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The Funk Brothers

Photo: L. Busacca/WireImage via Getty Images

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10 Unsung Heroes Of Motown 10-unsung-heroes-motown-funk-brothers-velvelettes-more

10 Unsung Heroes Of Motown: The Funk Brothers, The Velvelettes & More

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To celebrate Motown's 60th anniversary ahead of Motown 60: A GRAMMY Celebration airing on CBS on April 21, we're highlighting 10 of the label's secret weapons
Bonnie Stiernberg
GRAMMYs
Apr 16, 2019 - 9:30 am

When we talk about the iconic Motown Records, there are a slew of legendary artists whose names come to mind: Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Four Tops. But—in addition to the superstars who helped cement the Detroit label's sound and launched black music into the U.S. mainstream pop landscape—there are plenty of unsung heroes who contributed to its vast legacy, many whom are at the foundation of the Motown sound.

Whether session musicians like The Funk Brothers and The Andantes, who played or sang on many of the best-known Motown hits, or The Velvelettes, who simply put out a few minor hits worthy of revisiting, the lesser-known artists associated with Berry Gordy and company are equally deserving of recognition. So to celebrate Motown's 60th anniversary ahead of Motown 60: A GRAMMY Celebration (which will air on CBS on April 21), we're highlighting 10 of the label's secret weapons.

The Funk Brothers

Motown's house band, hand-picked by Berry Gordy, played on many of the label's most iconic hits—including Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," The Temptations' "My Girl," The Supremes' "Baby Love," Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)," and Smokey Robinson's "The Tears of a Clown"—but the group of 13 session musicians didn't receive their due credit until much later. While at Motown, they would often moonlight for other labels to supplement their income (notably playing on Jackie Wilson's 1967 "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," and when the label moved to Los Angeles in 1972, the Funk Brothers were relieved of their duties. Fortunately, a 2002 documentary, Standing In The Shadows of Motown, shined a light on their legacy and in 2004 they were awarded a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Andantes

Like the Funk Brothers, you can hear The Andantes on many of your favorite Motown hits. The trio—composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps—provided back-up vocals on five No. 1 singles for the label ("My Guy" by Mary Wells, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There" by the Four Tops, "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes, and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye). But their tenure at Motown includes far more than just those tracks; they sang on 16 Four Tops songs, 12 Martha & The Vandellas singles, eight Supremes recordings, 14 Marvelettes songs, five Temptations recordings and 15 Marvin Gaye singles. They released a single of their own, "(Like A) Nightmare," in 1964; though it was credited to The Andantes, it featured lead vocals from Ann Bogan of the Marvelettes.

Mable John

In 1959, Mable John became the first female artist signed to Motown's Tamla subsidiary. The blues vocalist released her first single for the label, "Who Wouldn't Love A Man Like That?," the following year, and unfortunately, it flopped around the same time more pop-influenced and radio-friendly Motown groups were beginning to take off. As a result, Berry Gordy decided to drop blues from the label, and he terminated her contract in 1962. She landed on her feet, however; after leaving Motown, she spent years as one of Ray Charles' Raelettes, and in 1966 she released Stay Out of the Kitchen on Stax Records and earned herself a hit with "Your Good Thing Is About To End," which peaked at No. 6 on the R&B chart.

The Originals

Often referred to as "Motown's best-kept secret," The Originals, like the Andantes, spent much of their career singing background vocals for other artists. They can be heard on tracks like Stevie Wonder's "For Once In My Life," Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted," Edwin Starr's "War," and Marvin Gaye's "Just to Keep You Satisfied." In fact, it was Gaye who helped them branch out on their own, co-writing and producing two of their biggest singles, "Baby, I'm For Real" and "The Bells." Later in the '70s, they started experimenting with disco, earning themselves a No. 1 dance chart hit with 1976's "Down to Love Town."

The Velvelettes

The Velvelettes began recording for Motown in 1963, and though they never reached the same levels of success as their fellow girl groups The Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas, they were responsible for a few moderate hits for the label. 1964's "Needle in a Haystack" peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100, and its follow-up, "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" topped out at No. 64. The group never released a full-length album, but in 1982 they enjoyed some newfound recognition when Bananarama covered "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" (renaming it "Really Saying Something").

The Underdogs

Garage rock isn't necessarily what we think of when we think of Motown, but it absolutely is a huge part of Detroit's musical history, and The Underdogs were already hometown heroes by the time they signed to Motown's VIP label in the mid-'60s. The Underdogs were the first white band signed by Motown, and they recorded their own version of Chris Clark's "Love Gone Bad" in 1966 as well as a cover of The Temptations' "The Way You Do The Things You Do." They tapered off in 1967, but their legacy endures, earning them spots on several Nuggets compilations.

Eddie Holland

Eddie Holland had some early success as a solo artist for Motown with hits like "Jamie," but he suffered from terrible stage fright and eventually made the transition to working behind-the-scenes for the label. He became one-third of the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting and production team with his brother Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. Eddie Holland served as the team's lyricist, writing 10 out of 12 of The Supremes' No. 1 singles as well as hits like "Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get A Witness" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)." In 1988, the trio was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and two years later, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Syreeta Wright

Syreeta Wright—also known simply as Syreeta—began her career at Motown as a receptionist in 1965. She eventually worked her way up to singing on demos of Supremes songs before singing background for that girl group as well as Martha and the Vandellas. In 1968, she met labelmate Stevie Wonder, and the two co-wrote "It's A Shame" for The Spinners in 1969. Wright also co-wrote and sang background on Wonder's iconic "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)", and in 1970, the two married. They divorced two years later, but remained close collaborators, with Wonder producing her debut album, Syreeta, as well as its follow-up, 1974's Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta. She enjoyed success outside of Stevie Wonder as well, however; she collaborated with Billy Preston on the 1979 hit "With You I'm Born Again" and recorded an album of duets with Preston in 1981. Sadly, she passed away in 2004 after a battle with cancer.

Chris Clark

One of the few white artists to be signed to Motown at the time, Chris Clark earned hits with 1965's "Do Right Baby Do Right" and 1966's "Love's Gone Bad." In the early '70s, she served as an executive in Motown's Los Angeles-based Film and Television Production Division, and in 1972, she co-wrote the screenplay for Lady Sings The Blues, the Billie Holiday biopic starring Diana Ross. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay, while Ross received a Best Actress nomination.

The Elgins

The Elgins may have had a secondhand name (Berry Gordy wanted the group to use the moniker, which was the original name for The Temptations), but they were the first ones to record the Holland-Dozier-Holland hit "Heaven Must Have Sent You" in 1966. The song peaked at No. 50 on the US pop charts, but it later enjoyed cult success within the UK's Northern Soul scene, reaching No. 3 on the UK singles chart in 1971. Bonnie Pointer later recorded a version of the song in 1979. The group broke up in 1967, but their status as hidden gems remains.

"Motown 60: A GRAMMY Celebration" Set To Film On Feb. 12 In Los Angeles

Stevie Wonder, Lula Mae Hardaway, Chuck Berry, Little Richard at the 1974 GRAMMYs

Stevie Wonder with his mom, Lula Mae Hardaway, and others at the 1974 GRAMMYs

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Stevie Wonder Wins Best R&B Vocal Performance grammy-rewind-stevie-wonder-shares-his-first-grammy-win-his-mom

GRAMMY Rewind: Stevie Wonder Shares His First GRAMMY Win With His Mom

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In the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, rock 'n' roll icons Chuck Berry and Little Richard present Wonder—and his beaming mother—with the GRAMMY for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstition"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 10, 2020 - 10:11 am

In the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, GRAMMY.com takes a journey back to the 1974 GRAMMY Awards when a then-23-year-old Stevie Wonder took home his first four GRAMMY wins for music for his classic albums Talking Book (1972) and Innervisions (1973).

The soulful musical legend had already earned six GRAMMY nominations during four prior shows, beginning at the 1967 GRAMMYs for his 1965 hit, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)." Just seven years later, he'd take home his first of many golden gramophones.

In March 1974, rock 'n' roll icons Chuck Berry and Little Richard presented Wonder—and his beaming mother—with his first-ever GRAMMY, winning the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male category for "Superstition," an iconic track from Talking Book.

Watch Stevie Wonder Win Best R&B Vocal Performance

Immediately before Berry and Richard jokingly fought over the microphone to announce the "Higher Ground" singer's name, the two dynamic forces of rock performed a high-powered medley of their music on the GRAMMY stage. Wonder, rocking a perfect afro puff and an embroidered earth-toned shirt-and-pants set, brought up his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, who looked glamourous in a magenta gown and big feather boa.

"First of all, I'd like for you all, please, not to give this to me, but to my mother," Wonder announced, as Berry handed the golden gramophone to Hardaway. "My mother is going to accept the award for me. I am so very happy; you don't even know how happy I am," he said with a huge smile.

"I would like to thank you all for making this the sunshine of my life tonight," a radiant Hardaway said, nodding to her son's song, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," which would also win a GRAMMY that evening.

Read: More Innervisions: Stevie Wonder On Music, Politics & Love

The groovy "Superstition," released in October 1972 on Tamla/Motown as the lead single to Wonder's 15th studio album, Talking Book, won for Best Rhythm & Blues Song that night. "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," the album's second and only additional single, won for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. 

Later in the night, Wonder's next album, Innervisions, released in August 1973, less than a year after Talking Book, would win the prestigious Album Of The Year gramophone, rounding out an epic run at the 1974 GRAMMYs.

Stevie Wonder Wins Album Of The Year

His next two (also classic!) albums, Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs In The Key Of Life (1976), would also win the Album Of The Year award, at the 17th GRAMMY Awards and 19th GRAMMY Awards, respectively, along with three additional wins each year.

To date, Wonder has earned 25 GRAMMYs, in addition to his six recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. He received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 and was named MusiCares Person Of The Year in 1999, among many other career accolades.

I Met Her in Philly: D'Angelo's 'Brown Sugar' Turns 25

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Photo: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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Philadelphia Celebrates 25 Years Of Musical Love philadelphia-celebrates-25-years-musical-love

Philadelphia Celebrates 25 Years Of Musical Love

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As the Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter celebrates its quarter-century anniversary, we take a closer look at what makes it such a prolific creative incubator
Brendan Menapace
GRAMMYs
Dec 11, 2019 - 1:48 pm

Philadelphians are a proud people. New Yorkers like to say it's a little brother complex that makes them squirm when it's called the Sixth Borough. Really, Philadelphians are just fine differentiating themselves from other cities. I mean, the sports teams have been using "No one likes us, we don't care," as a battle cry for a few years now.

But, for as much as the city loves to paint itself as the underdog in so many ways, it's a place that's on level ground with any supposed artistic mecca that costs double for an apartment or a cup of coffee. It's also a city that fiercely looks out for its own. So, that may be why so many artists and musicians have called Philadelphia home over the years, whether they were born and raised here or made it their adopted home to grow as artists and music creators of all types.

The Philadelphia Chapter Celebrates 25 Years

For the past 25 years now, the city's music community has had a support system, a place where music people look out for one another. The Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter is celebrating a quarter-century of playing this crucial role, creating a feeling more like a family than anything by providing resources and programming to grow and strengthen the its music community from within. The Philadelphia Chapter has galvanized its members, rallying them behind legislation to support creators and showing up to support one another not just in the crucial times of making music, but also in life. Over the years, this unique, close-knit community built on hard work is what sets the city apart.

"Philly has always been really, really rich in talent and hard-working bands," says Bruce Warren, general manager for programming at WXPN. "All these artists, whether you start in the '60s, '70s, '80s, all these artists worked really hard to get to where they were at. And I think on a certain level it's easy to work hard in Philadelphia. You don't have the same challenges that you have in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago. Philly's just a boot-strapping, hard-working city. The ethic is there. And I think a lot of bands really adhere to that ethic."

Read More: Philly Producer/Engineer Will Yip Works Harder Than You

Warren grew up here, and as a kid fell in love with the Sound of Philadelphia, and soul and R&B acts like the Delfonics, and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Over the years, he got into rock bands like Cinderella, Tommy Conwell and the Hooters. The '80s and '90s saw the boom in hip-hop acts like D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Lately he's been into the indie rock acts like Dr. Dog, the War On Drugs and Kurt Vile.

"It's not just one genre of music," he says. "I just referenced a dozen bands across genres. Patti f*ckin' LaBelle! Schooly D! Jill Scott! Come on!"

Will Smith Wins Best Rap Solo Performance In 1998

A lot of the lore of Philadelphia is a little exaggerated. You're probably not going to get pelted with batteries at Lincoln Financial Field just for showing up in another team's jersey. But, it's an honest city. The people will tell you what they think, whether it's praise or criticism. But there's no guessing intentions or keeping up appearances. If they show you love and support you, it's genuine.

"Philly is real," said Carol Riddick, a singer/songwriter and former President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy. "Everything we say and do comes from a place of love, whether we're in agreement or not."

"People here are honest, and demand honesty in their music-making," says songwriter/producer and Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter Trustee Ivan Barias. "[There is a] "No B.S." factor in our sports, our food or in our music. Realness—you have to come in with that to collaborate here."

Part of that could be that the city really does breed talent on levels beyond what some might expect. There's so much talent across so many genres, the city doesn't need to phone anything in or accept anything less than what it knows it can do. The same way those rowdy fans will boo their beloved sports teams because they know they can and should be winning, Philadelphians know their musical history and the greats that come from every corner of the city, so they expect a certain level of output. For young artists growing up, that's all they know, so they set themselves a higher bar and hold themselves to a higher standard.

And the thing about Philly is that it's not a hip-hop city, although it's been the home for renowned acts like The Roots, Meek Mill and Tierra Whack.

Inside Roots Picnic 2019 In Philadelphia

It's not a rock city, even though it's indie rock and punk scene has become a destination for bands all across the world, with bands from The Dead Milkmen and Hop Along carrying the Philly banner.

And, despite its history of R&B and soul, it's not just a soul city. It's an everything city.

"It's a very diverse city," Warren says. "Creatively, you could draw from a lot of different colors."

You can find everything you need in Philadelphia – world class recording studios, venues of all sizes, a media that loves to sing the praises of local artists, and, most importantly, fans. There are a million and a half people in the city.

"There's always been a built-in music industry in Philadelphia that takes itself very seriously, but doesn't clap itself on the back as hard as New York or Los Angeles or even Nashville," Warren adds. "There's always been a fair amount of humility in what we do here I think."

Singer/songwriter/producer and Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter Trustee Terry Jones is a bit less humble about things.

"We have the best musical talent," Jones says. "Everyone comes from other towns to our town to take advantage of our musicians, songwriters and producers. Our music creative community [is] serious about honing their craft. Everyone says there is something in the Schuylkill water system—they call it Schuylkill Punch. This could be the secret to our razzmatazz."

Staying Spontaneous With Diplo

It might be something in the water. Or it might be the fact that the city has bred a mentality of hard work, honesty, perseverance, and support for your own that has boosted the careers of bands starting from the Philly streets as children, or people from all across the world looking for a place to play, create, write, make friends and grow.

If you're a part of Philly—and you'll know if you are—it looks out for you. It might tell you some brutal truths in the moment, but if anyone tries to undermine that talent, Philly will fight like hell for you.

What Makes Roots Picnic Different: Inside Philadelphia's Annual Musical Celebration

GRAMMYs

Hero The Band perform at the Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter Annual Membership Celebration
Photo: Marcus Ingram/WireImage

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Report: Music & Culture Infrastructure Can Create Better "Future Cities"

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How sound planning for a creative future in our urban areas makes all the difference for artists and musicians
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 23, 2019 - 2:27 pm

The future, as they say, is now. And for music makers around the world, building a future for themselves often starts at home, in their local creative community and in the city where they live. While technology has expanded communication and made the world smaller, cities continue to grow, making planning for the future a critical cultural mission of the present.

To that end, a new report by global organization Sound Diplomacy titled "This Must Be The Place" examines, "The role of music and cultural infrastructure in creating better future cities for all of us." The 37-page deep dive into community planning and development highlights the importance of creative culture in what it calls "Future Cities."

"The government defines ‘Future Cities’ as 'a term used to imagine what cities themselves will be like," the report states, "how they will operate, what systems will orchestrate them and how they will relate to their stakeholders (citizens, governments, businesses, investors, and others),'"

According to the report, only three global cities or states currently have cultural infrastructure plans: London, Amsterdam and New South Wales. This fact may be surprising considering how city planning and sustainability have become part of the discussion on development of urban areas, where the UN estimates 68 percent of people will live by 2050.

"Our future places must look at music and culture ecologically. Much like the way a building is an ecosystem, so is a community of creators, makers, consumers and disseminators," the report says. "The manner in which we understand how to maintain a building is not translated to protecting, preserving and promoting music and culture in communities."

The comparison and interaction between the intangibility of culture and the presence of physical space is an ongoing theme throughout the report. For instance, one section of the report outlines how buildings can and should be designed to fit the cultural needs of the neighborhoods they populate, as too often, use of a commercial space is considered during the leasing process, not the construction process, leading to costly renovations.

"All future cities are creative cities. All future cities are music cities."

On the residential side, as cities grow denser, the need increases for thoughtful acoustic design and sufficient sound isolation. Future cities can and should be places where people congregate

"If we don’t design and build our future cities to facilitate and welcome music and experience, we lose what makes them worth living in."

For musicians and artists of all mediums, the answer to making—and keeping—their cities worth living in boils down to considering their needs, impact and value more carefully and sooner in the planning process.

"The report argues that property is no longer an asset business, but one built on facilitating platforms for congregation, community and cohesion," it says. "By using music and culture at the beginning of the development process and incorporating it across the value chain from bid to design, meanwhile to construction, activation to commercialisation, this thinking and practice will result in better places."

The report offers examples of how planners and leaders are handling this from around the world. For instance, the Mayor Of London Night Czar, who helps ensure safety and nighttime infrastructure for venues toward the Mayor's Vision for London as a 24-hour city. Stateside, Pittsburgh, Penn., also has a Night Mayor in place to support and inform the growth of its creative class.

What is a music ecosystem? We believe the music influences and interacts with various sectors in a city. We have designed this infographic to show how music ecosystems work and impact cities, towns and places: https://t.co/0DIUpN1Dll

— Sound Diplomacy (@SoundDiplomacy) August 14, 2019

Diversity, inclusion, health and well-being also factor into the reports comprehensive look at how music and culture are every bit as important as conventional business, ergonomic and environmental considerations in Future Cites. Using the Queensland Chamber of Arts and Culture as a reference, it declared, "A Chamber of Culture is as important as a Chamber of Commerce."

In the end, the report serves as a beacon of light for governments, organizations, businesses and individuals involved in planning and developing future cities. Its core principals lay out guideposts for building friendly places to music and culture and are backed with case studies and recommendations. But perhaps the key to this progress is in changing how we approach the use of space itself, as the answer to supporting music may be found in how we look at the spaces we inhabit.

"To develop better cities, towns and places, we must alter the way we think about development, and place music and culture alongside design, viability, construction and customer experience," it says. "Buildings must be treated as platforms, not assets. We must explore mixed‑use within mixed‑use, so a floor of a building, or a lesser‑value ground floor unit can have multiple solutions for multiple communities."

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Be Like Björk: Iceland Unveils New 'Record In Iceland' Initiative

Kenny Lattimore

Kenny Lattimore

Photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage/Getty Images

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Kenny Lattimore Pays Tribute To Ashford & Simpson kenny-lattimore-pays-tribute-mentors-ashford-simpson-grammy-salute-music-legends

Kenny Lattimore Pays Tribute To Mentors Ashford & Simpson At GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends

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Find out what early Marvin Gaye hits Lattimore and Valerie Simpson sang together during the celebratory show
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 9, 2019 - 10:48 am

"Wow, when I think about it, [Ashford & Simpson] have been like mentors in a way, and embraced me from the beginning," GRAMMY-nominated R&B great Kenny Lattimore said while backstage at the 2019 GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends.

 During the celebration, GRAMMY nominees Valerie Simpson and her late husband Nickolas Ashford, who wrote and produced decades of hits as Ashford & Simpson, received the Recording Academy's prestigious Trustees Award.

Watch Kenny Lattimore & Valerie Simpson Duet

To pay tribute to their indelible musical impact, Lattimore and Simpson herself took the stage together to duet two early Ashford & Simpson-penned hits, originally recorded by the one and only GRAMMY-winning Prince Of Soul, Marvin Gaye.

The pair sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "You're All I Need To Get By," both of which were recorded by Gaye and Tami Terrell at Motown, in 1967 and 1968, respectively. The former song was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 1999.

"But doing this duet program tonight is just the highest honor I could do for Mr. Nickolas Ashford," Lattimore added, before offering up his smooth, rich vocals to bring the unforgettable songs to life.

Don't forget to tune into GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends on Oct. 18 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check your local listings) to watch Simpson's and Lattimore's full performance and many more heartwarming moments.

Watch Asia Ashford Honor Her Parents, Ashford & Simpson, At GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.