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GRAMMY Rewind: 25th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Toto wins Album and Record Of The Year against these nominees

GRAMMYs

Jan 19, 2012 - 3:40 pm

GRAMMY.com

(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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Your GRAMMY Performer Checklist

A handy guide to every performance scheduled for the 56th GRAMMY Awards

GRAMMYs

Jan 25, 2014 - 11:24 am

GRAMMY.com

The GRAMMY Awards telecast stands as the richest collection of musical talent on any one show, three-and-a-half hours of nearly nonstop music from today's hottest performers as well as surprise GRAMMY Moments that create indelible memories for fans.

Is there a downside to such a giant, wide-ranging night of music? Well, sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of the sprawling list of performers.

The star-studded performance lineup for the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards has a bit of everything — a number of first-time GRAMMY performances; a not-to-be-missed metal/classical mashup; the Daftest band in music; performances from half of arguably the greatest band ever; and of course the best in country, rock, pop, and hip-hop. And don't forget the coolest host around: LL Cool J.

It's a lot to keep track of, so we've compiled a handy alphabetical guide to artists who will be taking the GRAMMY stage. Of course, be sure to stay logged on to GRAMMY.com and follow our live-blog to complement your GRAMMY experience.

And the performers for the 56th GRAMMY Awards are:

Billie Joe Armstrong and Miranda Lambert in tribute to Phil Everly
Sara Bareilles with 2014 MusiCares Person of the Year Carole King
Gary Clark Jr.
Daft Punk with Nile Rodgers (of Chic), Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder and the RAM (Random Access Memories) session players: Chris Caswell, Nathan East, Omar Hakim, and Paul Jackson Jr.
Merle Haggard, 2014 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Blake Shelton
Hunter Hayes
Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons
John Legend
Lorde
Madonna with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, who as members of the Beatles will receive the 2014 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award
Metallica and GRAMMY Cultural Ambassador to China Lang Lang
Kacey Musgraves
Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age, Dave Grohl, and Lindsey Buckingham in a rousing finale
Katy Perry
Pink and Nate Ruess (of Fun.)
Taylor Swift
Robin Thicke and GRAMMY-winning group Chicago
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Keith Urban

The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place live on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). For GRAMMY coverage, updates and breaking news, visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

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The GRAMMYs' Rich Kennedy Center Honors History

Several GRAMMY winners and Recording Academy Special Merit Award recipients have graduated with Kennedy Center Honors

Paul Grein

GRAMMYs

Sep 16, 2013 - 2:18 pm

GRAMMY.com

Three of this year's five recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors are past GRAMMY winners for Album Of The Year. Billy Joel took the award in 1979 for 52nd Street, Carlos Santana in 1999 for Santana's blockbuster Supernatural and Herbie Hancock in 2007 for the star-studded River: The Joni Letters.

Joel also swept Record and Song Of The Year in 1978 for "Just The Way You Are." And he received a GRAMMY Legend Award in 1991. Santana also took home Record Of The Year for "Smooth," a collaboration with Rob Thomas that was the lead single from Supernatural.

Joel, Santana and Hancock are hardly the first winners of GRAMMYs in marquee categories to receive Kennedy Center Honors. Fourteen previous Kennedy honorees have won GRAMMYs in one or more of the "Big Three" categories — Album, Record and Song Of The Year.

Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, who share the GRAMMY record for most Album Of The Year victories (three each) received Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, 1999 and 2002, respectively. (Simon's tally includes one album with Art Garfunkel.)

Bob Dylan and Quincy Jones, who have each won Album Of The Year twice, received Kennedy Center Honors in 1997 and 2001, respectively. Dylan took Album Of The Year for 1997's Time Out Of Mind and as a guest artist on George Harrison's The Concert For Bangla Desh, the 1972 winner. Jones won in 1990 for Back On The Block and as producer of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the 1983 champ.

Other past Album Of The Year winners who have received Kennedy Center Honors are Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, and Robert Plant. Streisand won Album Of The Year in 1963 for The Barbra Streisand Album, McCartney for the Beatles' 1967 opus Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Bennett for 1994's MTV Unplugged, Charles for 2004's Genius Loves Company, Turner as a guest artist on the aforementioned River: The Joni Letters, and Plant for 2008's Raising Sand, a collaboration with Alison Krauss.

(Several of these Album Of The Year winners have also won additional "Big Three" GRAMMYs.)

Three Song Of The Year winners, not already named, have received Kennedy Center Honors. They are Jerry Herman, who took Song Of The Year for 1964's "Hello, Dolly!," Stephen Sondheim, who won in 1975 for "Send In The Clowns," and Bruce Springsteen, who won in 1994 for "Streets Of Philadelphia."

Nearly 60 recipients of Kennedy Center Honors (57 to be exact) have received one or more honorary Recording Academy Special Merit Awards — the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award or GRAMMY Legend Award. As such, they have received the highest form of recognition for career achievement from both The Recording Academy and the Kennedy Center Honors.

Here they are, arranged by genre — with the year that the individual(s) received the Kennedy honor in parentheses.

Classical: Marian Anderson (1978), Artur Rubinstein (1978), Aaron Copland (1979), Leonard Bernstein (1980), Leontyne Price (1980), Isaac Stern (1984), Georg Solti (1993), Jessye Norman (1997), Andre Previn (1998), Van Cliburn (2001), Luciano Pavarotti (2001), and Itzhak Perlman (2003).

Traditional pop and Broadway: Fred Astaire (1978), Richard Rodgers (1978), Frank Sinatra (1983), Lena Horne (1984), Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe (1985), Perry Como (1987), Sammy Davis Jr. (1987), Stephen Sondheim (1993), Julie Andrews (2001), Tony Bennett (2005), Andrew Lloyd Webber (2006), and Barbra Streisand (2008).

Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald (1979), Count Basie (1981), Benny Goodman (1982), Dizzy Gillespie (1990), Benny Carter (1996), Dave Brubeck (2009), and Sonny Rollins (2011).

R&B: Ray Charles (1986), Aretha Franklin (1994), Stevie Wonder (1999), Quincy Jones (2001), James Brown (2003), Smokey Robinson (2006), and Diana Ross (2007).

Country: Roy Acuff (1991), Johnny Cash (1996), Willie Nelson (1998), Loretta Lynn (2003), Dolly Parton (2006), George Jones (2008), and Merle Haggard (2010).

Rock and contemporary pop: Bob Dylan (1997), Chuck Berry (2000), Paul Simon (2002), Elton John (2004), Brian Wilson (2007), The Who's Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey (2008), Paul McCartney (2010), Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (2012), and Billy Joel (2013).

Misc. (calypso, folk and blues): Harry Belafonte (1989), Pete Seeger (1994) and B.B. King (1995).

This year's other two Kennedy Center Honors recipients are GRAMMY-nominated opera singer Martina Arroyo and actress Shirley MacLaine. The artists will be saluted at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8. The show will be telecast on CBS on Dec. 29.

(Paul Grein, a veteran music journalist based in Los Angeles, writes the weekly Chart Watch column for Yahoo.com.)

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V-Day At The GRAMMYs

A GRAMMY Valentine's playlist

GRAMMYs

Feb 11, 2010 - 8:45 am

GRAMMY.com

"Bring her nice things/Sugar and spice things," Jack Jones sang on "Lollipops And Roses."

"The first time ever I saw your face/I thought the sun rose in your eyes," Roberta Flack sang on "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

"Can you feel the love tonight/It is where we are," Elton John intoned on his song from the Lion King.

What do these songs have in common? They all celebrate the glory of love. And, they're all GRAMMY winners.

Valentine's Day makes February arguably the season of love, and the GRAMMYs have honored love in all kinds of forms and genres. Following, in no particular order or rhyme or reason (other than to spread love throughout the world, of course), is a seasonably appropriate 14-song selection of GRAMMY winners through the years.

"Just The Way You Are" (iTunes »)
Billy Joel, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, 1978

Joel's breakthrough hit went on to become a wedding standard, celebrating love from the Generation Me's "love me for who I am" point of view.

"Love Will Keep Us Together" (iTunes »)
Captain & Tennille, Record Of The Year, 1975

This record was ubiquitous literally throughout 1975, with its bouncy keyboard-driven ode to the power of love — and just happened to be recorded by a husband-and-wife duo.

"Stand By Your Man" (iTunes »)
Tammy Wynette, Best Country Performance, Female, 1969

Wynette's signature tune may not have been a pivotal moment for women's liberation, but it was a powerful testament to understanding human frailties and allowing love to rise above them.

"Breathe Again" (iTunes »)
Toni Braxton, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, 1994

From the Vikki Carr "It Must Be Him" school, which plainly teaches that unrequited love kills, comes this, well, breathy Toni Braxton classic. She puts it succinctly enough: "Please understand if love ends/Then I promise you, I promise you/That I shall never breathe again."

"My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From Titanic)" (iTunes »)
Celine Dion, Record Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, 1998

This omnipresent theme song from the 1998 film Titanic was propelled to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 as the story of Jack and Rose (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and GRAMMY winner Kate Winslet) swept the country.

"Always On My Mind" (iTunes »)
Willie Nelson, Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, 1982

On this cover of the Elvis Presley hit, Nelson sings, "You were always on my mind" to the woman in his life, lamenting over those small things he should have done, but never took the time. Don't find yourself in the same position this Valentine's Day.

"My Boo" (iTunes »)
Usher & Alicia Keys, Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, 2004

"There's always that one person that will always have your heart," sings Usher in this duet with Keys that takes the listener back to that special first love.

"If You Leave Me Now" (iTunes »)
Chicago, Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus, 1976

On their first single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Chicago vocalist Peter Cetera speaks of a love that is incomparable, singing, "A love like ours is love that's hard to find."

"Truly" (iTunes »)
Lionel Richie, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, 1982

A song embodying true dedication to a loved one, delivered with sincerity from the same man who gave life to the timeless love-song classics "Endless Love," "Still" and "Three Times A Lady."

"Breathe" (iTunes »)
Faith Hill, Best Female Country Vocal Performance, 2000

"Caught up in the touch/A slow and steady rush/Baby isn't that the way love is supposed to be?" asks Hill in "Breathe." At least for this one special day, pretend that's the way love really is.

"I Will Always Love You" (iTunes »)
Whitney Houston, Record Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, 1993

Houston passionately delivers a message of love, remembrance and forgiveness on her version of this song, which was written by country sweetheart Dolly Parton and nominated for a GRAMMY in 1982.

"Strangers In The Night" (iTunes »)
Frank Sinatra, Record Of The Year, Best Vocal Performance, Male, 1966

Ol' blue eyes offers but a glimmer of hope for the single crowd on Valentine's Day, gently ruminating about exchanging glances with a stranger and sharing love before the night is through.

"You're Still The One" (iTunes »)
Shania Twain, Best Female Country Vocal Performance, Best Country Song, 1998

Co-written with producer and then-husband Mutt Lange, Twain speaks of beating the odds with love and perseverance with lyrics such as, "I'm so glad we made it/Look how far we've come my baby," offering a fresh coat of optimism for couples of all ages.

"Oh, Pretty Woman" (iTunes »)
Roy Orbison, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, 1990

Orbison captures the essence of encountering a lovely woman for the first time, and offers helpful one-liners such as "No one could look as good as you" and "I couldn't help but see…you look as lovely as can be." Single men, take notes.

What tune makes your heart melt? Whether or not it won a GRAMMY, we want to know what you'll be listening to on Feb. 14

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GRAMMY Insider: LL Cool J, Van Halen, Miranda Lambert, Jay-Z, More

All the GRAMMY winners news, including a knockout rock and hip-hop collaboration

GRAMMYs

Apr 8, 2013 - 11:56 am

GRAMMY.com

(The GRAMMY Insider keeps you up to date about news on your favorite GRAMMY winners, including new album releases, tour updates, notable TV appearances, interviews, and more.)

New Music
Rock icon Eddie Van Halen has contributed guitar work to two tracks on legendary rapper LL Cool J's upcoming album, Authentic, which is due April 30. Genre-crossing collaboration is nothing new for Van Halen, who made a famous guitar solo cameo on Michael Jackson's classic "Beat It." "The thought of me playing guitar to hip-hop was definitely left of center, but I was intrigued and I agreed to meet and listen to what he had," Van Halen told Guitar World. In other collaboration news, Beyoncé has teamed with André 3000 to cover the late Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black" for the soundtrack to the upcoming film The Great Gatsby. The duo previously collaborated on the former's 2011 single "Party." Brad Paisley is set to release his new studio album, Wheelhouse, on April 9. The GRAMMY winner self-produced the album, marking a change from his previous efforts. "The reason I didn't produce myself all those years is I really felt like I needed somebody to be objective," Paisley told the Boot. "Then I started to explore how to do something differently and lot of ideas came to mind."

Awards
Miranda Lambert was the big winner at the 48th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards on April 7, picking up awards for Female Vocalist and Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Over You." Lambert's Female Vocalist win marked her fourth consecutive award in that category. Little Big Town were the only other GRAMMY winners to pick up awards, winning Vocal Group and Video of the Year honors for "Tornado."

On The Road
After months of anticipation, the Rolling Stones announced dates for their 50 & Counting tour via a tech-savvy video. The North American jaunt will kick off at Staples Center in Los Angeles, with the specific date TBA. "We did a few shows in London and New York last year … and had such a good time that we thought … let's do some more," said frontman Mick Jagger. Paul McCartney has penciled in May 22 at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, as the first U.S. date for his upcoming Out There world tour. A full itinerary is pending, but the tour is expected to visit "new spots" and "places of historical significance to Paul." After recently hinting at his retirement, Billy Joel is mulling a return to the stage that would see the piano man delve deeper into his catalog. "I'd like to do more songs that weren't hits," Joel told Rolling Stone. "I got tired of doing the greatest hits set." Speaking of retirement, Meat Loaf has announced that his current Last At Bat tour will be his last. "I just don't want to travel anymore," Meat Loaf told Reuters. "I outweigh [Mick] Jagger by about 100 pounds and that counts for something."

Business
Jay-Z is stepping up to the plate, literally. New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has inked a deal to become the first client of Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports, the new sports representation arm of Creative Artists Agency. In related Jay-Z news, Universal Music Group and Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by the GRAMMY winner, have entered into a multiyear, worldwide partnership, according to Billboard.biz. While financial terms were not disclosed, Roc Nation will operate as a standalone label under the UMG umbrella.

Lifestyle
Carrie Underwood dished on her marriage to NHL player Mike Fisher in a new interview with People. Though the long-distance nature of their relationship is difficult, the country star remains committed. "You see each other when you can and you talk to each other as much as you can," said Underwood.

Music On Film
Director Terrence Malick is getting the Led out with former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, who is set to star in his upcoming film about love and rock music in Austin, Texas. Actor Ryan Gosling revealed that Plant is expected to make a cameo in the film, which will also star Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Gosling, and Natalie Portman.

Tune In
Recent first-time GRAMMY winner Jimmy Fallon is set to replace Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," beginning in spring 2014. "Today was one of the most exciting days of my life. I read every tweet and every post and I thank you," Fallon tweeted on April 4. Fellow late night host David Letterman wished his rival Leno well, offering "congratulations on a nice long run there at the 'Tonight Show,' if in fact you're not coming back." Bruno Mars, Miguel, Prince and Taylor Swift are among the artists set to perform at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, airing May 19 on ABC.

#howmuch?
Some may ask, "What's in a name?" Well, if your name is George, Paul, John, or Ringo, the answer is more than $200,000. A rare autographed copy of the Beatles' Album Of The Year-winning Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for an impressive $209,500, breaking the previous record for an album signed by the group. Our bet is the buyer's pocketbook is gently weeping.