Linda Ronstadt

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Linda Ronstadt's 'Canciones De Mi Padre' | For The Record

Revisit the iconic country-rock singer’s foray into traditional Mexican mariachi music

Nate Hertweck

GRAMMYs

Mar 29, 2018 - 6:13 pm

By 1987, Linda Ronstadt had conquered the '70s as the sweetheart of country rock and spent nearly two decades releasing solid albums, including GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductee Heart Like A Wheel, covering a wide swath of musical styles. But the GRAMMY-winning singer's musical roots were aching to be revisited. Ronstadt dove into the soundtrack of her childhood, revisiting the traditional Mexican mariachi music on Canciones De Mi Padre.

For The Record: Linda Ronstadt’s 'Canciones ...'

As a bona fide superstar, Ronstadt was able to enlist the help of three of the best mariachi bands around at the time: Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi Los Camperos and Mariachi Sol De Mexico. Together, and with help of GRAMMY winner Peter Asher, they tackled a collection of songs from Sonora, Mexico, that harkened back to Ronstadt's family traditions and formative musical memories.

Ronstadt stretched and flexed her vocal and interpretive abilities for Canciones De Mi Padre, paying homage to late Mexican singer Lola Beltran, whom she credited as a prominent influence on her own singing style.

Her reverence paid off. The album went double platinum, and at the 31st GRAMMY Awards Canciones De Mi Padre won Best Mexican-American Performance.

The project also ushered in a period in Ronstadt’s career that saw her release two additional Spanish-language albums over the following five years. Her 1991 pseudo-sequel, Mas Canciones, won Best Mexican-American Album at the 35th GRAMMY Awards.

More than 30 years after Canciones De Mi Padre, Ronstadt's lasting legacy as one of her generation’s greatest voices resonates that much wider due to the versatility, authenticity, and range she showed by revisiting the music that shaped her remarkable life and her outstanding career.

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Little Big Town

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Little Big Town's 'The Road To Here' | For The Record

Look back at Little Big Town's breakout second album that earned the group their first two career GRAMMY nominations

Nate Hertweck

GRAMMYs

Apr 19, 2018 - 2:54 pm

Little Big Town's second album, The Road To Here, followed the band's solid, yet commercially lackluster, 2002 self-titled album with a bang. Their sophomore effort produced hits like "Boondocks" and "Bring It On Home," and earned the group their first two GRAMMY nominations, firmly announcing their arrival — to stay — in the top tier of modern pop country bands.

For The Record: Little Big Town’s 'The Road ..."

Released Oct. 4, 2005, The Road To Here came out of a collaboration between the Alabama-born band and producer/songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick, who had become well known as a songwriter and musician for his work in contemporary Christian, country and pop genres. Kirkpatrick had scored a huge hit when Eric Clapton cut a song he co-wrote called "Change The World" in 1996.

"Change The World" won Kirkpatrick the GRAMMY for Song Of The Year at the 39th GRAMMY Awards, but he had not done much producing at that point in his career before signing on to work with Little Big Town.

The partnership was a fit, and The Road To Here included a lineup of hits that broke Little Big Town into country music's mainstream. The biggest record on the album was "Boondocks," which landed the band their first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

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"Boondocks" also went on to earn Little Big Town a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for the 49th GRAMMY Awards. The Road To Here also received a nod for Best Country Album that year.

Six years later, Little Big Town would earn their first GRAMMY win, taking home the trophy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Pontoon" at the 55th GRAMMY Awards, but it was their nominations for The Road To Here that catapulted the band into the public eye.

The Road To Here went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA, and Little Big Town have now won three career GRAMMY Awards. Their unique sound and four-pronged harmonic blend sets them apart as one of country music's most dynamic performing acts.

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Amy Winehouse

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Amy Winehouse, 'Back To Black': For The Record

Relive the British songstress' soulful 2006 breakout album, which took home GRAMMY gold and ushered in a soul revival that still reverberates today

Nate Hertweck

GRAMMYs

Mar 8, 2018 - 6:06 pm

Amy Winehouse's tragic and untimely death in 2011 cut short the life and career of one of a generation's purest talents and most intriguing souls. Her sophomore album, 2006's Back To Black, not only captured Winehouse's staggering ability, but brought her music to a mainstream audience.

For The Record: Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black'

With hits both immediate and timeless, such as "Rehab," "Me & Mr. Jones," and the album's title track, Back To Black elevated the role soul music would play in the pop arena for the decade to come. It's difficult to imagine the early work of other British soul singers such as Adele, Lily Allen, or Duffy being as instantly well-received by the masses without walking down the road paved by Back To Black's mainstream success. But the album was more than a massive pop hit that happened to draw upon vintage influences of '60s R&B and soul, it was the new version of the real thing.

Two names who loom large in pop/R&B and hip-hop/R&B, respectively, producers Mark Ronson and Saalam Remi enlisted soul superstars the Dap Kings, from whom they borrowed late soul singer Sharon Jones. The resulting sound of Back To Black's cocktail kit drums, horn swells and stabs, wispy keys, cooing "oohs", and funky basslines supported Winehouse's brilliant exhibition of expression from fragile to powerful and back. The album soars on the wings of its crafty construction, but ultimately lands right on the mark because of its believability.

The term "instant classic" may be cliché but, in this case, the album was simply undeniable upon release. At the 50th GRAMMY Awards, Back To Black took home the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. The first single "Rehab" also won Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Even though Winehouse could not make it to Los Angeles for the ceremony due to a difficulty in obtaining a U.S. work visa, she performed remotely via satellite from London. To cap it all off, Winehouse was also awarded the GRAMMY for Best New Artist.

One of the greatest artists of our time, Winehouse's short-lived yet long-lasting impact on music can be heard echoing all over Back To Back.

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Bruno Mars

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Bruno Mars, '24K Magic': For The Record | 2018 GRAMMYs Edition

Celebrate Mars' pop-funk party album that raked in a whopping six GRAMMYs on Music's Biggest Night

Nate Hertweck

GRAMMYs

Feb 1, 2018 - 5:48 pm

When Bruno Mars' name was announced as the winner of Album Of The Year at the 60th GRAMMY Awards, it was a storybook ending to an incredible night that saw him sweep all of the categories for which he was nominated, including Record and Song Of The Year, and Best R&B Album.

For The Record: Bruno Mars' '24K Magic'

With 24K Magic, Mars set out to create a '90s-esque dance party album worthy of the celebratory atmosphere the GRAMMY-winner creates while in the studio. His ability to tap into that feel-good vibe on "That's What I Like," the magic in the air on "24K Magic," or the irresistible motion of "Finesse" translated to a cohesive, catchy, hit-heavy album.

"It's all feeling," said Mars. "There's no rules [in] music. But for me, my rule is that feeling comes first. Honesty. Even a song like "24K Magic," that's the song that's supposed to get the party started. Does it sound like me? Does it sound like I'm faking it? Does it sound like I’m having the time of my life? That's what it is. Emotion and feeling come first, whether it's a love song, or whether it's a song like "24K Magic."

In all, 24K Magic, yielded a total perfect six-for-six in GRAMMY nominations and wins, including Album Of The Year, Best R&B Album for the album, Song Of The Year, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance for "That's What I Like" and Record Of The Year for "24K Magic."

As an accomplished and prolific songwriter and producer, Mars has achieved unimaginable success on the charts, on tour, and on the GRAMMY stage in the past. In fact, he received the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year at the 59th GRAMMY Awards for his producer role on Adele's 25. But with 24K Magic, Mars stepped into the spotlight, boldly announcing his mastery of his craft, lasting star power, and still-limitless potential.

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Taylor Swift

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Taylor Swift, '1989': For The Record

Revisit T-Swift's 2014 pop masterpiece that led to her history-making GRAMMY moment

Nate Hertweck

GRAMMYs

Jan 18, 2018 - 1:40 pm

Not only did Taylor Swift's fifth studio album, 1989, establish her as a fully emerged pop powerhouse, her unforgettable Album Of The Year GRAMMY acceptance speech proved she is a force to be reckoned with.

For The Record: Taylor Swift's '1989'

Swift also made history by becoming the first woman to win the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year twice for her solo recordings.

In all, 1989 yielded a total ten GRAMMY nominations (including three nods for the album's first single, "Shake It Off" for the 57th GRAMMY Awards) and three wins for the 58th GRAMMY Awards including Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Music Video for "Bad Blood." The album also hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent its entire first year in the Top 10, only the fifth album to ever accomplish this feat.

But the significance of 1989 was far greater than its accolades and chart success. The album punctuated Swift's bold transition from endearing country singer/songwriter to pop powerhouse with a resounding exclamation point. Swift not only co-produced and co-executive produced 1989, but also stood up to the pressures of traditionalist music industry executives, judgmental critics and closed-minded fans, among others, ultimately proving herself as one of her generation's strongest artistic and cultural voices and experiencing "the greatest feeling in the world" with her night's big wins.