Matt Sycamore is a Recording Academy/GRAMMY.com contributor.
(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Award nominees, click here.) The GRAMMY Awards boast a rich tradition in the Record Of The Year category, honoring artists from Frank Sinatra and Simon And Garfunkel to Billy Joel and Michael Jackson, and more recently, Coldplay, Green Day and Norah Jones, among many others. This year, five more contenders enter the formidable…
(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Award nominees, click here.) Hail to the songwriter, who can often go unsung while the artists reap the attention of radio, Internet fans and even the paparazzi. The endless hours of laying down chord progressions and marrying them with lyrical eloquence and melodic sensibilities pay off for the best artists in music. Song…
A bill of diverse acts, tasty food and beverage options, warm temperatures, the smell of summer in the air, and a sea of fellow festivalgoers — these are some of the essential ingredients of the summer music festival season.As the music industry dives into another bustling summer festival season, it looks to be a winning one. Despite the still-dormant economy…
When it comes to the GRAMMYs, even the old can look new again.Not lost among the astounding achievements of music's best and brightest at the recent 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards was the fact that history was made by a pair of the entertainment industry's most beloved elder statesmen.When 90-year-old Betty White took home the Best Spoken Word Album GRAMMY for…
(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Award nominees, click here.) The category may only be turning 53 years old, but that's old enough to be a grandfather, and Album Of The Year is the GRAMMY Awards' granddaddy of them all.
(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Award nominees, click here.)When you're following in the recent Best New Artist footsteps of a Legend (John), a woman who's shown she can Carrie (Underwood) an entire genre, a musical mansion (Amy Winehouse), and a bunch of good ole boys from Georgia who just love to play and sing (Zac Brown Band), you've…
(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Awards nominees, click here.)(On Feb. 10 the GRAMMY Museum will host Mississippi Music Celebration At The GRAMMY Museum in honor of the state's unparalleled legacy and historical roots in blues, country, gospel, soul, and rock and roll music.) From a legendary crossroad near the grounds of the Dockery Plantation to the birth of…
Crimson and clover; leather and lace — pairings that weren't necessarily born to be together, yet form a perfect union that sticks. Pairings such as these are plentiful in music, as are pairings of unlikely artists coming together to create beautiful music.For years the annual GRAMMY Awards telecast has been doing just this — pairing artists who don't usually perform…
With American Keegan Bradley emerging victorious at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf on Oct. 19, hordes of aspiring golfers are likely setting up their Saturday morning tee times. No doubt, musicians may be among those inspired golfers ready to visit the local country club and take in a round.Darius Rucker, who became famous with Hootie And The Blowfish and…
There's a saying that rock stars want to be athletes, and athletes want to be rock stars. And when these two iconic vocations collide, the audiences reap the biggest benefits.The synergy between music and America's favorite pastime became evident once again as Major League Baseball returned to ballparks nationwide this past week with the fanfare and pageantry of opening day…
(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Awards nominees, click here.)From old school to new school and beyond, there is power in numbers when it comes to rap artists and the GRAMMYs, in particular, the multitude of rap artists who have performed and won GRAMMYs.The history of rap music and The Recording Academy dates back to 1988, when the genre…
Major League Baseball's Opening Day is upon us and as the 2011 season kicks off today and tomorrow at stadiums across the country, it's time for red, white and blue bunting, fresh-cut grass, hot dogs and Cracker Jack, and the crack of the bat.And let's not forget, it's time for music."The Star-Spangled Banner" preceding every umpire's "play ball" announcement to…
Pink Floyd's back together. Jerry Garcia never left us. The best '80s metal acts are alive and well again and rocking the Sunset Strip. The sounds of Jimmy Page's guitar are still ringing loud and clear. And Neil Diamond's hot August nights are happening in small clubs and theaters all over the country.And to experience any of this, all you…
