Fantastic Negrito 

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Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Fantastic Negrito

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The lively blues singer, who got his name thanks to the Mexican community he grew up around, shows the Recording Academy exactly where he keeps his two cherished golden gramophones
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 25, 2019 - 4:39 pm

Fantastic Negrito's road to GRAMMY gold began after rethinking some of the life choices he was making on the streets of Oakland, Calif.

"Kids my age, they were all selling drugs and a lot of people that I knew were getting killed in the streets and I just thought, man, there's gotta be a better way to make money," he told the Recording Academy. 

Fast forward to 2017, Negrito earned his first win for 2016's The Last Days Of Oakland in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. In 2019, Negrito scored his second award in the same category for 2018's Please Don't Be Dead. 

Where Fantastic Negrito Keeps His GRAMMY

The awards meant a lot to him: "It's inspiration and it is validation, especially for people that are outside of the box, 'cause I've been outside of the box my entire life," he said. "I've always felt like I was watching everybody else celebrate. It's been the story of my life and for the GRAMMYs to honor that is huge."

In the latest episode of Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY?, the lively blues singer, who got his name thanks to the Mexican community he grew up around, shows the Recording Academy exactly where he keeps his two cherished golden gramophones: his bank. While the physical awards may not be in his home, its the legacy they carry Negrito seems to be most grateful for.

"It's an incredible legacy and when I'm gone, they'll still say two-time GRAMMY winner," he said. 

Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee

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Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Brenda Lee

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The Lifetime Achievement Award winner shows the Recording Academy where she keeps her golden gramophone
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 18, 2019 - 3:57 pm

Brenda Lee keeps her golden gramophone where she can see it, but rest assured, "It's nothing to do with vanity," she told the Recording Academy in the latest edition of Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY?

The "I'm Sorry" singer, who became a big pop star in the '60s, has been nominated for a GRAMMY four times, but it was her Lifetime Achievement Award that came as a surprise to her. The award "was far beyond anything I'd ever hoped for," she said.

Where Brenda Lee Keeps Her GRAMMY

Lee also reminisces about the period of time when she, Peggy Lee, Elvis Presley and Diana Ross were all over the charts. Though longtime producer Owen Bradley and songwriter Ronnie Self contributed to her success, it was country star Red Foley who ultimately helped her get her start in the music industry. "I was just lucky to be a part of that era, I don't think they'll be another one like it," she said. "I truly don't, so I am so proud to be a part of that and to be recognized as a part of that."

Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Michael W. Smith

Photo: The Recording Academy

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Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Michael W. Smith

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The three-time GRAMMY-winning Christian artist welcomed the Recording Academy to his home in Franklin, Tenn., where he revealed where he showcases his golden gramophones
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 11, 2019 - 1:33 pm

In the latest installment of Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY, three-time GRAMMY-winning Christian artist Michael W. Smith welcomed the Recording Academy to his home in Franklin, Tenn., where he revealed where he keeps his golden gramophones. 

During our visit, the multi-platinum artist, who has been in the music industry for 37 years and has worked with the likes of GRAMMY winner Amy Grant, looked back on his road to GRAMMY gold.

Where Michael W. Smith Keeps His GRAMMY

“I wrote my first song when I was five," he told the Recording Academy. "It was pretty awful, but the fact that I created something that age, I remember my mom and dad were sort of blown away.”

But it wasn't until Smith was a teenager that he realized music was the career for him. “I remember waking up one day at 15 and going, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I’m supposed to do this for the rest of my life,'" he said.

Smith's first GRAMMY win came from his 1983 album Michael W. Smith Project, which he made for just $11,000. "I had a free studio, he said. "Blew my mind that it actually got nominated for a GRAMMY and the chances of winning are nil. The fact that I won was crazy.”

Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Dave Aude

Dave Audé 

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Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Dave Aude

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The two-time GRAMMY nominee, who won in 2015 for his remix of Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" feat. Bruno Mars, keeps his golden gramophone somewhere it can be admired
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 4, 2019 - 10:40 am

GRAMMY-winning DJ/producer Dave Audé has the answer for GRAMMY winners whose golden gramophones get a lot of unwanted attention: put it in a protective case. 

In the latest episode of Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY, the two-time GRAMMY nominee, who won in 2015 for his remix of Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" feat. Bruno Mars, talks how he likes to keep his golden gramophone somewhere it can be admired. 

Dave Audé On Where He Keeps His GRAMMY

"It's very professional looking and I thought it was also cool because then no one can touch it. 'Cause people like to hold your GRAMMY," he says about the case made by one of his closest friends as a gift. "Here's something that GRAMMY owners know: People like to come your house and they want to hold your GRAMMY and they want to touch it and they want to get finger prints on it."

Watch Audé go into more detail about where he keeps his GRAMMY above.

Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Jimi Westbrook Of Little Big Town

Jimi Westbrook 

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Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Jimi Westbrook Of Little Big Town

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The Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY series by the Recording Academy is back with Little Big Town's Jimi Westbrook
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Aug 28, 2019 - 5:59 pm

Little Big Town's Jimi Westbrook remembers the time he almost quit music. "Really I cut my teeth singing gospel music when I was a kid," he told the Recording Academy about growing up in a musical family. "I sang my first solo in church when I was 12 and that was it I was done." 

Here's Where Jimi Westbrook Keeps His GRAMMYs

That moment definitely was not the singer/songwriter's last with music. Years later Westbrook is a three-time GRAMMY winner, including for Best Country Duo/Group Performance during the 2010 GRAMMY Awards. In the first episode of the latest installment of Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY, Westbrook let's us in on the exact room his golden gramophones are dispalyed—slight spoiler: they're in the same house GRAMMY winner Tammy Wynette  used to live in. 

Despite his success in what can be a tough industry, Westbrook stays thankful to create. "Because of the journey we've been on, we're just always really grateful to be able to still be making music and to be inspired still," he said. 

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