live (Album)

Blues For Coltrane - A Tribute To John Coltrane

Amnesia (Track)

Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group

Tribute To Count Basie (Album)

Jacquet's Got It! (Album)

Ebony (Album)

Bud & Bird

Bill Holman Band (Album)

Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band

Strong Enough To Bend (Single)

Reba (Album)

I'm Down To My Last Cigarette (Single)

Hold Me

Back In Baby's Arms (Track)

Best Country Vocal Performance, Female

Pontiac (Album)

Old 8x10

Diamonds And Dirt (Album)

Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room (Album)

Addicted (Single)

Best Country Vocal Performance, Male

Sincerely (Album)

Highway 101 - 2 (Album)

Gonna Take A Lot Or River (Single)

Give A Little Love

Big Dreams In A Small Town (Album)

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal

We Believe In Happy Endings (Track)

Streets Of Bakersfield (Single)

It's Such A Small World (Single)

Honky Tonk Angels' Medley (Track)

Crying

Best Country Vocal Collaboration

The Great Train Song Medley (Track)

Sugarfoot Rag

Still Fiddlin' Around (Single)

Country Idyll (Track)

Busy Signal (Track)

Best Country Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group Or Soloist)

Southern Flavor

New Moon Rising (Album)

Home Is Where The Heart Is (Album)

Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration, Live At The Kennedy Center (Album)

Drive (Album)

Best Bluegrass Recording (Vocal Or Instrumental)

She's No Lady (Single)

I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried (Single)

Chiseled In Stone

Best Country Song

The Reckoning (Album)

Precious Is The Name (Track)

31st Annual GRAMMY Awards