Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey

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Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Jay-Z: 25 GRAMMY Record Setters | Black History Month

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From wins and nominations to momentous firsts and incredible feats, take a look at 25 GRAMMY records set by African-Americans
Paul Grein
GRAMMYs
Feb 8, 2018 - 3:50 pm

African-American artists have been making history at the GRAMMYs since the awards were first presented on May 4, 1959. Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie each took home two awards that night.

Watch: Kendrick Lamar Wins Best Rap Album

And they have continued to be at the forefront right through this year, when Kendrick Lamar scooped up five GRAMMYs (bringing his total to date to an even dozen).

To help celebrate Black History Month, here are 25 GRAMMY records set by African-American artists. Note: This isn't just a list of the first African-American winners in various categories — though those milestones are meaningful in their own right. These are instances where an African-American artist or producer set a record in competition with everybody.

1. Michael Jackson

The first artist to win eight GRAMMYs in one night: Michael Jackson (1983). In that Thriller of a year, Jackson also became the first artist to amass 12 nominations in one night.

Michael Jackson Wins Record Of The Year

2. Quincy Jones

Artist with the most GRAMMY nominations: Quincy Jones (79). Jones landed his first noms in 1960; his most recent in 2001.

3. Beyoncé And Jay-Z

The only couple where both individuals have received 20 or more GRAMMYs: Beyoncé and Jay-Z. At last count, she has amassed 22 GRAMMYs. He has won 21.

Beyoncé wins Best Urban Contemporary Album GRAMMY

4. Beyoncé

The youngest artist to amass 20 career GRAMMYs: Beyoncé, who was 33 when she picked up her 18th, 19th and 20th GRAMMYs at the 2014 awards. She broke a record that was held by Kanye West, who was 35 when he collected his 19th, 20th and 21st GRAMMYs at the 2012 awards.

5. Mariah Carey

The youngest artist to receive nominations in each of the four General Field categories (Record, Album and Song Of The Year and Best New Artist): Mariah Carey, who was 20 when she was nominated in all four categories for 1990. She won for Best New Artist.

Mariah Carey Wins Best New Artist

6. Stevie Wonder

The only artist in GRAMMY history to win Album Of The Year with three consecutive studio albums: Stevie Wonder. He achieved this extraordinary three-peat with Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs In The Key Of Life (1976).

7. Stevie Wonder

The first artist to win Album Of The Year with an entirely self-produced album: Stevie Wonder (Innervisions).

8. Stevie Wonder

The youngest artist to win his third GRAMMY for Album Of The Year: Stevie Wonder, who was just 26 when he won for the third time with Songs In The Key Of Life.

9. Ray Charles

The artist with the longest span of Album Of The Year nominations: Ray Charles. His noms in the category span 43 years, from Genius + Soul = Jazz (1961) to Genius Loves Company (2004).

10. Ella Fitzgerald

The first woman to receive an Album Of The Year nomination: Ella Fitzgerald, who was nominated in 1958, the awards' first year, for Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Song Book.

11. Roberta Flack

The first artist to win back-to-back awards for Record Of The Year: Roberta Flack ("The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," 1972, and "Killing Me Softly With His Song," 1973).

Roberta Flack Wins Record of the Year

12. The 5th Dimension

The first group or duo to win twice for Record Of The Year: The 5th Dimension. The vocal quintet won for "Up, Up And Away" (1967) and "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" (1969).

13. Ray Charles

The artist with the longest span of Record Of The Year nominations: Ray Charles. His noms in the category span 44 years, from "Georgia On My Mind" (1960) to "Here We Go Again," a collaboration with Norah Jones (2004).

14. Thom Bell

The first producer to win for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical: Thom Bell (1974, the first year the award was presented).

15. Quincy Jones

The first producer to win twice for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical: Quincy Jones. He shared his second award with Michael Jackson. Jones was also the first producer to win three times in the category.

Quincy Jones Wins Producer Of The Year

16. Babyface

The only producer to win four times for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical: Babyface. He shared the first of these awards with his partner, L.A. Reid.

17. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis

The producer(s) with the most nominations for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The hit-making team amassed 11 noms from 1986–2005. They won the award for 1986.

18. Aretha Franklin

Most consecutive awards in any category: Aretha Franklin, eight consecutive awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female (1967–1974). The streak kicked off with the immortal "Respect." They don't call her the "Queen Of Soul" for nothing.

19. Ella Fitzgerald

The first woman to receive a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award: Ella Fitzgerald (1967).

20. Lauryn Hill

The first woman to win five GRAMMYs in one night: Lauryn Hill (1998). Her awards included Album Of The Year for The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill.

21. Beyoncé

The first woman to win six GRAMMYs in one night: Beyoncé (2009). Her awards included Song Of The Year for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)."

22. Ray Charles

Most posthumous GRAMMYs in one night (five): Ray Charles (2004). His awards included Album Of The Year for Genius Loves Company.

23. Pinetop Perkins

The oldest artist to win a GRAMMY: Pinetop Perkins, who was 97 when he won Best Traditional Blues Album for Joined At The Hip (2010).

24. Elizabeth Cotten

The oldest female artist to win a GRAMMY: Elizabeth Cotten, who was 90 when she won Best Ethnic Or Traditional Folk Recording for Elizabeth Cotten Live! (1984). (She was 26 days older than Betty White was when she won the 2011 award for Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling). Hey, days count in GRAMMY record-setting.)

25. Deleon Richards

The youngest individual artist to receive a GRAMMY nomination: Deleon Richards, who was just eight when she was nominated for Best Soul Gospel Performance — Female for her album Deleon (1985).

(Paul Grein is a veteran music journalist and historian whose work appears regularly at Yahoo.com and Hitsdailydouble.com.)

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Celebrate Black History Month with Beyoncé, Ray Charles

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In recognition of Black History Month, a look at a group of inspiring African-American artists who have mined GRAMMY gold
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

Black History Month is celebrated throughout the month of February in the United States in a collective effort to promote, preserve and research black history and culture year-round.

Of course, music is and has always been an indelible part of American culture. And whether it's jazz, blues, R&B or hip-hop, African-American musicians, singers and producers have made immense contributions to our nation's musical history.

To help celebrate Black History Month, we take a look back at memorable albums and snapshots from the careers of a select group of talented African-American artists who have not only won plenty of GRAMMYs, but have enriched our culture and inspired legions of listeners along the way.

 

Quincy Jones, Back On The Block (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 27
Memorable GRAMMY gold: "Q" holds the record for most GRAMMY nominations with 79 and in 1990 the esteemed producer picked up six GRAMMYs, including Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Album Of The Year for Back On The Block.

 

Stevie Wonder, Songs In The Key Of Life (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 25
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Fresh off winning five GRAMMY Awards in both 1973 and 1974, the legendary Wonder rolled another five in 1976, including wins for Best Producer Of The Year and Album Of The Year for Songs In The Key Of Life.

 

Aretha Franklin, I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 18
Memorable GRAMMY gold: The Queen of Soul commanded respect from her peers in picking up a pair of GRAMMYs in 1967 for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female for, you guessed it, "Respect." The Queen was honored at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2011 with a special tribute performance by Yolanda Adams, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Florence Welch.

 

Kanye West, Graduation (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 18
Memorable GRAMMY gold: The enigmatic rapper graduated in 2007 with four GRAMMYs for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group, and Best Rap Solo Performance. West won another four GRAMMYs this year, including Best Rap Song for "All Of The Lights" with Jeff Bhasker, Fergie, Malik Jones, and Warren Trotter, and Best Rap Album for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

 

Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 17 
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Following his passing in 2004, Charles' Genius Loves Company album spawned five posthumous statues at the 47th Annual GRAMMY Awards, including Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year. His album Genius + Soul = Jazz earned an induction into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2011.

 

Beyoncé, I Am…Sasha Fierce (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 16
Memorable GRAMMY gold: In 2010 the R&B/pop princess won a six-pack of GRAMMYs at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards, including Song Of The Year for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)." This year, aside from giving birth to her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé garnered nominations for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Party" with André 3000 and Best Long Form Music Video for I Am...World Tour.

 

B.B. King, Completely Well (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 15
Memorable GRAMMY gold: King was crowned with his first GRAMMY in 1970 for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male for "The Thrill Is Gone," which hit No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. King won GRAMMYs in the '80s, '90s and '00s, with his most recent win coming in 2008 for Best Traditional Blues Album for One Kind Favor.

 

Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3 (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 14
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Following the three GRAMMYs he won last year, Jay-Z picked up three GRAMMYs again at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards last year for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for "On To The Next One" with Swizz Beatz and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song for "Empire State Of Mind" with Alicia Keys. This year he took home the Best Rap Performance award for "Otis" with Kanye West.

 

Alicia Keys, Songs In A Minor (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 14
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Proving her worth right out of the gate, in 2001 Keys released her debut album, Songs In A Minor, and won five GRAMMYs, including Song Of The Year for "Fallin'" and Best New Artist. She picked up two awards with Jay-Z for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song for "Empire State Of Mind" at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2011.

 

Michael Jackson, Thriller (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 13
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Riding the wave of Thriller, the King of Pop won an unprecedented eight GRAMMY Awards in 1983, including Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year for "Beat It." Jackson's This Is It garnered a nod for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.

 

Duke Ellington, Anatomy Of A Murder (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 11
Memorable GRAMMY gold: The eminent big-band leader and composer picked up three GRAMMYs at the 2nd Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 for Anatomy Of A Murder, including Best Performance By A Dance Band.

 

Natalie Cole, Unforgettable With Love (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 9
Memorable GRAMMY gold: The smooth R&B songstress had an unforgettable year in 1991, picking up a trio of GRAMMYs, including Record Of The Year for "Unforgettable."

 

Miles Davis, Aura (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 8
Memorable GRAMMY gold: One of jazz's most noteworthy trumpet players picked up two GRAMMY Awards in 1989, including Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band for his colorful opus Aura.

 

Tina Turner, Private Dancer (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 8
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Turner landed three GRAMMY Awards in 1984, with her No. 1 hit "What's Love Got To Do With It" winning for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and Record Of The Year. This year the anthem was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.

 

Usher, Raymond V Raymond (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 7
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Usher picked up two trophies at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "There Goes My Baby." His first two GRAMMYs came in 2001 and 2002 for "U Remind Me" and "U Don't Have To Call," respectively. Usher performed his No. 1 single from Raymond V Raymond, "OMG," on the 53rd GRAMMY telecast with Justin Bieber in 2011.

 

Buddy Guy, Living Proof (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 6
Memorable GRAMMY gold: The influential blues guitarist picked up his sixth GRAMMY this year for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Living Proof, marking the fourth time he has won the award. Guy first won the award in 1991 for Damn Right, I've Got The Blues.

 

Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard — Original Soundtrack Album (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 6
Memorable GRAMMY gold: Houston, whose untimely death came on the eve of the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 11, made an impressive GRAMMY debut in 1985, garnering an Album Of The Year nomination for her self-titled debut, and winning Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love For You." On the strength of the 1992 blockbuster film The Bodyguard, which she starred in, in 1993 Houston took home Album Of The Year honors for the film's soundtrack, and earned Record Of The Year for the heart-wrenching "I Will Always Love You." Houston was honored on the 54th GRAMMY telecast with a stirring performance of the song by GRAMMY winner Jennifer Hudson.

 

Blind Boys Of Alabama, Down In New Orleans (iTunes>)
GRAMMY wins: 5
Memorable GRAMMY gold: After a GRAMMY win in 2008 for Best Traditional Gospel Album for Down In New Orleans, the Blind Boys Of Alabama were honored with The Recording Academy's esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

Which African-American artists do you think made important contributions to popular music? Drop us a comment and let us know who your picks are.

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The Producer Of The Year Category Turns 40

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Pharrell Williams bids to join select company as the GRAMMYs prepares to crown the 40th Producer Of The Year recipient
Paul Grein
GRAMMYs
Feb 27, 2016 - 7:41 pm
GRAMMY.com

Pharrell Williams could be headed for the GRAMMY history book this year. Williams is nominated for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, an award he previously won in 2003 as a member of the Neptunes (with Chad Hugo). If Williams wins this year, he'll become only the third producer to win in this category both on his own and with a partner. The first two were Quincy Jones (he won twice on his own and once with Michael Jackson) and Babyface (he won three times on his own and once with L.A. Reid).

This year's other nominees are Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke, Ariel Rechtshaid, and Jeff Tweedy. This is the fifth nomination in this category for Cavallo (who won in 1998), the third for Williams and the second for Dr. Luke. Rechtshaid and Tweedy are first-time nominees in the category.

The 56th GRAMMY Awards will mark the 40th year that the award for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical will be presented. That milestone is a good excuse to look back at the winners and nominees in the category through the years.

The Recording Academy added the Producer Of The Year category in 1974, 16 years after the inaugural GRAMMY Awards. The nominees that first year were Thom Bell, Rick Hall (who will receive a Recording Academy Trustees Award this year), Billy Sherrill, Lenny Waronker, and Stevie Wonder. On March 1, 1975, Bell was announced as the first winner.

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical is now one of the night’s most anticipated awards. (The Non-Classical portion of the title was added in 1980 to distinguish the category from Producer Of The Year, Classical, which was introduced in 1979.)

Babyface has won Producer Of The Year four times, more than anyone else. He and Reid won as a team in 1992, when their credits included the Boomerang soundtrack and hits by TLC and Bobby Brown. Babyface won on his own three years in a row, from 1995 through 1997. (He’s the only producer to win the award in back-to-back years — much less score a “three-peat.”)

Jones and David Foster are close behind, with three Producer Of The Year victories each. Peter Asher, Arif Mardin and Rick Rubin have each won the award twice.

Jones was the first two-time winner in the category and also the first three-time winner.

Foster, who was born in Victoria, British Columbia, has won the award more times than any other producer who was born outside of the U.S.

Mardin holds the record for the longest span of Producer Of The Year awards: 27 years. He first won in 1975 (when his credits included albums by Bee Gees and Average White Band) and again in 2002 (the year of Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me).

Mardin set another record in 2002 as the oldest Producer Of The Year winner. He was 70 at the time.

The youngest winners of Producer Of The Year to date are Steve Lukather and Steve Porcaro of Toto and Michael Jackson. All were just 25 when they won.

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis have received the most nominations for Producer Of The Year: 11. Jones and Foster are runners-up, with eight each. Babyface is next in line, with six.

Nigel Godrich, best known for his work with Radiohead, holds the bittersweet distinction of the most nominations without a win: five.

Wonder, who won in 1976, was the first self-produced artist to win. Many others have followed his lead, including last year’s winner, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.

Four self-produced artists have won in tandem with creative partners: Bee Gees (with Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson), Jackson (with Jones), Lionel Richie (with James Anthony Carmichael) and Phil Collins (with Hugh Padgham).

Other twosomes to have won are Jam & Lewis, who had played together in the Time; Babyface & Reid, who had played together in the Deele; Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois; and the Neptunes (Williams and Hugo), who are members of N.E.R.D.

Producer Of The Year winners have diverse backgrounds. Before becoming a top producer, Asher played a part in the British Invasion as one-half of Peter And Gordon. Foster and the members of Toto were in-demand studio musicians. Jones was a top arranger and Hollywood film scorer.

Prior to winning Producer Of The Year, many recipients had previously won GRAMMYs in other capacities. Phil Ramone and Neil Dorfsman had won as engineers; Steve Lillywhite and Brendan O’Brien as engineer/mixers; and Larry Butler, Toto’s David Paich and Narada Michael Walden as songwriters.

Producer Of The Year winners have come from all over the world. Asher, Collins & Padgham, Eno, Lillywhite, Mark Ronson, and Paul Epworth were born in England. Foster and Lanois were born in Canada; Bell in Jamaica; Mardin in Turkey; Bee Gees in Isle of Man; Ramone in South Africa; and Walter Afanasieff in Brazil.

Six women have been nominated for Producer Of The Year (though, as yet, no woman has taken home the award). Janet Jackson was the first woman to be nominated. Jackson, Jam and Lewis were cited as a team in 1989 — the year of her hit-laden album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814.

In a similar fashion, Mariah Carey and Afanasieff were nominated as a team in 1991 — the year of her sophomore album, Emotions.

Paula Cole was the first woman to make the Producer Of The Year finals on her own. She was nominated in 1997, the year of her breakthrough album, This Fire.

In 1998, for the first (and, so far, only) time, the Producer Of The Year finals included two women: Sheryl Crow and Lauryn Hill. Crow was nominated for her work on The Globe Sessions; Hill for her work on The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill and Aretha Franklin's "A Rose Is Still A Rose."

The sixth and most recent instance of a woman receiving a Producer Of The Year nomination came in 2003 when the writing/producing team the Matrix, which includes Lauren Christy, were nominated. The team's work that year included tracks by Liz Phair and Hilary Duff.

There have been two ties for Producer Of The Year. In 1984 Foster tied with Carmichael & Richie. In 1992 Babyface & Reid tied with Eno & Lanois. 

Sadly, seven past winners for Producer Of The Year are no longer with us: Larry Butler, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb, Jackson, Mardin, Jeff Porcaro, and Ramone.

As noted above, The Recording Academy added the Producer Of The Year, Classical category in 1979. James Mallinson was the first winner. Robert Woods and Steven Epstein are tied for the most wins in the category with seven each. There have been three female winners: Judith Sherman (three times), Joanna Nickrenz (twice) and Elaine L. Martone (once).

View a complete list of winners for the Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Classical categories.

(Paul Grein, a veteran music journalist, writes for Yahoo Music.)

Top GRAMMY winners of all time
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Who Are The Top GRAMMY Winners Of All Time?

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From Georg Solti to U2 and Beyoncé, these are the top 22 winners in GRAMMY history through the 60th GRAMMY Awards
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

With a total of 84 categories celebrating the best of pop, rock, R&B, jazz, classical, Spoken Word, Musical Theater, and Music For Visual Media, among others, thousands of music creators have been recognized by the GRAMMYs since its inception in 1957.

The prestige of one GRAMMY win can catapult an artist's career to the next level, but there are some who have amassed more than 10, 20 and even 30 career GRAMMY wins. Ever wonder who these elite GRAMMY winners are? Look no further. We've compiled a list of the top 22 GRAMMY winners of all time.

Georg Solti, 31

Not only does the late conductor Georg Solti hold the record for the most GRAMMY Awards won in any genre with 31, he has the most wins in the Classical Field. Solti's last win was for Best Opera Recording for Wagner: Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg for 1997.

Quincy Jones, 28

Quincy Jones' GRAMMY career as an artist/arranger/producer spans more than 10 Fields, from Children's to Jazz, Pop, Rap, R&B, and more, including his recent win for Best Music Film at the 61st GRAMMY Awards. He is also one of only 15 artists to receive the GRAMMY Legend Award.

Alison Krauss, 27

Alison Krauss holds the distinction as the female artist with the most GRAMMYs, and the female with the most awards in the Country Field. Krauss shares 14 of her wins with her backing band of nearly 30 years, Union Station.

Pierre Boulez, 26

Pierre Boulez earned his GRAMMYs primarily conducting the work of renowned 20th century composers such as Bela Bartók, Alban Berg and Claude Debussy. Boulez received The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Vladimir Horowitz, 25

The late virtuoso pianist/composer Vladimir Horowitz earned GRAMMYs in every decade from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was also awarded a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and has five recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.

Stevie Wonder, 25

No stranger to the GRAMMY stage, Stevie Wonder is the only artist in GRAMMY history to win five or more awards on three separate nights. His career and GRAMMY history were celebrated on the television special "Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life — An All-Star GRAMMY Salute" in 2015.

John Williams, 24

John Williams has cashed in on cinema soundtrack classics such as Jaws, Star Wars and Schindler's List for a place among the GRAMMY elite. Of his 24 GRAMMY wins, Williams has earned 12 in the Music For Visual Media Field and six for his work on the Star Wars franchise. His most recent win came at the 60th GRAMMYs for Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella for "Escapades For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra From Catch Me If You Can."

Beyoncé, 22

Who run the world? Beyoncé. The 22-time GRAMMY winner holds the second-most wins by a female artist and is tied with Adele at six for most GRAMMY wins in one night by a female. Aside from her wins, Queen Bey has amassed 63 GRAMMY nominations, more than any other female artist.

 

Beyoncé wins Best Urban Contemporary Album GRAMMY

Chick Corea, 22

Musician/composer Chick Corea is currently the artist with the most jazz GRAMMY wins. Corea's Latin jazz piano stylings, compositions and arrangements have also earned him four Latin GRAMMY Awards.

U2, 22

Led by frontman Bono, U2 hold the record for most GRAMMY wins by a rock act. Their most recent wins came in 2005, including Album Of The Year for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Vince Gill, 21

Singer/songwriter Vince Gill has earned 20 of his GRAMMY wins in the Country Field, the most of any artist. He earned his first GRAMMY outside of the Country Field in 2017 for Best American Roots Song for writing the Time Jumpers' "Kid Sister." He also holds the distinction of garnering the most GRAMMYs in the 1990s (14), winning one or more GRAMMYs in every year of the decade.

Vince Gill Wins Best American Roots Song GRAMMY

Jay-Z, 21

Tied for the most GRAMMY wins by a rap artist, Jay-Z has wins in each of the four Rap Field categories. Hova's blueprint for GRAMMY success includes collaborations with other artists such as Beyoncé ("Drunk In Love"), Rihanna ("Umbrella") and Justin Timberlake ("Holy Grail").

Kanye West, 21

Kanye West is neck-and-neck with Jay Z for top GRAMMY-winning rap artist, but he has often competed against himself. For example, he had two nominations (and a win) each for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for 2012, Best Rap Album for 2011, and Best Rap Song and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group for 2007.

Henry Mancini, 20

The composer behind TV and film themes such as "Peter Gunn" and "The Pink Panther Theme," the late Henry Mancini made early GRAMMY history with a then-record five wins in one night for 1961. Mancini's popular "Moon River" and later "Days Of Wine And Roses" each won both Record and Song Of The Year.

Pat Metheny, 20

Pat Metheny is all that jazz. The guitarist earned his first GRAMMY for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal Or Instrumental for Offramp for 1982. He has earned GRAMMYs in four consecutive decades since, most recently in 2012 as the Pat Metheny Unity Band for Unity Band for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Al Schmitt, 20

Working on projects by artists Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Chick Corea, and Paul McCartney, among others, Al Schmitt won his 20 GRAMMYs as an engineer/mixer. Schmitt has also earned two Latin GRAMMYs and he received the Recording Academy Trustees Award in 2006.

Bruce Springsteen, 20

In addition to GRAMMY wins in every decade from the '80s through '00s, Bruce Springsteen has seen his albums Born To Run and Born In The U.S.A. inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. In 2013 the quintessential rocker was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year.

Tony Bennett, 18

An artist who truly seems to get better with age, Tony Bennett has won nine of his 18 career GRAMMYs since 2002. Including his 2015 win with Bill Charlap for The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern, Bennett has earned Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album honors 13 times, the most in the category's history.

Aretha Franklin, 18

Aretha Franklin reigns as the queen of R&B. She has 18 GRAMMY wins to date, five recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award (1994) and a GRAMMY Legend Award (1991).

Yo-Yo Ma, 18

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has strung together 18 GRAMMY wins, earning his first in 1984 for Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites. Since then he's won GRAMMYs in the Folk and World Music Fields, the latter of which came for 2016 for the Best World Music Album-winning project with his Silk Road Ensemble, Sing Me Home. 

Paul McCartney, 18

Winning Best New Artist with the Beatles for 1964, Paul McCartney has gone on to earn 18 career GRAMMYs as an artist, composer and arranger. While most of McCartney's GRAMMY history lies in pop and rock, he earned two 58th GRAMMY nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for Kanye West's "All Day" with Theophilus London and Allan Kingdom.

Jimmy Sturr, 18

Out of the 25 GRAMMYs ever awarded for polka, Jimmy Sturr earned 18 of them, including 13 wins for Best Polka Album. He will likely remain the highest GRAMMY-winning polka artist in history (given the discontinuation of the category), and was "Born To Polka."

Who Are The Top Latin GRAMMY Winners Of All Time?

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Beyoncé To Alison Krauss: 9 Times Women Made GRAMMY History

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Celebrate Women's History month with Ella Fitzgerald's firsts, Alison Krauss and Beyoncé's mosts, and more history-making women at the GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

To highlight Women's History month this March, we dug into our archives all the way back to the GRAMMY Awards' beginnings in 1958 to acknowledge the women who have made GRAMMY — and music — history. From the first women to ever win a GRAMMY to the top GRAMMY-winning woman, first female GRAMMY performers and the first female GRAMMY host, take a look at nine examples of how women blazed trails through the lens of the GRAMMYs.

Ella Fitzgerald: The first woman to win multiple GRAMMYs

The 1st GRAMMY Awards took place in 1958, and women were among the first crop of recipients. The first female multiple GRAMMY winner was jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, who took home two statues: Best Vocal Performance, Female and Best Jazz Performance, Individual. The roster of first-time female GRAMMY winners also included Keely Smith, Salli Terry, Barbara Cook, Pert Kelton, Helen Raymond, and Renata Tebaldi.

Who were the first women to win GRAMMYs in the General Field?

The General Field categories — Record, Song and Album Of The Year and Best New Artist — are among some of the most coveted awards in music. Astrud Gilberto became the first woman to win Record Of The Year when she won with Stan Getz for "The Girl From Ipanema" for 1964. The first Song Of The Year female win went to Carole King for "You've Got A Friend" for 1971. The first female Best New Artist was country singer/songwriter Bobbie Gentry. And the first female winner for Album Of The Year went to Judy Garland for 1961 for Judy At Carnegie Hall.

Carole King: The first woman to win multiple General Field GRAMMYs

The first woman to win multiple GRAMMYs in the General Field was King, when she swept Record ("It's Too Late"), Album (Tapestry) and Song Of The Year ("You've Got A Friend") for 1971. The first women to win multiple GRAMMYs in the same General Field categories include Roberta Flack, who took Record Of The Year for 1972 and 1973, for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song," respectively. Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones and Alison Krauss have each won Album Of The Year twice, but only once in each case for their own recordings. Taylor Swift won Album Of The Year twice for 2009 and 2015, the first woman to do so as a solo artist. At the 59th GRAMMYs, Adele became the second solo female artist to win Album Of The Year twice. Additionally, she became the first artist in GRAMMY history to sweep Record, Song and Album Of The Year twice in her career, after doing so for 2011 and again for 2016.

Alison Krauss: The woman with the most GRAMMY wins

With 27 GRAMMYs, Krauss is the top-winning female artist (and tied for second-highest GRAMMY winner of all time with Quincy Jones). Beyoncé also ranks near the top with 22 GRAMMY wins, as does Aretha Franklin with 18 wins. Beyoncé holds the record for female artist with the most GRAMMY nominations with 62.

Who are the top GRAMMY winners of all time?

Ella Fitzgerald, Wanda Jackson: The first women to perform on the GRAMMYs

The first televised GRAMMY event, a taped "NBC Sunday Showcase," in honor of the 2nd GRAMMY Awards, aired Nov. 29, 1959. It was Fitzgerald's performance on this broadcast that earned her the distinction of being the first woman to take the GRAMMY stage. When the GRAMMYs transitioned to a live television broadcast format for the 13th GRAMMY Awards in 1971, the first solo female performer was country singer Wanda Jackson singing "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore."

Bonnie Raitt: The most GRAMMY performances

Singer/songwriter Bonnie Raitt is the woman who has performed the most at the GRAMMYs. From her first solo performance of "Thing Called Love" at the 32nd GRAMMY Awards in 1990 through her latest performance in honor of B.B. King with Chris Stapleton and Gary Clark Jr. at the 58th GRAMMY Awards, Raitt has graced the stage nine times. In a tie for a close second are Franklin and Whitney Houston, who each notched eight career GRAMMY performances.

Watch: All the GRAMMY performers from the 1960s–1970s

Whoopi Goldberg: The first female GRAMMY host

Whoopi Goldberg served as the GRAMMYs' first female host at the 34th GRAMMY Awards in 1992. An EGOT (Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar, and Tony) winner, the comedian already had an impressive array of credentials when she helmed the GRAMMY stage. Not one to shy away from pushing the envelope, she delivered arguably one of the raunchiest jokes in GRAMMY history when referencing the show's accounting firm: "I must tell you, Deloitte & Touche are two things I do nightly."

And the first female Special Merit Awards recipients were?

The inaugural Recording Academy Special Merit Award was given in 1963 to Bing Crosby, but it wasn't long until women made their mark. Fitzgerald was the first woman to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1967. The first woman to receive a Trustees Award was Christine M. Farnon in 1992, who served as The Recording Academy's National Executive Director for more than 20 years. Liza Minnelli became the first female artist to receive a GRAMMY Legend Award in 1990.

The first recordings by women to be inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

Established in 1973 by The Academy's Board of Trustees to honor outstanding recordings that were made before the inception of the GRAMMY Awards, the first female recipients were inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 1976. Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" marked the first solo female recording. Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (Opera Version), featuring Camilla Williams, and the original Broadway cast version of "Oklahoma!," featuring Joan Roberts, were inducted into the Hall that same year.

From Abbey Road to "Zip-A-Dee-Doo Dah," view the full list of GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recordings

 

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March is Women's History Month. Who do you think is the most iconic female GRAMMY winner?