U2 at 1988 GRAMMYs

U2 at 1988 GRAMMYs

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GRAMMY Rewind: U2 Win Their First-Ever GRAMMY For 'The Joshua Tree' In 1988

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For the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the "With Or Without You" act's first GRAMMY wins for their fifth studio album, 'The Joshua Tree,' at the 30th GRAMMY Awards
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 7, 2020 - 2:13 pm

Back in 1987, Irish rock icons U2 were a favorite rising act of college radio DJs and Bono had yet to discover his love of sunglasses. It was the year they released their momentous chart-topping fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree, shortly after which Time declared them "rock's hottest ticket" with a cover story. The classic album not only put them on the map as socially conscious rock gods, it earned the group earned their first four GRAMMY nominations and first two wins. 

Read: Bono Names 60 Songs That Saved His Life On His 60th Birthday Playlist

For the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the "With Or Without You" act's first-ever GRAMMY win, for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal at the 30th GRAMMY Awards.

Watch U2 Accept Their First-Ever GRAMMY In 1988

With Bono and The Edge and Adam Clayton rocking choice steampunk looks, the quartet, also consisting of Larry Mullen Jr., accepted the award with big smiles as The Edge did the talking.  

"I don't know about you, but I'm still recovering from Whitney Houston," he said during the laugh and applause-filled speech, pulling out a paper and offering thanks to their lawyer, manager and "everyone at college radio, I don't know where we'd be without them."

The guitarist also thanked Jack Healy and Amnesty International, who hosted the 1986 Conspiracy of Hope U.S. benefit tour they took part in, along with Sting, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel and Bryan Adams.

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He also gave gratitude to social justice heroes Desmond Tutu and Martin Luther King Jr., before moving into joking territory, offering thanks to Batman and Robin, Donald Duck "and, of course, [then President] Ronald Regan" whose name he ended on with a facetious, winking grin.

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Later in the evening, they took home the coveted Album Of The Year award for The Joshua Tree. It's unforgettable single "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was nominated for both Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year.

The 1987 album's other memorable singles include "Where The Streets Have No Name" and "With Or Without You." It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, the same powerhouse pair who produced U2's prior album, 1984's The Unforgettable Fire. Its title was inspired by a Death Valley photo shoot with Anton Corbijn, whose epic black-and-white shots of the group in front of a lone joshua tree were featured in the album's art.

"People respond to our naïveté," Clayton in the 1987 TIME interview. "I think they see four guys from Ireland who don't want to let go of their dreams."

To date, U2 has earned 22 golden gramophones over the years, most recently for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb at the 2006 GRAMMYs. 

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U2 at 2006 GRAMMYs

U2 at 2006 GRAMMYs

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GRAMMY Rewind: Watch U2 Win Album Of The Year At The 2006 GRAMMY Awards

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Watch U2 accept the high honor of Album Of The Year for 'How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb' at the 48th GRAMMY Awards in 2006
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 13, 2020 - 1:25 pm

For the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, please join us in celebrating U2 bassist Adam Clayton's 60th birthday today, March 13, with this look back at one of the legendary rock band's GRAMMY highlights. At the 48th GRAMMY Awards in 2006, the Irish rock legends took home five golden gramophones, including for the high honors of Song Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

Below, watch U2 accept the Album Of The Year GRAMMY for their 11th studio album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, with a charming speech where Bono shouts out fellow Album Of The Year nominees Kanye West (Late Registration), Mariah Carey (The Emancipation of Mimi) and Gwen Stefani (Love. Angel. Music. Baby.).

Watch U2 Win Album Of The Year At 2006 GRAMMYs

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As Bono, Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. approach the stage to accept the award, fellow Album Of The Year nominees Paul McCartney (Chaos and Creation In The Backyard) and West, dressed in a fierce lavender tux, congratulate the band.

"This is our second Album Of The Year, but we've lost two, Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind, so now it feels that Kanye, you're next. [He's] a great artist that's been on the road with us [on the Vertigo Tour], [he's] extraordinary," Bono said on stage, rocking his signature tinted rimless shades with a cowboy hat and leather jacket. After also sharing complements for Carey and Stefani, he adds: "This is really a big, big night for our band."

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"If ever there should have been a record called 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own,' it should've been this one," Clayton added. "We had a lot of producers; Danny Lanois, Brian Eno, Flood, Nellee Hooper, Jacknife Lee, Carl Glanville, Chris Tomas and our friend Steve Lillywhite."

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The GRAMMY-winning album was released on Nov. 22, 2004, including classic hits "Vertigo," "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" and "City Of Blinding Lights." The five GRAMMYs it helped the band win include Best Rock Album and Song Of The Year and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own."

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Kendrick Lamar at the 2018 GRAMMYs

Kendrick Lamar performs at the 2018 GRAMMYs

Photo: Theo Wargo/WireImage

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GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Kendrick Lamar, U2 & Dave Chappelle Open The 2018 GRAMMYs With A Powerful Performance

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Kung-Fu Kenny served up golden bars for a medley, which included "XXX." and "DNA."—from his 2017 masterpiece, 'DAMN.'—plus "New Freezer" and "King's Dead"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 19, 2020 - 8:17 am

On Jan. 28, 2018, Kenrick Lamar amplified the energy and emotion at Madison Square Garden in New York City to 100 with a moving performance featuring Bono and The Edge of U2, Dave Chapelle and a literal army of dancers.

For the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, the Recording Academy returns to this unforgettable moment when Kung-Fu Kenny opened the 60th GRAMMY Awards, unleashing his poignant lyrics and incomparable flow. During the six-and-a-half-minute spectacular, he delivered golden bars from "XXX." and "DNA."—both off his 2017 masterpiece, DAMN.—as well as "New Freezer," his feature with Rich The Kid, and "King's Dead," from the Black Panther: The Album soundtrack.

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Opens 2018 GRAMMYs

The Compton-born hero won five GRAMMYs for DAMN. that night, sweeping all four rap categories. The LP earned him the golden gramophone for Best Rap Album, and its massive hit single, "HUMBLE.," won for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video. His Rihanna collab, "LOYALTY.," saw the powerhouse pair take home Best Rap/Sung Performance.

Watch: GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Kendrick Lamar Accept Best Rap Album For 'DAMN.' At The 2018 GRAMMY Awards

"King's Dead," which also features Jay Rock, Future and James Blake, won Best Rap Performance the following year at the 2019 GRAMMYs. Released as a single in January 2018, two weeks before Kendrick performed it on the GRAMMY stage, the track was featured on both the Lamar-produced Black Panther soundtrack and Rock's 2018 album, Redemption. The Black Panther project earned Lamar a total of eight nominations at the 2019 GRAMMYs, including Album Of The Year as well as Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year for its dreamy SZA-supported lead single, "All The Stars."

The hip-hop icon, who just turned 33 this week, earned his first GRAMMY nominations back at the 2014 GRAMMYs, following the release of his 2012 sophomore album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, which earned nods for Album Of The Year and Best Rap Album. While he didn't take home any golden gramophones that evening, he earned a total of seven nominations, including Best New Artist.

The next year, at the 57th GRAMMY Awards, K-Dot took home his first two GRAMMYs, for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, for "i," the inspiring lead single off his 2015 album, To Pimp A Butterfly. He would then take home five more golden gramophones the following year, at the 2016 GRAMMYs, including Best Rap Album for Butterfly and Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for the Black pride anthem "Alright." To date, Kendrick has earned 13 GRAMMY wins and 37 overall nominations.

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Zac Brown Band at the 2010 GRAMMYs

Zac Brown Band at the 2010 GRAMMYs

 
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GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Zac Brown Band Win Best New Artist At The 2010 GRAMMYs

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Following the release of their major-label debut single, "Chicken Fried," and the subsequent album, 'The Foundation,' the Georgia country outfit had arrived
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 31, 2020 - 9:57 am

Let's take a trip back to the 2010 GRAMMYs, when Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" was crowned Song Of The Year, Taylor Swift's Fearless snagged Album Of The Year and Zac Brown Band earned the coveted Best New Artist win.

For the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, GRAMMY.com celebrates frontman Zac Brown's 42nd birthday today (July 31) by revisiting the country rock band's first-ever GRAMMY win.

Zac Brown Band Win Best New Artist

Watch as Brown and bandmates Jimmy De Martini, John Driskell Hopkins, Coy Bowles and Chris Fryar accept their Best New Artist win, fittingly presented by GRAMMY-winning country superstar Keith Urban, with big smiles. (Then-newest member Clay Cook is represented by a printout of his face).

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"There's so many people that we wanna thank, and it's such an honor to be on this stage," Brown said as he proudly held the golden gramophone. The band was able to take a moment to thank just about everyone that was a part of their breakthrough year—right before the exit music began to play.

The beloved Georgia group beat out fellow 2010 Best New Artist nominees Keri Hilson, MGMT, Silversun Pickups and The Ting Tings.

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Later in the evening, Zac Brown Band also made their GRAMMY stage performance debut, playing a medley of "America The Beautiful," "Dixie Lullaby" and their breakout No. 1 country hit, "Chicken Fried," alongside GRAMMY-winning songwriting/guitar legend Leon Russell.

That same year, Zac Brown Band were also nominated for Best Country Album for their 2008 major-label debut LP, The Foundation, and Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for "Chicken Fried."

Since their big night, they have won two more GRAMMYs, for a grand total of three career GRAMMYs to date. They received three more nominations at the 2011 GRAMMYs, when they took home their second win for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "As She's Walking Away" featuring Alan Jackson.

Happy birthday, Zac!

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Red Hot Chili Peppers at 1993 GRAMMYs

Red Hot Chili Peppers at 1993 GRAMMYs

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GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers Shout Out Little Richard & Mother Nature At The 1993 GRAMMYs

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For the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch the quintessential Los Angeles rockers take home their first-ever golden gramophone for their classic 1991 track "Give It Away"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2020 - 1:07 pm

Back in 1993, legendary Los Angeles group the Red Hot Chili Peppers brought full-on California rock star energy to the GRAMMY stage when they accepted their first-ever golden gramophone. The band accepted the award (for Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocal for "Give It Away") mostly shirtless, with only Chad Smith donning a top.

Frontman Anthony Kiedis speaks on behalf of the quartet, rocking his long hair down, wearing just a floral skirt and name dropping Little Richard, Sinéad O'Connor Howard Stern and even Mother Nature. Watch the full, amazing acceptance speech below, which is the latest episode of our GRAMMY Rewind video series.

GRAMMY Rewind: Red Hot Chili Peppers

"I was hanging out, earlier today, at the men's club with Little Richard and Howard Stern; they both told me to say, 'Everybody, hi, how you doin'?' And they'd like to be here at the moment but they can't because they're off teaching Sinéad how to tango. But she says 'Hi,' too," Kiedis says, smiling and eliciting laughter from the audience.

He then dedicates their big win to a worthy cause: "The only person I'd really like to thank is Mother Nature, for giving this universe music, because without music I'd be nowhere."

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The "Californication" rockers received two nominations at the 35th GRAMMY Awards that year, with their hit "Under The Bridge" earning a nod for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (U2 took home that win instead, for "Achtung Baby").

"Give It Away" was released in September 1991 as the lead single to their funky Rick Rubin-produced fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which followed later that year. "Under The Bridge" was released as the LP's second single in March 1992, bringing their electric sound to the mainstream with a No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It was their first song to hit the top 10 on the all-genre chart, with "Give It Away" only entering the chart at No. 73 in 1992, after "Under The Bridge" brought their sound out in the open. The album was also a commercial hit, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

The album's title track later earned the band their fourth GRAMMY nod at the 38th GRAMMY Awards. Their first nomination came at the 33rd GRAMMY Awards, for their 1989 rocked-out cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground."

The longstanding SoCal rock heroes have since taken home two more GRAMMY wins, at the 49th GRAMMY Awards in 2007. They won Best Rock Album for Stadium Arcadium and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal its lead single "Dani California."

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