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GRAMMY Rewind: 25th Annual GRAMMY Awards

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Toto wins Album and Record Of The Year against these nominees
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

(For a list of 54th GRAMMY Awards nominees, click here.)

Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

In the weeks leading up to the telecast, we will take a stroll down music memory lane with GRAMMY Rewind, highlighting the "big four" categories — Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist — from past awards shows. In the process, we'll examine the winners and the nominees who just missed taking home a GRAMMY, while also shining a light on the artists' careers and the eras in which the recordings were born.

Join us as we take an abbreviated journey through the trajectory of pop music from the 1st Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 to last year's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.

25th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Feb. 23, 1983

Album Of The Year
Winner: Toto, Toto IV
John Cougar, American Fool
Donald Fagen, The Nightfly
Billy Joel, The Nylon Curtain
Paul McCartney, Tug Of War

Toto IV, which featured such well-crafted hits as "Rosanna" and "Africa," took Album Of The Year honors over a strong field. McCartney and Fagen received their first nominations in this category as solo artists. McCartney had previously won in the category with the Beatles and had been nominated with his subsequent group Paul McCartney And Wings. Fagen had previously been nominated with Steely Dan. Joel, who won the award three years earlier for 52nd Street, was back in the finals with The Nylon Curtain. John Mellencamp (then known as John Cougar) rounded out the field with American Fool, the album that made him a star. It spawned the hits "Hurts So Good," which won a GRAMMY for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male; and "Jack & Diane," Mellencamp's lone No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 single.

Record Of The Year
Winner: Toto, "Rosanna"
Joe Jackson, "Steppin' Out"
Paul McCartney And Stevie Wonder, "Ebony And Ivory"
Willie Nelson, "Always On My Mind"
Vangelis, "Chariots Of Fire"

Toto took honors for "Rosanna," which made them the first group or duo to win Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year in the same year since Simon & Garfunkel achieved the feat 12 years earlier. McCartney and Wonder were nominated for their glossy brotherhood anthem "Ebony And Ivory." Wonder had previously been nominated in the category for "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life." This was McCartney's first nomination in the category since the Beatles ("I Want To Hold Your Hand," "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be" were all Record Of The Year contenders). Vangelis' "Chariots Of Fire" was the first instrumental movie theme to be nominated for Record Of The Year since Isaac Hayes' 1971 classic "Theme From Shaft." Nelson, cited for "Always On My Mind," was the first country artist to be nominated in the category since Kenny Rogers, who received nods in 1979 and 1980 for "The Gambler" and "Lady," respectively. (The song won Nelson a GRAMMY for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.) Jackson rounded out the field with his stylish "Steppin' Out," which broke the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.

Song Of The Year
Winner: Willie Nelson, "Always On My Mind"
Donald Fagen, "I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)"
Paul McCartney And Stevie Wonder, "Ebony & Ivory"
Survivor, "Eye Of The Tiger"
Toto, "Rosanna"

"Always On My Mind" (written by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson) became the first song to win both Song Of The Year and Best Country Song since Bobby Russell's "Little Green Apples" took both awards in 1968. McCartney, who won Song Of The Year with John Lennon for "Michelle" in 1966, was nominated for "Ebony And Ivory." "I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)" marked the first Song Of The Year award for Fagen. The other two nominated songs were written by members of the groups that made them hits: "Eye Of The Tiger," written by Survivor's Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik;; and "Rosanna," written by Toto's David Paich. Featured in the hit movie Rocky III, "Eye Of The Tiger" won Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals honors and was also nominated for an Academy Award.

Best New Artist
Winner: Men At Work
Asia
Jennifer Holliday
Human League
Stray Cats

Australia's Men At Work, who topped the Billboard Hot 100 with their hits "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under," took the award for Best New Artist. Asia, comprising former members of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King Crimson and Yes, was also nominated. Asia's chart-topping debut album spawned the hits "Heat Of The Moment" and "Only Time Will Tell." The field also included Human League, an English group who topped the chart with "Don't You Want Me"; Stray Cats, a rockabilly trio from New York who scored such hits as "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut"; and Holliday, who became the toast of Broadway (and won a Tony Award for best actress in a musical) with her performance in "Dreamgirls." She won a GRAMMY for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for her performance of the musical's signature song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going."

Come back to GRAMMY.com Jan. 24 as we revisit the 30th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Meanwhile, visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Facebook and Twitter for updates and breaking GRAMMY news.

 

 

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GRAMMY Rewind: 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards

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U2 scores Album and Song Of The Year honors and John Legend is Best New Artist against these nominees
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

 In the weeks leading up to the telecast, we will take a stroll down music memory lane with GRAMMY Rewind, highlighting the "big four" categories — Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist — from past awards shows. In the process, we'll examine the winners and the nominees who just missed taking home a GRAMMY, while also shining a light on the artists' careers and the eras in which the recordings were born.

 Join us as we take an abbreviated journey through the trajectory of pop music from the 1st Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 to last year's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.

48th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Feb. 8, 2006

Album Of The Year
Winner: U2, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Mariah Carey, The Emancipation Of Mimi
Paul McCartney, Chaos And Creation In The Backyard
Gwen Stefani, Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
Kanye West, Late Registration

After trumping Michael Jackson's Bad for the Album Of The Year trophy in 1987, U2 cleared yet another hurdle by beating out one-fourth of the Beatles, 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year honoree Sir Paul McCartney [http://www.grammy.com/news/paul-mccartney-to-perform-at-2012-musicares-p.... How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, said to be the group's return to the big-anthem classics produced in the '80s, charted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and garnered seven additional GRAMMYs in 2004 and 2005, including Best Rock Song for "City Of Blinding Lights" and "Vertigo." Also making a comeback of sorts was Carey, whose 10th studio release, The Emancipation Of Mimi, won her three GRAMMY Awards, including Best R&B Song for the No. 1 hit "We Belong Together." In 1990 Carey won her first two GRAMMYs, including Best New Artist. For Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, produced by GRAMMY winner Nigel Godrich, McCartney returned to the one-man band style exhibited on his self-titled solo debut, playing nearly every instrument on the album from guitars and keyboards to bass and drums. Stefani earned a nomination for her solo debut effort, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. The album spawned four additional nods and featured her first No. 1 single as a solo artist, the infectious "Hollaback Girl." West's sophomore release, Late Registration, marked his second Album Of The Year nod (he also received recognition for production work on Carey's The Emancipation …). The album topped the Billboard 200 in 2005 and featured the No. 1 hit "Gold Digger."

U2 Win Album Of The Year

Record Of The Year
Winner: Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
Mariah Carey, "We Belong Together"
Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul, "Feel Good Inc."
Gwen Stefani, "Hollaback Girl"
Kanye West, "Gold Digger"

Rock reigned supreme in the Record Of The Year category as Green Day won for their hit "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams." The track appears on American Idiot, which won the group a GRAMMY for Best Rock Album the year prior and gained them presence on Broadway when it was later made into a musical in 2009. Carey's "We Belong Together" skyrocketed to the top of several pop charts in 2005 and earned her two GRAMMY wins, including Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Adding variety to the field was virtual hip-hop group Gorillaz with the viral "Feel Good Inc." featuring De La Soul. The track earned them a GRAMMY for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals and a virtual duet with Madonna on the GRAMMY telecast. Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" scored a nomination with the help of GRAMMY-winning producers the Neptunes. West's "Gold Digger," which features Jamie Foxx sampling pieces from Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman," garnered the 14-time GRAMMY winner a win for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Green Day Win Record Of The Year

    

Song Of The Year
Winner: U2, "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
Mariah Carey, "We Belong Together"
John Legend, "Ordinary People"
Rascal Flatts, "Bless The Broken Road"
Bruce Springsteen, "Devils & Dust"

The second Song Of The Year win for U2, the emotional "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," was written by Bono and U2, and also garnered the self-proclaimed best band in the world a GRAMMY for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal that year, beating out Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, and the Killers. Carey's third nomination in the General Field was co-written with an all-star cast that included Johnta Austin, Babyface and Jermaine Dupri. Making his GRAMMY debut this year was Legend, who co-wrote "Ordinary People" with Black Eyed Pea will.i.am. The singer/pianist's debut studio album, Get Lifted, won a GRAMMY for Best R&B Vocal Album, a trophy that was replaced [link to: http://www.grammy.com/news/legend-gets-a-do-over] in 2010 by The Recording Academy after an incident involving Legend's nephew. One of the first country groups in recent memory to receive a Song Of The Year nomination was Rascal Flatts' "Bless The Broken Road," written by Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna and Marcus Hummon. The track, previously recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, won for Best Country Song. The final entry, Springsteen's self-penned "Devils & Dust," which appears on the No. 1 album of the same name, earned the Boss five GRAMMY nominations this year, including a win for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.

"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" Wins Song Of The Year

Best New Artist
Winner: John Legend
Ciara
Fall Out Boy
Keane
Sugarland

Neo-soul artist Legend, who made two big debuts in 2005 with his first studio album and first appearance at the GRAMMY Awards, picked up Best New Artist honors. Get Lifted also broke the Top 5 on the Billboard 200. Texas-native Ciara, named the "First Lady of Crunk and B" by producer Lil Jon, scored a nod. She also took home a Best Short Form Music Video GRAMMY for "Lose Control." Pop/punk outfit Fall Out Boy received their only GRAMMY nomination to date. The group's 2005 album, From Under The Cork Tree, peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200. Piano-driven pop/rock group Keane added more variety to the diverse field, and picked up a second nomination the following year for "Is It Any Wonder?" The second country act to garner a nod in the General Field was the then-trio Sugarland, featuring Kristian Bush, Kristen Hall and Jennifer Nettles. The group won a GRAMMY two years later for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal — minus Hall —for the tear-jerker "Stay."

Carrie Underwood Wins Best New Artist

Come back to GRAMMY.com tomorrow as we revisit the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Follow GRAMMY.com for our inside look at GRAMMY news, blogs, photos, videos, and of course nominees. Stay up to the minute with GRAMMY Live. Check out the GRAMMY legacy with GRAMMY Rewind. Keep track of this year's GRAMMY Week events, and explore this year's GRAMMY Fields. Or check out the collaborations at Re:Generation, presented by Hyundai Veloster. And join the conversation at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

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GRAMMY Rewind: 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards

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Taylor's swift rise to the top
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

In the weeks leading up to the telecast, we will take a stroll down music memory lane with GRAMMY Rewind, highlighting the "big four" categories — Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist — from past awards shows. In the process, we'll discuss the winners and the nominees who just missed taking home the GRAMMY, while also shining a light on the artists' careers and the eras in which the recordings were born.

Join us as we take an abbreviated journey through the trajectory of pop music from the 1st Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 to last year's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. Today, the GRAMMY Awards remember Taylor Swift's rise to the top.

52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards
Jan. 31, 2010

Album Of The Year
Winner: Taylor Swift, Fearless
Beyoncé, I Am…Sasha Fierce
Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King
Lady Gaga, The Fame

Swift became the youngest Album Of The Year winner in GRAMMY history at age 20. How? By being truly fearless. The young country singer/songwriter established a reputation for writing authentically personal songs at an age when most writers are still rhyming June and moon. The results have been both instantaneously likeable and acclaimed. Her competition was not lightweight. Lady Gaga was arguably the most talked about artist of the year, and she would win two GRAMMYs this year on the strength of this album and her hit "Poker Face." The Black Eyed Peas had the anthem of the year with "I Gotta Feeling," and took three GRAMMYs, including two in the Pop Field and one for Best Short Form Music Video for "Boom Boom Pow." Beyoncé made a strong concept album that would ultimately result in five GRAMMYs. She also won one for her version of Etta James' "At Last" from the film Cadillac Records, giving her a total of six for the year, a record for a female artist. Finally, the Dave Matthews Band made a heartfelt song cycle on the passing of band member LeRoi Moore.

Record Of The Year
Winner: Kings Of Leon, "Use Somebody"
Beyoncé, "Halo"
Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling"
Lady Gaga, "Poker Face"
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"

The Kings Of Leon broke out in a big way in 2009, using massive hooks, good looks and a great preacher's-kids-gone-rock-and-roll backstory to become the talk of the rock world and capture the Record Of The Year GRAMMY for this Top 10 single. It managed to beat out impressive tracks from four other artists who were all Album Of the Year nominees. The Kings would pick up a second award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, the same award they won the previous year for "Sex On Fire."

Song Of The Year
Winner: Beyoncé, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Kings Of Leon, "Use Somebody"
Lady Gaga, "Poker Face"
Maxwell, "Pretty Wings"
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"

Several Record Of The Year repeats turned up in the Song Of The Year category, but it was Beyoncé's non-Record Of The Year-nominated "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" that took the prize. Along with Beyoncé, the song was written by Thaddis Harrell, Terius "The Dream" Nash and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. Record Of The Year winner "Use Somebody" was written by the entire band of Followills: Caleb, Jared, Matthew, and Nathan. Gaga's "Poker Face," for which she teamed with RedOne, made the cut with a strong sonic combination and allusions to poker-faced sexuality. "Pretty Wings," Maxwell would turn in a Marvin Gaye-inspired slow jam that he wrote under the pen name Musze, along with Hod David. Swift and Liz Rose wrote "You Belong With Me," one of eight nominations for Swift this year.

Best New Artist
Winner: Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

Closing the circle on a country-rich slate of winners, the Zac Brown Band may have been a surprise winner given that Brown was working as a chef not all that long ago. But the earthy cowboys won out over the urban soul of Hilson, who also earned a Best Rap/Sung Collaboration nomination for "Knock You Down," which featured Ne-Yo and Kanye West. The electro-psychedlia duo MGMT was also nominated for a Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals GRAMMY for "Kids." Los Angeles-based indie rockers Silversun Pickups earned their first and only nomination to date, as did the UK power poppers the Ting Tings. 

Tune in to the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Follow GRAMMY.com for our inside look at GRAMMY news, blogs, photos, videos, and of course nominees. Stay up to the minute with GRAMMY Live. Check out the GRAMMY legacy with GRAMMY Rewind. Keep track of this year's GRAMMY Week events, and explore this year's GRAMMY Fields. Or check out the collaborations at Re:Generation, presented by Hyundai Veloster. And join the conversation at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

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GRAMMY Rewind: 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards

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Norah Jones sweeps the "big four" categories for an impressive GRAMMY debut
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

In the weeks leading up to the telecast, we will take a stroll down music memory lane with GRAMMY Rewind, highlighting the "big four" categories — Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist — from past awards shows. In the process, we'll examine the winners and the nominees who just missed taking home a GRAMMY, while also shining a light on the artists' careers and the eras in which the recordings were born.

Join us as we take an abbreviated journey through the trajectory of pop music from the 1st Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 to last year's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.

45th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Feb. 23, 2003

Album Of The Year
Winner: Norah Jones, Come Away With Me
Dixie Chicks, Home
Eminem, The Eminem Show
Nelly, Nellyville
Bruce Springsteen, The Rising

There wasn't much point in going up against Jones, as the talented singer/songwriter prevailed in each of the "big four" award categories. Jones also won recognition as the third female in GRAMMY history to take home five awards in a single night, a trail previously blazed by Lauryn Hill in 1998 and Alicia Keys in 2001. (Alison Krauss has since repeated the feat, winning five GRAMMYs in 2008, and Beyoncé won six in 2009. Adele is up for six awards this year.) Even so, the other nominees all managed to come away with substantial "consolation" prizes. Eminem won Best Rap Album, as he did with his two previous albums, The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP. But when it came to generating controversy, Eminem couldn't hold a candle to the Dixie Chicks, who that same year would lose some fan and radio support after politically charged comments made by singer Natalie Maines. Still, the Chicks' Home was a critic's favorite and went on to win the Best Country Album GRAMMY. Meanwhile, Springsteen and his E Street Band reunited for The Rising, their first studio album in 18 years, which picked up the year's Best Rock Album award. And while Nelly's Nellyvilledidn't win any album awards, the St. Louis-born rapper's "Hot In Herre" took Best Male Rap Solo Performance, while "Dilemma," his duet with Kelly Rowland, won the year's Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Norah Jones Wins Album Of The Year

Record Of The Year
Winner: Norah Jones, "Don't Know Why"
Vanessa Carlton, "A Thousand Miles"
Eminem, "Without Me"
Nelly Featuring Kelly Rowland, "Dilemma"
Nickelback, "How You Remind Me"

"Don't Know Why" was Jones' breakthrough single, an exquisitely memorable jazz ballad that peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went on to become her signature song. By comparison, Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" was clearly more pop than jazz, although her piano playing showed the kind of proficiency you might expect from GRAMMY-winning jazz guitarist Larry Carlton's niece. Eminem's "Without Me" sampled Malcolm McLaren's "Buffalo Gals" ("Two trailer park girls go 'round the outside ..."), while  Nelly's "Dilemma" (featuring Destiny's Child co-founder Rowland) considered the ramifications of always thinking about that other special someone, even when you're with your "boo." Rounding out the nominations were Canadian rockers Nickelback with "How You Remind Me," their lone Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit to date.

Norah Jones Wins Record Of The Year

Song Of The Year
Winner: Norah Jones, "Don't Know Why"
Vanessa Carlton, "A Thousand Miles"
Alan Jackson, "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)"
Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"
Bruce Springsteen, "The Rising"

"Don't Know Why" has now been covered by Pat Metheny, Smokey Robinson, and just about every jazz singer who's ever set foot in a nightclub lounge. The song was written by Jesse Harris, who recorded it for his 1999 album Jesse Harris & The Ferdinandos. A few years later, the ballad's plaintive yet understated sentiments would prove to be the perfect complement to Jones' vocals, ultimately assuring its place as a contemporary jazz standard. All of the other nominees in this category were written by the recording artists, ranging from Springsteen's Sept. 11 imagery ("There's spirits above and behind me/Faces gone black, eyes burnin' bright") and Jackson's tribute to the aftermath  of Sept. 11 ("Did you weep for the children/Who lost their dear loved ones"), to Lavigne's plea for a world less complicated ("Chill out, what you yelling' for?/Lay back, it's all been done before"). Lavigne co-penned "Complicated" with Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards and Scott Spock (aka the Matrix). "A Thousand Miles" took Carlton to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest-charting single to date. Jackson's "Where Were You …" reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. Springsteen took Best Rock Song honors for "The Rising."

"Don't Know Why" Wins Song Of The Year

Best New Artist
Winner: Norah Jones
Ashanti
Michelle Branch
Avril Lavigne
John Mayer

Did we mention this was a good year for Jones? It was also another good year for female solo artists, whose unprecedented reign over the Best New Artist category reached its seventh consecutive year thanks to Jones' victory. But all things must pass: The streak would be broken a year later by Evanescence who, apart from frontwoman Amy Lee, had far too much testosterone to continue the tradition. The other Best New Artist nominees proved to have successful GRAMMY debuts this year. Ashanti took Best Contemporary R&B Album honors for her self-titled release; Branch won Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for her teaming with Carlos Santana for "The Game Of Love"; Mayer picked up Best Male Pop Vocal Performance honors for "Your Body Is A Wonderland"; and Lavigne earned an impressive five nominations her first year out.

Norah Jones wins Best New Artist

 

Come back to GRAMMY.com on Feb. 6 as we revisit the 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Follow GRAMMY.com for our inside look at GRAMMY news, blogs, photos, videos, and of course nominees. Stay up to the minute with GRAMMY Live. Check out the GRAMMY legacy with GRAMMY Rewind. Explore this year's GRAMMY Fields. Or check out the collaborations at Re:Generation, presented by Hyundai Veloster. And join the conversation at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

News

GRAMMY Rewind: 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards

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Amy Winehouse picks up Record and Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist honors as the GRAMMYs turn 50
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

In the weeks leading up to the telecast, we will take a stroll down music memory lane with GRAMMY Rewind, highlighting the "big four" categories — Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist — from past awards shows. In the process, we'll examine the winners and the nominees who just missed taking home a GRAMMY, while also shining a light on the artists' careers and the eras in which the recordings were born.

Join us as we take an abbreviated journey through the trajectory of pop music from the 1st Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 to last year's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. Today, the GRAMMY Awards celebrates a golden milestone.


50th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Feb. 10, 2008

Album Of The Year
Winner: Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters
Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Vince Gill, These Days
Kanye West, Graduation
Amy Winehouse, Back To Black

For his intriguing album of instrumental and vocal interpretations of the music of Joni Mitchell, Hancock assembled an all-star cast, including Leonard Cohen, Mitchell herself, Norah Jones and Corinne Bailey Rae (both have said they drew inspiration from Mitchell), and Tina Turner. The album peaked in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 and also won for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. The Foo Fighters picked up a nomination for their sixth studio album, which earned them their third Best Rock Album following 2000's There Is Nothing Left To Lose and 2003's One By One. Gill, the only country artist to make the cut and the finalist with the most GRAMMYs to date with an impressive 20, received a nomination for the thematically arranged 43-song, four-disc set. The album picked up Best Country Album honors this year. West's third studio release topped the Billboard 200 in 2007, earning him two wins for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for the Top 10 hit "Good Life." Winehouse's breakthrough album Back To Black, with the help of GRAMMY-winning producer Mark Ronson, nearly propelled the late British songstress to a sweep of the "big four" categories. Winehouse won an impressive five awards as the GRAMMYs celebrated its milestone 50th birthday. She died at 27 in July 2011.

Record Of The Year
Winner: Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable"
Foo Fighters, "The Pretender"
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z, "Umbrella"
Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around…Comes Around"

London-native Winehouse won the Record Of The Year category with the resistant "Rehab." The track also earned her Best Female Pop Vocal Performance honors. Beyoncé, who performed a memorable duet with soul legend Tina Turner on the telecast, didn't make the cut here with this No. 1 single but would win big two years later. The Foo Fighters earned their first Record Of The Year nomination and a Best Hard Rock Performance win for the driving "The Pretender." Rihanna's infectious No. 1 hit "Umbrella," her third Top 10 single off 2007's Good Girl Gone Bad, features the dance-pop star collaborating with GRAMMY winner Jay-Z. The track also won the pair a GRAMMY for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Timberlake's No. 1 single "What Goes Around Comes Around" earned him the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance GRAMMY. Timberlake showcased his range in also picking up the Best Dance Recording GRAMMY for "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows." Both tracks appear on his GRAMMY-nominated Album Of The Year, FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Song Of The Year
Winner: Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
Corinne Bailey Rae, "Like A Star"
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z, "Umbrella"
Plain White T's, "Hey There Delilah"
Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats"

Winehouse picked up another win for Song Of The Year with the self-penned "Rehab." The singer performed the platinum-selling song via satellite from London on the GRAMMY telecast. Fellow neo-soul songstress and England-native Rae, whose participation on Hancock's River: The Joni Letters earned her an Album Of The Year win, received a nomination for the self-penned "Like A Star," marking her second Song Of The Year nomination off her self-titled debut album. (She earned both Record and Song Of The Year nominations the previous year for "Put Your Records On.") Rihanna's collaboration with Jay-Z (who also co-wrote the song) earned a nomination with the help of songwriters Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Terius "The Dream" Nash and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. The trio also helped craft Beyoncé's three-time GRAMMY-winning "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" two years later. Chicago-based pop/punk outfit Plain White T's made a bold GRAMMY debut with a Song Of The Year nod for their viral No. 1 hit "Hey There Delilah," written by frontman Tom Higgenson. The only country artist to make the cut in this category, Underwood received a nod and a win in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category for "Before He Cheats," which was crafted by songwriters Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins. Underwood received her first GRAMMY Award the previous year for Best New Artist.

Best New Artist
Winner: Amy Winehouse
Feist
Ledisi
Paramore
Taylor Swift

Winehouse topped off her impressive GRAMMY debut by taking home Best New Artist honors. Nova Scotia-born singer/songwriter Feist added to the geographically diverse field, earning a total of four nominations during her own GRAMMY debut, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her Top 10 hit "1234." New Orleans-native R&B singer Ledisi earned two nods, including Best R&B Album for Lost & Found. She went on to receive a nomination in the same category two years later for Turn Me Loose. Hailing from Franklin, Tenn., Paramore, fronted by singer/songwriter Hayley Williams, released their debut album, All We Know Is Falling, in 2005 before the singer turned 18. Swift has since gone on to win four GRAMMY Awards and would set an Album Of The Year record at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards as the youngest winner ever in that category.

Come back to GRAMMY.com tomorrow as we revisit the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards. Tune in to the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Follow GRAMMY.com for our inside look at GRAMMY news, blogs, photos, videos, and of course nominees. Stay up to the minute with GRAMMY Live. Check out the GRAMMY legacy with GRAMMY Rewind. Keep track of this year's GRAMMY Week events, and explore this year's GRAMMY Fields. Or check out the collaborations at Re:Generation, presented by Hyundai Veloster. And join the conversation at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.