For decades, music aficionados have looked forward to the one night that celebrates all different types of artists and genres in the cutthroat music industry. The Grammys is the award show that brings together artists from all over the world on one stage to honor their accomplishments. It’s an award show where really anything can happen. Does anyone remember the time in 2017 when Adele stopped her performance not even halfway through her George Michael tribute to start over after she messed up?
So how did The Grammys come into existence? Well, it all started during the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. As various recording executives were chosen to create a list of prominent recording industry people who would qualify for those coveted Walk of Fame stars on Hollywood Boulevard, they soon came to the revelation that many people who were revolutionary leaders in their business would never earn a star. So those recording executives decided to take action and do something about it. Soon, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) was created.
But what would an award of that caliber be called? A working title was the Eddie, which was to honor Thomas Edison, the inventor of the phonograph. But let’s face it, The Eddies just doesn’t sound right. After racking their brains on what to call this newfound award, the NARAS settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards. The Grammys was now officially born.
The first annual Grammy Awards was held on May 4, 1959 in two different locations. One of them was at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA, while the second location was at the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City. Twenty-eight Grammys were awarded that night (there are a lot more awards given out currently), which saw Ella Fitzgerald and Ross Bagdasarian winning the most awards, with three Grammys each. Count Basie, Domenico Modugno and Henry Mancini also won two awards each that night. The second annual Grammys, which was the first to actually be televised, was held in the same year on Nov. 29, 1959. Crooner Frank Sinatra and composer Duke Ellington each won three awards that night.
From Best Pop Solo Performance to Best Spoken Word Album to Best Americana Album and more, The Grammys is known for its overwhelming amount of genre categories in which artists can win. But like everything else, there are always exceptions to the rules. Record of the Year, which is awarded to the performer and the production team of a single song; Album of the Year, which is awarded to the performer and the production team of a full album; Song of the Year, which is awarded to the writers/composers of a single song; and Best New Artist, which is awarded to a promising breakthrough performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist, are a part of the Grammys General Field, which aren’t restricted by genre. The only two artists to win all four of these awards were singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, who won all four awards in 1980, and Adele, who won the Best New Artist award in 2009 and the remaining awards in 2012 and in 2017.
Winning a Grammy has been described by many artists as life-changing and with the 62nd annual Grammys right around the corner, it’s anyone’s guess whose life will be changed next.
Most Grammys Won
The record for the most Grammy awards won is held by Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He won 31 competitive Grammy Awards out of 74 nominations and was also awarded the first Grammy Trustees Award in 1967 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. Here is a look back at some other artists who have won a lot of those shiny gold awards.
1. Georg Solti—31 Grammy awards
2. Quincy Jones—28 Grammy awards
3. Allison Krauss—27 Grammy awards (14 of those Grammys are from Krauss’ time with Union Station)
4. Pierre Boulez—26 Grammy awards
5. Vladmir Horowitz and Stevie Wonder—25 Grammy awards each
6. John Williams—24 Grammy awards
7. Beyoncé—23 Grammy awards (3 of those Grammys are from Beyoncé’s time with Destiny’s Child and one of those Grammys is from The Carters)
8. U2, Chick Corea and Jay-Z—22 Grammy awards each
9. Kanye West and Vince Gill—21 Grammy awards each
10. Henry Mancini, Pat Metheny, Bruce Springsteen and Al Schmitt—20 Grammy awards each
