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The Week In Music: GRAMMY Aftermath

Double-platinum follow-ups, Twitter hoaxes, eggs, and hooligans in wonderland lead the high-octane post-GRAMMY installment of The Week In Music

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

After winning big at Sunday's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, Lady Antebellum is already looking forward. The group's first thought after winning the coveted Record Of The Year? "We got a lot of work to do!" Charles Kelley told ABC News Radio. Lady A has already been hard at work on their follow-up to the double-platinum smash Need You Now, which also spawned wins for Song Of The Year, Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, Best Country Song, and Best Country Album. "We're about halfway done, and we feel really great about what we've done so far," Kelley said regarding the new album. "[The GRAMMYs] inspired us and did put a little extra pressure in a good way of like, 'OK, this is our moment to really take this thing and make a great record." Will the new album tell us what happens at half past 2 a.m.? Stay tuned. And until then, you can catch Lady A on the road in a town near you.

Blues legend Pinetop Perkins added another award to his mantle in picking up Best Traditional Blues Album honors with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith for Joined At The Hip. He also made a little history in the process. At 97 years old, Perkins, who won a GRAMMY in the same category in 2007 and received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, became the oldest person to ever win a GRAMMY, edging out comedian George Burns. How did Pinetop celebrate? By sleeping in. "He was very excited about winning. I think it all came crashing down. We had to tuck him in last night," said Patricia Morgan, Perkins' manager.

Though comedian Kathy Griffin didn't pick up the GRAMMY for Best Comedy Album this past Sunday, she already has her sights set somewhere else: Broadway. "While I have been asked to understudy for 'Spider-Man' and take over for Al [Pacino] when he has finished his run in 'The Merchant Of Venice,' instead I have decided to take my very own show to Broadway," joked Griffin. "Kathy Griffin Wants A Tony" is scheduled to run at the Belasco Theater in New York in March and will feature "fresh material due to the revolving door of pop culture, political and celebrity missteps." Griffin, who is a two-time Emmy winner, has received two prior GRAMMY nominations for Best Comedy Album. Those looking to get a pre-Broadway Griffin fix can watch her on the "f***ing high-octane" GRAMMY Pre-Telecast Ceremony, where she presented 13 awards and plenty of fresh material to boot.

Fresh off a trance-inducing performance and three GRAMMY wins, Lady Gaga is taking her monster act to HBO. The cable network announced that two of Gaga's upcoming concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden will be taped for a concert special to air May 7. Will the GRAMMY red-carpet egg make an appearance? HBO says the Lady will showcase some brand-new moves for the special, maybe she'll perform rolled in an omelet. In related Gaga news, her new single "Born This Way" cracked the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the 1000th No. 1 single in the chart's 52-year history. Now that's not something to yolk about.

Justin Bieber may have just missed taking home GRAMMY gold for Best New Artist, but the enthusiasm and dedication of his fans is still unfailing. Following Sunday's GRAMMY telecast, which saw the coveted trophy go to jazz artist Esperanza Spalding, Bieber fans came out in droves to express their disappointment, namely via such sites as Wikipedia and YouTube. One group of individuals, no doubt conflicted with a severe case of Bieber Fever, took to Spalding's Wikipedia page to make a few alterations, changing her middle name to "Justin," then to "Quesedilla," and adding lines such as, "She now has the 2011 GRAMMY for being the Best New Artist! Even though no one has ever heard of her! Yay!" What does the Bieb think? Appearing on "Chelsea Lately" on Monday, the young gun admitted he's disappointed over his loss, but really excited for Spalding. "She's worked hard," said Bieber. Bieber also had a few thoughts on his fellow GRAMMY performers' red-carpet attire, namely Lady Gaga. "People say it's artistic and stuff," said Bieber. "I'm just like, 'You're an egg.'"

Following his spirited GRAMMY performance in an In Memoriam tribute to the late Solomon Burke, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger became the latest victim of a Twitter hoax. On Wednesday "RIP Mick Jagger" became a top trending topic, which was started following a tweet by radio DJ Peter Rosenberg: "wait i thought this was for actual dead people...not the living dead RIP Mick Jagger ..." Jagger joins the illustrious company of Bieber, Aretha Franklin and Charlie Sheen, who have also been subjected to similar Twitter tomfoolery. Thankfully, judging by his energy and the speed at which he whipped off his cloak this past Sunday, Mick is very much alive.

Know any hooligans looking to visit wondaland? We thought so. GRAMMY winner Bruno Mars and GRAMMY nominee Janelle Monáe are teaming for a U.S. run this summer, dubbed the Hooligans In Wondaland tour. Judging by their memorable performance this past Sunday, in which Mars led a retro remix of "Grenade" and Monáe crowd-surfed through her "Cold War," there will be plenty of doo-wop, soul and R&B to go around. Before the duo kicks off the Mars/ Monáe madness, each artist will stage their own respective European tours in the coming weeks, with Monáe starting in Brussels Feb. 20 and Mars beginning in Berlin on Mar. 3.

The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary down on the farm in style June 9–12 in Manchester, Tenn. The bill will feature approximately 50 acts, including a reunited Buffalo Springfield featuring Neil Young, who won the second GRAMMY of his career for Best Rock Song for "Angry World" this past Sunday. Fellow 53rd GRAMMY winners Arcade Fire, Ryan Bingham (this time paired with his band the Dead Horses), the Black Keys, Eminem, and Mavis Staples are also scheduled to perform. The bill will also feature past GRAMMY winners Big Boi, Alison Krauss & Union Station and Loretta Lynn.

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and iTunes singles chart.

Any news we've missed? Comment below.

For the latest GRAMMY news, visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Need more GRAMMY content? View photos, videos, blogs, and news from GRAMMY Week.

Two Weeks Ago In Music
 

Neil Young performing in 2023
Neil Young performing in 2023

Photo: Gary Miller/Getty Images

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Inside Neil Young & Crazy Horse's 'F##IN' UP': Where All 9 Songs Came From

Two-time GRAMMY winner and 28-time nominee Neil Young is back with 'F##IN' UP,' another album of re-recorded oldies, this time with Crazy Horse. But if that sounds like old hat, this is Young — and the script is flipped yet again.

GRAMMYs/Apr 25, 2024 - 09:33 pm

Neil Young has never stopped writing songs, but for almost a decade, he's been stringing together old songs like paper lanterns, and observing how their hues harmonize.

2016's Earth, where live performances of ecologically themed songs were interspersed with animal and nature sounds, was certainly one of his most bizarre. 2018's Paradox, a soundtrack to said experimental film with wife/collaborator Darryl Hannah, took a similarly off-kilter tack.

He's played it straight for others. Homegrown and Chrome Dreams were recorded in the ‘70s, then shelved, and stripped for parts. Both were finally released in their original forms over the past few years; while most of the songs were familiar, it was fascinating envisioning an alternate Neil timeline where they were properly released.

Last year's Before and After — likely recorded live on a recent West Coast solo tour — was less a collection of oldies than a spyglass into his consciousness: this is how Young thinks of these decades-old songs at 78.

Now, we have F##IN' UP, recorded at a secret show in Toronto with the current version of Crazy Horse. (That's decades-long auxiliary Horseman Nils Lofgren, or recent one Micah Nelson on second guitar, with bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina from the original lineup.)

Every song's been christened an informal new title, drawn from the lyrics; the effect is of turning over a mossy rock to reveal its smooth, untouched inverse.

It's named after a fan favorite from 1990's Ragged Glory; in fact, all of its songs stem from that back-to-the-garage reset album. Of course, that's how they relate; they're drawn from a single source. But Young being Young, it's not that simple: some of these nine songs have had a long, strange journey to F##IN' UP.

Before you see Neil and the Horse on tour across the U.S., here's the breakdown.

"City Life" ("Country Home")

The Horse bolts out of the gate with "Country Home," from Ragged Glory; in 2002's Shakey, Young biographer Jimmy McDonough characterized it as "a tribute to the [Broken Arrow] ranch that is surely one of Young's most euphoric songs."

As McDonough points out, it dates back to the '70s, around the Zuma period. With spring sprung, another go-round of this wooly, bucolic rocker feels right on time.

"Feels Like a Railroad (River Of Pride)" ("White Line")

Like "Country Home," "White Line" also dates back to the mid-'70s — but we've gotten to hear the original version, as released on 2020's (via-1974-and-'75) Homegrown.

The original was an aching acoustic duet with the Band's Robbie Robertson; when the Horse kicks it in the ass, it's just as powerful. (As for Homegrown, it was shelved in favor of the funereal classic Tonight's the Night.)

"Heart Of Steel" ("F##in' Up")

As with almost every Horse jam out there, the title track to F##IN' UP defies analysis. Think of a reverse car wash: the uglier and grungier the Horse renders this song, the more beautiful it is.

"Broken Circle" ("Over and Over")

Title-wise, it’s excusable if you mix this one up with "Round and Round," a round-robin deep cut from the first Neil and the Horse album, 1969's Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. Rather, this is yet another sturdy, loping rocker from Ragged Glory.

"Valley of Hearts" ("Love to Burn")

As McDonough points out in Shakey, "Love to Burn" has an acrid, accusatory edge that might slot it next to "Stupid Girl" in the pantheon of Neil's Mad At An Ex jams: "Where you takin' my kid / Why'd you ruin my life?"

But the chorus salves the burn: "You better take your chance on love / You got to let your guard down."

"She Moves Me" ("Farmer John")

The only non-Young original on F##IN' UP speaks to his lifelong inspiration from Black R&B music — a flavor OG guitarist Danny Whitten brought to the Horse, and has persisted in their sound decades after his tragic death.

Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Dewey Terry wrote "Farmer John" for their duo Don and Dewey; it dates back to Young's pre-Buffalo Springfield surf-band the Squires.

"Not much of a tune, but we made it happen," Bill Edmundson, who drummed with the band for a time, said in Shakey. "We kept that song goin' for 10 minutes. People just never wanted it to end." Sound familiar?

"Walkin' in My Place (Road of Tears)" ("Mansion on the Hill")

"Mansion on the Hill" was one of two singles from Ragged Glory; "Over and Over" was the other.

While it's mostly just another Ragged Glory rocker with tossed-off, goofy lyrics, Young clearly felt something potent stirring within its DNA; back in the early '90s, he stripped it down for acoustic guitar on the Harvest Moon tour.

"To Follow One's Own Dream" ("Days That Used To Be")

Briefly called "Letter to Bob," "Days That Used to Be" is Dylanesque in every way — from its circular, folkloric melody to its shimmering, multidimensional lyrics.

"But possessions and concession are not often what they seem/ They drag you down and load you down in disguise of security" could be yanked straight from Blonde on Blonde.

For more of Young's thoughts on Bob Dylan, consult "Twisted Road," from his 2012 masterpiece with the Horse, Psychedelic Pill. "Poetry rolling off his tongue/ Like Hank Williams chewing bubble gum," he sings, sounding like a still-awestruck fan rather than a peer.

"A Chance On Love" ("Love and Only Love")

Possibly the most resonant song on Ragged Glory — and, by extension, F##IN' UP — "Love and Only Love" is like the final boss of the album, where Young battles hate and division with Old Black as his battleaxe.

(Also see: Psychedelic Pill's "Walk Like a Giant," where Young violently squares up with the '60s dream.)

The 15-minute workout (which feels like Ramones brevity in Horse Time) It's a fitting end to F##IN' UP. There will be more Young soon. A lot more, his team promises. But although his output is a firehose, take it under advisement to savor every last drop.

Inside Neil Young's Before and After: Where All 13 Songs Came From

Rico Wade
Rico Wade at The Dungeon II Studios in Atlanta, Georgia in 2002.

Photo: Julia Beverly/Getty Images

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Remembering Producer Rico Wade, Helped Define The Sound Of Southern Hip-Hop

Rico Wade, legendary producer and one-third of Organized Noize, who helped forge the sound of Atlanta hip-hop and propelled artists like OutKast, Ludacris, and TLC to fame, has died at 52.

GRAMMYs/Apr 17, 2024 - 08:08 pm

Hip-hop has lost another legend. Rico Wade, an integral part of the bedrock of Southern hip-hop, the godfather of modern Atlanta rap, and one-third of the production crew Organized Noize with Patrick "Sleepy" Brown and Ray Murray, has died. He was 52. 

Wade was a force that helped launch the careers of OutKast, Goodie Mob, Ludacris, and Future, and produced and co-wrote hits for artists including TLC's "Waterfalls," as part of a mid-'90s Southern hip-hop renaissance. The epicenter of this revolution was the Dungeon, his mother's basement in East Point, Georgia. The location built a reputation as a haven for Dungeon Family artists like André "André 3000" Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton among a generation of ATL creatives formulating their own flavor of Southern rap. 

"We're deeply saddened by the passing of Rico Wade, one of Atlanta’s most prolific music producers," said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. "Rico's influential contributions to the Atlanta music scene beginning in the 1990s helped foster the rise of some of hip-hop’s most prominent artists and played a pivotal role in shaping the genre as we know it today. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and all those whose lives he influenced.” 

Wade was nominated for two GRAMMYs during his lifetime including Record Of The Year for TLC's "Waterfalls" and Album Of The Year for OutKast's Stankonia. 

“Rico left an indelible mark on music and culture around the world and for that, the South will always have something to say,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens in an issued statement echoing the famous battle cry of André 3000's 1995 Source Awards Best New Artist acceptance speech

It's been more than 30 years since OutKast dropped their first-ever single "Player's Ball" in 1993 and on that track Wade's voice is the first. He sets the tone for the legendary duo's entire career and Southern hip-hop at the same time with the introduction: "Man, the scene was so thick/ Lowriders, '77 Sevilles, El Dogs/ Nothin' but them 'Lacs/ All the players, all the hustlers/ I'm talkin' 'bout a Black man heaven here/ You know what I'm sayin'?"

"Rico Wade brought us to his house studio, where I heard the most interesting music production I'd ever heard from Atlanta," André 3000 told the Recording Academy in a 2019 interview reflecting on his experience working on OutKast's debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. "It was Rico, Ray, and Sleepy's vision to make sure [OutKast would put] Southern lifestyle first. I was just playing my part the best I could."

Outkast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik would go on to sell 500,000 records and became certified platinum within a year. "When we were working on the OutKast vibe, even though there were two members in the group, we all considered ourselves OutKast at the time — including all of Organized Noize and the Goodie Mob members who appeared on the album," Murray told the Recording Academy in 2019. 

Read more: OutKast Examine Their Southern Experience On 'Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik'

Organized Noize signed a publishing deal with L.A. Reid and Babyface's label LaFace Records in 1993, setting the foundation for their work on OutKast's seminal "Player's Ball" single. It was a lasting connection that would serve the rest of Wade's career.  

Wade would continue to work with Reid during Reid's tenure as chairman and CEO of Epic Records from 2013 to 2017, building a hub for hip-hop artists at the label including Wade's cousin, Atlanta rapper Future. Future would become the first artist ever on the Billboard charts to debut back-to-back albums at No. 1 with his 2017 release HNDRXX. In March, Future and Metro Boomin jointly released another No.1 album, We Don’t Trust You

Wade nurtured Future's talents through his Dungeon connects. The two didn't meet until Future was well into his teens, but once they did Wade quickly put his cousin's clear drive and talent to use, introducing him to the Dungeon Family and bringing him into the studio to work on in-house production projects including Ludacris' "Blueberry Yum Yum" (Red Light District), which earned Future a songwriting credit in 2004.

“That's how he ended up writing the record for Ludacris, becoming part of a group that could make music, and getting a record deal,” Wade told Complex in 2013. “It showed him that the music industry money is real."

Inspired by his cousin, Future studied the industry through the in-roads made by Wade. “I took everything I learned from him and applied it to my everyday craft from being in the studio,” Future told Complex. "Just knowing how to feel records so I know how to make songs and write for people to keep around and go to the next level.” His devotion to Wade's tutelage and legacy is apparent in the Olde English script tattooed across his arms that matches Wade's own markings — "DUNGEON" appears on the right and "FAMILY" on the left. 

Killer Mike, a constant collaborator who worked with Wade on his latest album Michael which swept the 2024 GRAMMYs rap categories with three wins for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance, announced Wade's passing in an Instagram post on Sunday. "I don't have the words to express my deep and profound sense of loss. I am Praying for your wife and Children. I am praying for the Wade family. I am praying for us all," Killer Mike wrote. "I deeply appreciate your acceptance into The Dungeon Family, mentorship, Friendship and Brotherhood. Idk where I would be without ya'll." 

How 1994 Changed The Game For Hip-Hop

Composite graphic with the logo for GRAMMY Go on the left with four photos in a grid on the right, featuring (clockwise from the top-left) CIRKUT, Victoria Monét, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., and Janelle Monáe
Clockwise from the top-left: CIRKUT, Victoria Monét, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., and Janelle Monáe

Graphic & Photos Courtesy of GRAMMY GO

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Recording Academy & Coursera Partner To Launch GRAMMY GO Online Learning Initiative

Class is in session. As part of the Recording Academy's ongoing mission to empower music's next generation, GRAMMY Go offers digital content in specializations geared to help music industry professionals grow at every stage of their career.

GRAMMYs/Apr 17, 2024 - 05:01 pm

The Recording Academy has partnered with leading online learning platform Coursera on GRAMMY GO, a new online initiative to offer classes tailored for music creators and industry professionals.

This partnership empowers the next generation of the music community with practical, up-to-the moment digital content that provides wisdom for both emerging and established members of the industry. Continuing the Academy’s ongoing mission to serve all music people, courses cover a variety of specializations tailored to creative and professional growth. 

GRAMMY GO on Coursera includes courses taught by Recording Academy members, featuring GRAMMY winners and nominees and offers real-life lessons learners can put to work right away.

Starting today, enrollment is open for GRAMMY GO’s first Coursera specialization, "Building Your Audience for Music Professionals," taught by Joey Harris, international music/marketing executive and CEO of Joey Harris Inc. The course features Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and five-time GRAMMY winner Jimmy Jam, 10-time GRAMMY nominee Janelle Monáe and three-time GRAMMY winner and the 2024 GRAMMYs Best New Artist Victoria Monét. This foundational specialization will help participants gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to build a strong brand presence and cultivate a devoted audience within the ever-changing music industry. 

The partnership’s second course, launching later this summer, aims to strengthen the technological and audio skills of a music producer. "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song" will be taught by Carolyn Malachi, Howard University professor and GRAMMY nominee, and will include appearances by GRAMMY winner CIRKUT, three-time GRAMMY winner Hit-Boy, artist and celebrity vocal coach Stevie Mackey, five-time GRAMMY nominee and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., and 15-time GRAMMY winner Judith Sherman. Pre-enrollment for "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song" opens today.

"Whether it be through a GRAMMY Museum program, GRAMMY Camp or GRAMMY U, the GRAMMY organization is committed to helping music creators flourish, and the Recording Academy is proud to introduce our newest learning platform, GRAMMY GO, in partnership with Coursera," said Panos A. Panay, President of the Recording Academy. "A creator’s growth path is ongoing and these courses have been crafted to provide learners with the essential tools to grow in their professional and creative journeys."

"We are honored to welcome GRAMMY GO, our first entertainment partner, to the Coursera community," said Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer at Coursera. "With these self-paced online specializations, aspiring music professionals all over the world have an incredible opportunity to learn directly from iconic artists and industry experts. Together with GRAMMY GO, we can empower tomorrow's pioneers of the music industry to explore their passion today."

GRAMMY GO also serves as the music community’s newest digital hub for career pathways and editorial content that provides industry insights for members of the industry; visit go.grammy.com for more. For information and enrollment, please visit the landing pages for "Building Your Audience for Music Professionals" and "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song."

Meet 5 GRAMMY Nominees Who Started At GRAMMY U: From Boygenius Engineer Sarah Tudzin To Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying

Dylan Chambers
Dylan Chambers

Photo: Courtesy of Dylan Chambers

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ReImagined: Watch Dylan Chambers Channel Bruno Mars In This Groovy Cover Of "Uptown Funk"

Pop-soul newcomer Dylan Chambers offers his rendition of "Uptown Funk," Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' infectious 2014 hit.

GRAMMYs/Apr 16, 2024 - 05:03 pm

In the latest episode of ReImagined, soul-pop newcomer Dylan Chambers delivers a fresh, heartfelt take on "Uptown Funk", using an electric guitar to drive the performance.

In the year of its inception, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk" quickly made strides across the map, from a No. 1 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 to a Record Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance win at the 2014 GRAMMYs. Ten years after its release, it is the ninth most-viewed YouTube video of all-time and was named one of Billboard's "Songs That Defined The Decade."

Chambers named Mars as one of his most influential inspirations and praised Silk Sonic's Las Vegas residency as one of the "greatest concerts" he has attended in an interview with Muzic Notez.

"Don't believe me, just watch," Chambers calls in the chorus, recreating its notable doo-wop ad-libs with the strums of his instrument.

Chambers dropped his latest single, "I Can Never Get Enough" on April 10, following his March release "High (When I'm Low)." Both tracks will be a part of his upcoming EP, For Your Listening Pleasure!, out May 17.

Press play on the video above to watch Dylan Chambers' groovy rendition of Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of ReImagined.

Behind Mark Ronson's Hits: How 'Boogie Nights,' Five-Hour Jams & Advice From Paul McCartney Inspired His Biggest Singles & Collabs