Carlene Carter Keeps It In The Family

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GRAMMY-nominated country singer/songwriter discusses her new album, Carter Girl, and performs "Black Jack David" at the GRAMMY Museum

GRAMMYs

Jul 15, 2014 - 4:19 pm

GRAMMY.com

Carlene Carter: Family Ties On New Album

Carlene Carter Performs "Black Jack David"

GRAMMY-nominated country singer/songwriter Carlene Carter recently participated in an installment of the GRAMMY Museum's The Drop series. Before an intimate audience at the Museum's Clive Davis Theater, Carter discussed the making of her latest album, Carter Girl, and why she finally decided to put her own spin on classic tracks made famous by country music's revered Carter Family, among other topics. She also performed a brief set, including "Black Jack David."

"While my mother and my aunts were still living, it didn't seem like the right time because they were still carrying on [their songs] themselves," said Carter. "And I needed a bit of time to go by so that it didn't hurt when I sang these songs because a lot of these songs I sang with them on the road as a member of the Carter Family."

Born in Nashville, Tenn., Carter's country music roots run deep. She is the daughter of GRAMMY winner June Carter Cash and country singer Carl Smith, stepdaughter of country legend Johnny Cash and granddaughter of "Mother" Maybelle Carter, who was one-third of Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients the original Carter Family, a collective also including A.P. Carter and Sara Carter. In 1978 Carlene released her self-titled debut album, which was followed by a string of albums, including 1980's Musical Shapes, which cracked the Billboard 200. Her 1990 album, I Fell In Love, peaked at No. 19 on Billboard's Country Albums chart and garnered Carter a 1990 GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.

Released in April, Carter Girl was produced by GRAMMY winner Don Was (Bonnie Raitt, Ziggy Marley) and peaked in the Top 40 on the Country Albums chart. The album features 12 tracks, 10 of which were originally written by members of the Carter Family, including "Blackie's Gunman," "Little Black Train" and "Black Jack David." Carter Girl also features collaborations with GRAMMY winners Vince Gill, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, among others.

Carter is currently in the midst of a U.S. tour, with dates scheduled through November.

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include Spotlight: A.J. Croce (July 22), Great Guitars: Pete Anderson (July 30), Omar Souleyman In Conversation With Henry Rollins (Aug. 3), and The Drop: Billy Joe Shaver (Aug. 7).

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Producer David Foster to receive GRAMMY Museum award

16-time GRAMMY winner to be recognized for his significant contributions to music at gala event championing music education

GRAMMYs

Jun 22, 2017 - 10:15 am

GRAMMY.com

David Foster, a name synonymous with music production excellence, is set to add another accolade to his storied résumé. The 16-time GRAMMY winner will receive the Architects of Sound Award from the GRAMMY Museum at its third annual Gala, taking place Sept. 19 at The Novo in Los Angeles.

The event will recognize his unparalleled contributions to music, while providing support for the Museum's newly expanded music education programs, which were integrated with those of its sister organization, the GRAMMY Foundation, earlier this year.

Music educator Nathan Strayhorn will also be recognized as the recipient of the 2017 Jane Ortner Education Award, which honors K-12 academic teachers who use music in the classroom as a powerful educational tool.

GRAMMY Museum, GRAMMY Foundation join forces for education

Foster has scored numerous hit songs and gold and platinum albums with variety of artists, from Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, to Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Chicago, and Dolly Parton. He has also earned a reputation for his ability to scout up-and-coming talent, playing a key role in launching the careers of Celine Dion, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé, among others.

Of his 16 GRAMMYs, Foster has earned three awards for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, three for Album Of The Year and two for Record Of The Year. He has received a total of 45 GRAMMY nominations to date, and he is also a past recipient of the Recording Academy's President's Merit Award.

"It's an honor to be celebrated by the GRAMMY Museum and to support such a great cause as music education," said Foster. "The Museum's education programs are very important platforms for young emerging artists so I am thrilled to be part of this Gala."

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7 ways 1967 totally rocked

In conjunction with the GRAMMY Museum's Jim Marshall's 1967 exhibit launch, here are seven reasons 1967 was one of the most pivotal years in music

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Mar 10, 2017 - 5:05 pm

GRAMMY.com

Organized by the San Francisco Arts Commission in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of San Francisco's Summer of Love, the GRAMMY Museum's new Jim Marshall's 1967 exhibit features 60 curated images from thousands Marshall took while he documented history in the making. Displayed in chronological order, the exhibition collects a trove of Marshall's photographs that capture the essence of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, including artists such as Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead.

The exhibition will be on display now through May 14. To celebrate the exhibit's opening, here's a look back at seven unforgettable ways 1967 was a year of musical high points.

**The Beatles drop Sgt. Pepper's …**

The year 1967 saw the release of some of the most iconic albums in modern music history. On June 1, 1967, the Beatles unveiled Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a feat of masterful production and a quantum leap forward for the album format. That year also introduced the public to artists who would go on to have lasting legacies, with Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, David Bowie, Velvet Underground, and Leonard Cohen all releasing debut albums that year.

Fleetwood Mac's green debut

Fleetwood Mac's original lineup, fronted by Peter Green, made their first live performance in 1967, laying the groundwork for the later successful incarnation featuring Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. They would go on to release "Black Magic Woman" in early 1968, which would later become a massive hit for Santana, who played their first show in 1967. Although blues and rock were certainly at the forefront of the musical scene that year, 1967 also saw the formation of funk/soul powerhouse Sly And The Family Stone, as well as synth experimentalists Tangerine Dream. In August 1967, the power trio Cream, featuring Eric Clapton, made their U.S. live performance debut at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

The Queen of Soul wins big

Recognizing music released in 1967, at the 10th GRAMMY Awards Aretha Franklin took home her first two GRAMMYs, both for her now-classic "Respect." She has gone on to win another 16 awards over the course of her career, making her one of the top GRAMMY winners in history. Other notable wins for 1967 went to "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave, "Jackson" by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which netted three GRAMMYs, including Album Of The Year.

9 times women made GRAMMY history

The birth of the festival

From tiny bars, clubs and ballrooms to large theaters, stadiums and outdoor festivals, live music was everywhere in 1967. The Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 became a watershed moment, and is considered by many to be the first true pop music festival. (Although some argue that title belongs to the KFRC Fantasy Fair and Mountain Music Festival held two weeks prior.) Regarded as the starting point for the Summer of Love, the festival featured performances by Big Brother And The Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin), the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and Ravi Shankar, among others.

Big TV moments with the Doors and the Who

The Doors frontman Jim Morrison made a splash on "The Ed Sullivan Show" by defying censors who'd instructed him to change the lyrics to the band's hit song "Light My Fire." On live television that same night, the Who punctuated a performance of "My Generation" by destroying their instruments and blowing up Keith Moon's drum set with gunpowder on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." Pete Townsend attributes the partial deafness he now suffers in one ear to that explosive incident.

Watch: The Doors' Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech

Hendrix's wah-wah

Speaking of Hendrix, the incendiary sound of his 1967 single "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" featured his first recorded usage of the wah-wah pedal, which was first released to the public that same year. Hendrix helped popularize the effect at 1969's Woodstock festival, with his iconic instrumental performance of "A Star-Spangled Banner" considered to be a milestone wah-wah moment. The pedal went on to become synonymous with the sounds of '70s psychedelic rock and funk. Also that year: Kustom sold the first solid-state transistor amplifiers, which became popularized by early-adopters Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the first prototype 16-track recorder was tested out by Mirasound Studios in New York City.

The Summer of Love

The Summer of Love, the primary focus of the GRAMMY Museum's Jim Marshall's 1967 exhibit, drew its namesake from a magnetic cultural gathering of hippies and young people in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. As many as 100,000 people relocated to the area, brought together by shared countercultural values, interest in emerging music and avant-garde art, and opposition to the Vietnam War.

Want to see Jim Marshall's 1967 as a VIP? Learn more about Museum membership!

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Which of these 1967 albums best exemplifies the Summer of Love?

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Remembering Ella Fitzgerald: 7 notable firsts

The GRAMMY Museum will honor the 100th anniversary of the legendary songstress' birthday with a new exhibit; to celebrate, discover some of the First Lady of Song's memorable firsts

GRAMMYs

Apr 25, 2017 - 10:00 am

GRAMMY.com

April 25 marks the centennial anniversary of Ella Fitzgerald's birthday. From her first appearance at the Apollo in 1934 to her first GRAMMY wins for 1958 to her memorable final concert at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1991, Fitzgerald's career spanned more than 200 recorded albums and thousands of concert performances.

In homage to her lasting legacy, the GRAMMY Museum will host Ella At 100: Celebrating The Artistry Of Ella Fitzgerald, an exhibit showcasing rare recordings, photos, stage costumes, and other artifacts representing the extensive career of the 13-time GRAMMY winner. The exhibit opens April 25 at the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live and will remain on display through Sept. 10.

Get a head start on the celebrations with these seven notable firsts from the extensive career of the First Lady of Song.

First prize at the Apollo

Fitzgerald's public singing debut happened thanks to a last-minute bout of stage fright during an early Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in 1934. Though she had sung on street corners in Harlem, N.Y., the then-17-year-old planned to perform a dance routine for her Apollo show. After seeing she would follow a strong routine by a local dance group, she momentarily froze onstage. With the crowd reportedly murmuring, "What is she going to do?" Fitzgerald made a snap decision to sing Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy." As she finished, the crowd went wild and demanded an encore, which she obliged. Fitzgerald took home first prize and $25 cash that night.

First breakthrough

In 1938 Fitzgerald recorded an extended and embellished version of the classic nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," which she had restructured as a jazz tune. Backed by Chick Webb And His Orchestra, the recording sold 1 million copies and became her first breakout single, marking her rise to fame. Fitzgerald's version became her first recording inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 1986.

First songbook

In 1956 Fitzgerald released Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook, which would be the first of eight songbook series she released on Verve Records. The songbook series formed the basis of the most well-known music in her discography. This first songbook recording was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2000, which was preceded by the 1999 induction of 1957's Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers And Hart Song Book.

First GRAMMY wins

Two of Fitzgerald's albums, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook and Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook, were nominated for GRAMMYs at the 1st GRAMMY Awards in 1958. She won for both, for Best Jazz Performance, Individual (… Duke Ellington Songbook) and Best Vocal Performance, Female (… Irving Berlin Songbook). Fitzgerald simultaneously became the first African-American woman to win a GRAMMY and the first woman to win multiple GRAMMY Awards.

Ella Fitzgerald, Alison Krauss and Beyoncé: 9 times women made GRAMMY history

First female GRAMMY performance

The first televised GRAMMY event, a taped "NBC Sunday Showcase," in honor of the 2nd GRAMMY Awards, aired Nov. 29, 1959. While the big winners of the evening were Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, it was Fitzgerald's performance on this initial broadcast that earned her the distinction as the first woman to command the GRAMMY stage among other acts such as Van Cliburn, comedian Shelley Berman, Nat "King" Cole, Duke Ellington, the Kingston Trio, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

First female Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

The inaugural Recording Academy Special Merit Award was given in 1963 to Bing Crosby, and thus the award was named the Bing Crosby Award. When Fitzgerald received this award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the recording community in 1967, she became the first woman to receive the honor, which is now known as The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award.

First for singers, marking a lasting legacy

In 1989 Fitzgerald was the first recipient of another annual award given by the Society of Singers, a since-shuttered nonprofit founded by Ginny Mancini, Henry Mancini's widow, dedicated to helping singers in need. In recognition of Fitzgerald's career, musical achievements and ongoing charitable support, the Society of Singers henceforth named their annual award the Ella Award.

Want to experience Ella At 100 as a VIP? Become a GRAMMY Museum member today!

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Aaron Neville Visits The GRAMMY Museum

GRAMMY-winning R&B artist discusses his new doo-wop album, My True Story, and how the genre shaped his musical livelihood

GRAMMYs

Mar 11, 2013 - 4:38 pm

GRAMMY.com

Aaron Neville At The GRAMMY Museum

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GRAMMY-winning R&B artist Aaron Neville recently participated in an installment of the GRAMMY Museum's An Evening With series. Before an intimate audience at the Museum's Clive Davis Theater, Neville discussed his love for doo-wop and collaborating with GRAMMY winners Keith Richards and Don Was on his new doo-wop album, My True Story. Neville also performed doo-wop hits such as the Flamingos' "A Kiss From Your Lips," the Spaniels' "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" and the Drifters' "This Magic Moment."

"Back in those days the voices were synthesizers. They were like the main focus," said Neville. "[The voices] would go through your blood stream. … Sometimes I think the teacher thought I had ADD because I wasn't paying attention. I had a song in my head. … I had to sing at least five songs that I probably heard when I was 10 years old."

Neville's musical journey began in his hometown of New Orleans, where he recorded his first hit, 1966's "Tell It Like It Is," which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. His catalog of hits also includes 1989's "Don't Know Much" and 1991's "Everybody Plays The Fool," both of which peaked in the Top 10. "Don’t Know Much," a duet with Linda Ronstadt, earned Neville a GRAMMY for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Neville recorded a string of albums with his four brothers as the Neville Brothers, including 1989's Yellow Moon. The album features "Healing Chant," which earned a GRAMMY for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Neville won additional GRAMMYs for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal in 1990 for "All My Life" with Ronstadt, and in 1994 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration for "I Fall To Pieces" with Trisha Yearwood.

Released in January, My True Story debuted at No. 7 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart, marking the highest-charting album of Neville's career. Co-produced by Richards and Was, the album features 12 doo-wop standards such as "This Magic Moment," Al Lewis' "Tears On My Pillow" and Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman." Neville is scheduled to begin a U.S. tour in April with dates scheduled through June.

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include An Evening With Verdine White Of Earth, Wind & Fire (March 27), Reel To Reel: Downloaded (April 1), An Evening With Howard Kaylan (April 2), An Evening With Noel Paul Stookey (April 4), and An Evening With Hal Willner (April 10).