Nina Simone

Nina Simone

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Nina Simone, Tom Petty Recordings Among 2019 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductions

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Aerosmith, Miles Davis, Fats Domino, Ella Fitzgerald, Dolly Parton, Frank Sinatra, and more also included in the 25 recordings in this year's Hall Of Fame class
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 24, 2019 - 7:30 am

The Recording Academy has announced the inductees for the 2019 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. The list of 25 recordings includes works by Aerosmith, Miles Davis, Fats Domino, Ella Fitzgerald, Dolly Parton, Tom Petty, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, and more.

This year's class represents a diverse range of both singles and album recordings at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. From Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" to Davis' 'Round About Midnight. The highly reputed list also features Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Song Book, Brenda Lee's "Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree," Parton's "Coat Of Many Colors," Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted And Black," Petty's Full Moon Fever, The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," and Domino's "I’m Walkin’."

Other inductees include recordings by Leonard Bernstein, Jackson Browne, Leonard Cohen, El Jarocho, W.C. Handy, Miriam Makeba, Curtis Mayfield, Edward Meeker With The Edison Orchestra, Charlie Parker’s Ri Bop Boys, Jaco Pastorius, Jeannie C. Riley, Sonny Rollins Quartet Featuring John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Troggs, Sarah Vaughan, and Link Wray & His Ray Men.

"The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame is proud to be a pillar of musical excellence and diversity year after year, honoring some of the most iconic recordings of all time," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "We are proud to acknowledge the ever-changing landscape and evolution of musical expression for which the Academy has become known. We’re honored to add these masterpieces to our growing catalog and are delighted to celebrate the impact they’ve had on our musical, social, and cultural history."

Each year recordings are reviewed by a special member committee comprised of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts, with final approval by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. With 25 new titles, the Hall, now in its 46th year, currently totals 1,088 recordings and is on display at GRAMMY Museum L.A. LIVE.

For more music history in the making, be sure to watch the 61st GRAMMY Awards, which will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.

Dolly Parton Primer: 10 Must-Hear Songs By The Queen Of Country

Lonely Island

Lonely Island

Photo: Adela Loconte/WireImage

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Lonely Island Plot First-Ever U.S. Tour To Follow Bonnoroo Appearance

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The comedic pop trio plan to hit the road, tongues planted firmly in cheek, for eight dates across the U.S. In June
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Feb 20, 2019 - 11:52 am

GRAMMY-nominated pop comedy outfit Lonely Island have announced their first-ever tour. The trek will take them through eight U.S. cities, starting with an appearance at Bonnoroo in Manchester, Tenn.on June 15 and hitting Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Detroit and more before wrapping in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 29.

The trio, made up of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, have been releasing hilarious original music since their 2009 debut album, Incredibad. They earned their first nomination at the 52nd GRAMMY Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "I'm On A Boat." Two years later, their sophomore album Turtleneck & Chain was nominated for Best Comedy Album. Their latest album, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping , served as the soundtrack to their pop-music mockumentary of the same name.

The tour announcement comes on the heels of the band's newly revealed plans to produce a film spoofing the Fyre Fest fiasco with actor Seth Rogen. 

For a full list of dates and ticket information, visit the band's website. 

Dave Chappelle Wins Best Comedy Album | 61st GRAMMY Awards

Dina LaPolt

Dina LaPolt

Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images

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Music Lawyer Dina LaPolt Inspires Women To "Never Second-Guess Yourself Or Question Your Instincts"

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LaPolt was honored at this year's Entertainment Law Initiative event featuring appearances by former Michelle Obama chief of staff Tina Tchen and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Feb 19, 2019 - 1:20 pm

GRAMMY Week serves as a rally for the music community far beyond the festivities of Music's Biggest Night. One of the longest standing and most impactful industry get-togethers held just two days before the 61st GRAMMY Awards was the Entertainment Law Initiative event and scholarship presentation, now in its 21st year.

2019 Entertainment Law Initiative Event Highlights

As the nation's preeminent gathering for entertainment attorneys and the music business community, the event provided a forum for the industry to honor its legal practitioners, hear from thought leaders, and support promising law students interested in entertainment law.

This year's event honored celebrated music lawyer Dina LaPolt with the Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award for her commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service. LaPolt was recently named to the Billboard Power 100 and played an instrumental role in the passage of the Music Modernization Act, which she called, "The first meaningful copyright legislation in this country in 20 years."

Taking the stage to accept the honor, LaPolt seized the opportunity to impart some inspiring advice.

"As a woman in this business, I want to encourage all women in this room to never second-guess yourself or question your instincts," LaPolt said to a room full of legal professionals, students and industry professionals. "If the strategy feels wrong, it most likely is wrong, so speak up. Do not be intimidated because you're a junior lawyer at the company or because you're not a partner at the law firm."

The event also featured a keynote address by former Michelle Obama chief of staff Tina Tchen, who heads the Recording Academy Task Force On Diversity And Inclusion. Tchen offered her insight on why LaPolt's career—and the Service Award she received—are invaluable to the plight of women in the music industry.

"One of the keys to diversity and inclusion is: you can't be what you can't see," said Tchen. "And our young people cannot be the great women lawyers that Dina is if they can't see that, if they can't see her great work, if they can't see what she's been able to do, so congratulations to ELI for recognizing that and making that known to everybody."

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, was also in attendance to celebrate LaPolt's contributions to the music community. She named him as a great friend a great partner in recovery and her spirit animal.

LaPolt's success in the music industry is no surprise when you hear the dedication in her voice, and the message of her acceptance speech served as a call to action for anyone seeking success.

"People respect those who have a point of view and are confident in themselves," LaPolt said. "So jump in."

Recording Academy Names Diversity And Inclusion Task Force Members

Mastodon GRAMMYs

Mastodon

Photo: Slaven Vlasic/FilmMagic/Getty Images

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Mastodon, Coheed And Cambria Announce Joint Summer U.S. Tour

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Mastodon will celebrate the 10th anniversary of 'Crack The Skye' by performing the album in its entirety each night while Coheed's set will pull heavily from 2018's 'The Unheavenly Creatures'e
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Feb 13, 2019 - 11:20 am

Mastodon and Coheed And Cambria have annuonced a joint tour, delivering a rock double-header to fans all over the U.S. this summer. The five-week trek, which will also feature hardcore veterans Everytime I Die in the support slot, kicks off May 28 in Louisville, Ky., and wraps July 3 in Irving, Texas.

Aptly titled, The Unheavenly Skye Tour pulls its title partially from the title Coheed's latest album, The Unheavenly Creatures, released just last year. The band is expected to pull heavily from its tracklist for this run of shows.

The other part of the tour name references Mastodon's fourth album, Crack The Skye, which celebrates its 10th anniversary on March 24. To celebrate, the band will perform the album in its entirety on the tour. Neurosis' Scott Kelly, who appears on the album's title track as a guest vocalist, has been known to join the band on stage and recently performed six blistering songs with Mastodon, including "Crack The Skye," at a dive bar in London for Kerrang!

After four nominations, Mastodon earned their first GRAMMY win at the 60th GRAMMY Awards for Best Metal Performance for "Sultan's Curse."

Tickets for the tour are available via Ticketmaster.

High On Fire Wins Best Metal Performance For "Electric Messiah" | 2019 GRAMMY Awards

Dan + Shay listen to a GRAMMY

Dan + Shay

Photo: Jerod Harris/Getty Images

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Who Had The Most-Shazamed Performance Of The 2019 GRAMMYs?

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Find out which 2019 GRAMMY artist's performance prompted the most people to discover a new favorite on the media-identifying app
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Feb 12, 2019 - 5:56 pm

The GRAMMY Awards have become known for today's biggest artists delivering electrifying performances. But what do you do if you're not familiar with the song being played or the artist performing? Insert Shazam, an app that (for those of you not yet in the know) analyzes music and tells users what song and artist they're hearing. On Music's Biggest Night, fans from all over reached for their phones to identify the show's performers, and now the results are in on which artists prompted the most Shazams.

Country breakout duo Dan + Shay not only took home the GRAMMY for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Tequila," they also conquered the top spot on the list with the most Shazams of the night, according to a statement from Shazam. Their performance of "Tequila" no doubt led to a fair few new fans who needed to know more about who these GRAMMY newcomers.

Dan + Shay "Tequila": GRAMMY Performance

The silver medal went to host Alicia Keys, whose journey through songs she wish she wrote strolled through hits by everyone from Roberta Flack and Nat King Cole to Kings Of Leon and Drake, before finishing with her hit Jay-Z collab "Empire State Of Mind." The dual piano live playlist garnered the second most Shazams of the night as fans tried to keep up with her magical medley.

H.E.R. "Hard Place": GRAMMY Performance

R&B darling H.E.R. took the bronze on Shazam's list with her captivating performance of "Hard Place." St. Vincent & Dua Lipa's intimate duet of "One Kiss" and Brandi Carlile's soaring performance of "The Joke" rounded out the top five Shazamed moments on the show.

St.Vincent & Dua Lipa: GRAMMY Performance

Janelle Monáe's "Make Me Feel" and Kacey Musgraves' "Rainbow" took the sixth and seventh spots on the list, while eight and nine belonged to Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dark Necessities" and Travis Scott's "NO BYSTANDARDS." This swath of styles shows that fans of all genres use Shazam.

At No. 10 on the list was Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus and Maren Morris' rendition of Neil Young's After The Gold Rush," a revamp of the song Parton previously tackled with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris on their collaborative album Trio II. When you consider how much music history—and future—are rolled into a performance like that, it's no wonder viewer's wanted to know more.

Dolly Parton Medley: GRAMMY Performance

With so many ways of measure an artists' success, from the streaming charts to ticket sales, Shazam data provides a unique look at music discovery, which for many fans is the most fun part.

2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees And Winners List