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Who were the biggest GRAMMY winners of the 50s and 60s?

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Ella Fitzgerald, Henry Mancini, Roger Miller, and Frank Sinatra are among the artists who won the most GRAMMY Awards in the '50s and '60s
Paul Grein
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
GRAMMY.com

Who are the biggest GRAMMY winners for each decade from the 1950s to the 2010s? In our ongoing Music's Biggest Winners series, we'll take a look at the four artists (more in the case of ties) who received the most awards in each decade. You'll learn a little bit about the artists, their GRAMMY wins during the decade and other notable Recording Academy honors. Let's fire up the GRAMMY time machine and go back to the '50s and the '60s.

'50s

(Editor's note: The GRAMMY Awards originated in 1958, so this decade encompasses just two years of awards.)

Ella Fitzgerald, 4
The jazz legend won two GRAMMYs in 1958 and two more in 1959. In 1958 Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Song Book was voted Best Vocal Performance, Female, while Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book won for Best Jazz Performance, Individual. Fitzgerald won the same two awards the following year for, respectively, her version of George and Ira Gershwin's "But Not For Me" and her album Ella Swings Lightly. Fitzgerald received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1967. She died in 1996.

Duke Ellington, 3
Ellington's score for the Otto Preminger film Anatomy Of A Murder brought the jazz legend three GRAMMYs in 1959: Best Performance By A Dance Band, Best Sound Track Album — Background Score From A Motion Picture Or Television and Best Musical Composition First Recorded And Released In 1959 (More Than 5 Minutes Duration). Ellington received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1966. He died in 1974.

André Previn, 3
Previn won a GRAMMY in 1958 for Gigi, which was voted Best Sound Track Album, Dramatic Picture Score Or Original Cast. He won two more in 1959. Porgy And Bess won for Best Sound Track Album, Original Cast — Motion Picture Or Television. "Like Young," a collaboration with David Rose, took Best Performance By An Orchestra. (The billing on the single was rather florid: "The Piano Magic Of André Previn Combined With The Lush Strings of David Rose.") The German-born musician received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Frank Sinatra, 3
The legendary singer actually won his first GRAMMY in 1958 as an art director. His cover design for Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely was voted Best Album Cover. Come Dance With Me! won two awards in 1959: Album Of The Year and Best Vocal Performance, Male. Sinatra received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1965, a Trustees Award in 1979 and a GRAMMY Legend Award in 1994. He died in 1998.

'60s

Henry Mancini, 16
Mancini's mark of 16 GRAMMYs in a decade stood unequalled for four decades, until two female artists tied it in the 2000s. (Mancini continues to hold the record for most GRAMMYs won in a decade by a male artist.) Mancini won a then-record five awards in 1961 for his music from the Blake Edwards movie Breakfast At Tiffany's, including the instant standard "Moon River." His biggest successes were "Moon River" and "Days Of Wine And Roses," both of which were double winners for Record and Song Of The Year. Mancini won six of these 16 awards as an artist, six as an arranger and four as a composer. Mancini died in 1994. He was awarded a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995.

Roger Miller, 11
Miller received five GRAMMYs in 1964 and six in 1965. (The latter total broke Mancini's record of five GRAMMYs in one night.) Miller was the first artist in GRAMMY history to win five or more awards in one night more than once. He received nine of these 11 awards as an artist and two as a songwriter (for writing "Dang Me" and "King Of The Road"). The latter song won awards in both the Country & Western and Contemporary (R&R) Fields (as they were then called). Miller died in 1992.

Ray Charles, 9
Charles won four GRAMMYs in 1960, the most he ever amassed in one year during his lifetime. (He won five awards posthumously in 2004.) Of the nine GRAMMYs that Charles won in the '60s, six were for Rhythm & Blues, one for Pop and two for Best Vocal Performance, Male, with no genre specified. "Georgia On My Mind" and "Crying Time" both won two awards. Charles received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. He died in 2004.

Vladimir Horowitz, 8
Horowitz won Album Of The Year — Classical twice in the 1960s, for Columbia Records Presents Vladimir Horowitz in 1962 and Horowitz At Carnegie Hall — An Historic Return in 1965. The Ukrainian-born pianist died in 1989. He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1990.

The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held Jan. 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). For updates and breaking news, visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook. 

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

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GRAMMY Rewind: What happened at the 1st GRAMMY Awards?

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Henry Mancini wins Album Of The Year and Domenico Modugno takes home Record and Song Of The Year against these nominees
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
GRAMMY.com

(For a complete list of 54th GRAMMY Awards nominees, please click here.)

Music's Biggest Night, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

In the weeks leading up to the telecast, we will take a stroll down music memory lane with GRAMMY Rewind, highlighting the "big four" categories — Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist — from past awards shows. In the process, we'll examine the winners and the nominees who just missed taking home a GRAMMY, while also shining a light on the artists' careers and the eras in which the recordings were born.

Join us as we take an abbreviated journey through the trajectory of pop music from the 1st Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1959 to last year's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.


1st Annual GRAMMY Awards
May 4, 1959

Album Of The Year
Winner: Henry Mancini, The Music From Peter Gunn
Van Cliburn, Tchaikovksy: Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 23
Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook
Frank Sinatra, Come Fly With Me
Frank Sinatra, Only The Lonely

At the first-ever annual GRAMMY Awards ceremony — so early in the GRAMMY game that the presentation didn't even air on TV — the great composer Henry Mancini began a string of 20 GRAMMY wins by taking the first Album Of The Year award. The Music From Peter Gunn began to show the real promise of both Mancini — who would become arguably the top film composer of his era — and his collaborations with writer/director Blake Edwards. The two would go on to create film and music magic with the Pink Panther series. The Peter Gunn title track became the first hit TV theme.

Among the competition, Sinatra had the rare feat of landing both of his 1958 albums in the running, likely cancelling out his chances for a win. Come Fly With Me was a jaunty upbeat album that was Sinatra's first with arranger Billy May. Only The Lonely was a concept song cycle arranged by Nelson Riddle. Both hold up as peaks in Sinatra's career. Ella Fitzgerald made the cut with one of her several songbook albums, this one dedicated to the legendary Irving Berlin. Finally, pianist Van Cliburn was coming off his historic April 1958 win at the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, hailed as a cultural warm breeze in the bleak years of the Cold War.


Record Of The Year
Winner: Domenico Modugno, "Nel Blu Dipinto Blu (Volare)"
Perry Como, "Catch A Falling Star"
Peggy Lee, "Fever"
David Seville And The Chipmunks, "The Chipmunk Song"
Frank Sinatra, "Witchcraft"

The first Record Of The Year winner was also the only foreign language release to win the award to date. Domenico Modugno became one of the first Italian international pop music stars, and rode the song that became popularly known as "Volare" to worldwide fame, even if he never quite achieved that level of success again. Sinatra also gained a nomination here with the irrepressible "Witchcraft," which appeared on neither of his nominated albums, giving a sense of the hot streak the Chairman was on. Lee made the group with the saucy "Fever," which would become her highest charting hit of the rock era. Como crooned his way onto the list with "Catch A Falling Star," one of three Top 10 singles he scored that year ("Magic Moments" and "Kewpie Doll" were the others). Finally, the Chipmunks, resurrected through a successful big-screen film franchise in recent years, snuck in with the novelty "The Chipmunk Song," written and performed by Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian (whose stage name was David Seville), who also co-penned a signature hit for Rosemary Clooney with "Come On-A My House."


Song Of The Year
Winner: Domenico Modugno, "Nel Blu Dipinto Blu (Volare)"
Perry Como, "Catch A Falling Star"
Vic Damone, "Gigi"
Peggy Lee, "Fever"
Frank Sinatra, "Witchcraft"

No huge surprises here, with "Nel Blu Dipinto Blu (Volare)" (written by Franco Migliacci and Modugno), "Catch A Falling Star" (by Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, who also wrote the Cuff Links hit "Tracy," among others as a team), "Fever" (by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport), and "Witchcraft" (by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, who was one of the top female composers of the Great American Songbook era with titles such as "Young At Heart" and "The Best Is Yet To Come" to her credit) reprising their Record Of The Year nominations. Vic Damone's "Gigi" (by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe), from the Vincente Minnelli film of the same name, rounded out the nominees.


Best New Artist
There was no Best New Artist category in 1958. The first award was presented at the 2nd Annual GRAMMY Awards, won by Bobby Darin.


Come back to GRAMMY.com Jan. 6 as we revisit the 5th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Meanwhile, visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Facebook and Twitter for updates and breaking GRAMMY news.

GRAMMY Rewind: 1962

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A Jazzy Celebration

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The Academy honors Jazz Appreciation Month with a playlist based on music from April-born jazz musicians
Neil Tesser
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 am
GRAMMY.com

Celebrating its 11th anniversary in 2012, Jazz Appreciation Month is the brainchild of Dr. John Edward Hasse, renowned jazz author and curator of the Smithsonian Institution's division of culture and the arts. In describing the idea behind the April celebration, Hasse says, "It occurred to me that jazz's biggest challenge was not a lack of talented, but a lack of audience and appreciation."  

With the Smithsonian Institution's backing, and the support of governmental agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of State, Hasse launched the first JAM in April 2001. Today, JAM is supported by more than 20 federal and nongovernmental partners, including the GRAMMY Foundation, and extends across all 50 states and to 40 countries.

As an extension of the annual Jazz Appreciation Month, this year GRAMMY-winning artist Herbie Hancock announced the launch of International Jazz Day, which will be held each year on April 30. The aim is to bring people together from all over the world to celebrate and support understanding of the art of jazz, its roots and its impact, while highlighting its role as a means of communication. Festivities for the inaugural event begin tomorrow and will feature concerts in Paris, New Orelans and New York.

But even if you're not in Paris, New Orleans or New York, it's pretty easy to recognize Jazz Appreciation Month — you just have to listen to the music. And if you program an hour or so of GRAMMY-winning jazz, all the better. With that, we take this angle to its logical extreme and draw our random JAM playlist from a group of jazz artists born in April. After all, no one is appreciated more than on their birthday.

"Ritmo En El Corazon" (iTunes>)
Ray Barretto

Among the first congueros to play with a real jazz feel, the Nuyorican Barretto (April 29) was the main man for mainstream jazzers needing authentic Afro-Cuban percussion in the '50s and '60s. But he won his only GRAMMY in quite a different arena, joining with the great Cuban songstress Celia Cruz for the folkloric heat of Ritmo En El Corazon, which won the Best Tropical Latin Performance GRAMMY in 1989.

"Mongo's Blues" (iTunes>)
Michel Camilo

Sir Michel (April 4) — who has been knighted by his native Dominican Republic — made the first album under his own name in 1985. But even before he gained attention for his flashy and fiery piano work, listeners knew his tune "Why Not?" thanks to a hot recording with lyrics by the Manhattan Transfer. Camilo honored a true hero of Latin music, percussionist Mongo Santamaria, with this composition on Live At The Blue Note, which won the Best Latin Jazz Album GRAMMY in 2003.

"Libertad" (iTunes>)
Caribbean Jazz Project

The Gathering was the Caribbean Jazz Project's third album for the Concord Jazz label, and garnered them their lone GRAMMY win for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2002. Led by co-principal/flautist Dave Valentin (April 29) and GRAMMY-winning founder Dave Samuels, the album is both accessible and adventurous, evidenced by the romantic and musical themes of "Libertad."

"Anatomy Of A Murder" (iTunes>)
Duke Ellington

Often considered the greatest jazzman ever, and indisputably jazz's greatest composer, Ellington (April 29) won the first three of his 11 GRAMMYs for Anatomy Of A Murder in 1959, including Best Performance By A Dance Band. When film director Otto Preminger decided that his blockbuster adaptation of the best-selling novel needed an original jazz soundtrack, he went to the source. The resulting music remains a high-water mark of jazz in film.

"Cheek To Cheek" (iTunes>)
Ella Fitzgerald

The quintessential jazz singer, Fitzgerald (April 25) won 13 GRAMMYs during her career — including an impressive seven from 1958–1962. Her first two statues came in 1958, the GRAMMYs' inaugural year, for Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Song Book, which included a grand arrangement of "Cheek To Cheek," and Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book. Symbolic of her stylistic breadth, Fitzgerald took home one GRAMMY in pop and one in jazz. 

"A Change Is Gonna Come" (iTunes>)
Herbie Hancock 

Hancock (April 12) added GRAMMYs 13 and 14 to his résumé in 2010. He released his star-studded The Imagine Project that year, which spawned two GRAMMY wins for "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Imagine" for Best Improvised Jazz Solo and Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, respectively. The latter song features appearances by Jeff Beck, India.Arie, Pink, and Oumou Sangare, among others, and was Hancock's first GRAMMY win in the Pop Field. 

"Miles Ahead" (iTunes>)
Joe Henderson 

Tenor saxophonist Henderson (April 24) was an insider's favorite — a jazz musician's jazz musician. His indelible in-and-out phrasings finally resulted in four GRAMMYs in the '90s, thanks to a series of inspired theme albums for Verve Records — including 1993's So Near, So Far (Musings For Miles), his homage to the late Miles Davis. The album itself earned Henderson one GRAMMY; his lustrous solo in "Miles Ahead" earned him another for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

"God Bless The Child" (iTunes>)
Billie Holiday

Holiday (April 7) never won a GRAMMY. She died in 1959, barely two years after The Recording Academy was founded. But "Lady Day" has no less than six recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, including "God Bless The Child," which was inducted in 1976. Holiday wrote the lyrics for this 1941 recording, and they still resonate today as evidenced by George Benson, Al Jarreau and R&B vocalist Jill Scott's cover that won a GRAMMY in 2006.

"Moment To Moment" (iTunes>)
Freddie Hubbard

Hubbard (April 7) was brash, headstrong and exhilarating — a trumpet virtuoso in a lineage preceded by Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong. He also grabbed an early foothold on the fusion of rock and jazz that marked the Age of Aquarius, leaving his hard-bop roots in the dust to win his only GRAMMY in 1972 for Best Jazz Performance By A Group for First Light, which featured "Moment To Moment" and other bright new jazz sounds.

"Walk On The Water" (iTunes>)
Gerry Mulligan

Mulligan (April 6) first made his mark as one of Miles Davis' collaborators in the creation of cool jazz, and then as an innovative and virtuosic baritone saxophonist. But what won him his only GRAMMY for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band in 1981 were the lightly swinging arrangements written for Walk On The Water.

"I Feel Pretty" (iTunes>)
André Previn

Previn (April 6) is a quadruple threat — the pianist has won awards for classical, pop, jazz, and musical show recordings. He covered the latter two bases with his 1960 album of music from one of the all-time Broadway hits, "West Side Story," which won a GRAMMY for Best Jazz Performance Solo Or Small Group. Previn was honored with a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. 

"Jelly Belly"
Mongo Santamaria

Who is the only percussionist whose name serves as a punch line in a Mel Brooks movie?  That would be Santamaria (April 7), the Cuban-born master conguero/composer who was a forerunner in fusing Latin rhythms with soul jazz. This exemplar of jazz communication is taken from the GRAMMY-winning album Dawn, which marked the first GRAMMY nod for the then-new label Fania Records, soon to be a Latin music powerhouse. (The movie was Blazing Saddles.)  

Which jazz artists will you celebrate this month? Drop us a comment and share some of the artists who will make your playlist.

(Neil Tesser has broadcast, written about and helped program jazz in Chicago for more than 35 years. His work has appeared in Jazziz, USA Today, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, and now online at Examiner.com. Tesser received a GRAMMY nomination in 1985 for Best Album Notes for The Girl From Ipanema — The Bossa Nova Years.)

 

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 59th GRAMMY Awards
GRAMMYs
Jul 31, 2017 - 12:56 pm
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, 27

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. 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, 23

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 23 GRAMMY wins, Williams has earned 12 in the Music For Visual Media Field and six for his work on the Star Wars franchise, including his most recent at the 59th GRAMMYs for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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 62 GRAMMY nominations, more than any other female artist.

 

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.

 

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 New Age 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 Production, 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."

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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
Jun 21, 2017 - 12:57 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.