The
Grammy Awards (originally called the
Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are
presented annually by the National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States
for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The awards ceremony
features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards
of more popular interest are presented in a widely-viewed televised
ceremony.
The awards were established in 1958. Prior to the first live
Grammys telecast in 1971 on
ABC, a series of taped annual
specials in the 1960s called
The Best on Record were
broadcast on
NBC. The first Grammy Award
telecast took place on the night of November 29, 1959, as an
episode of the NBC anthology series
Sunday Showcase, which
was normally devoted to plays, original TV dramas, and variety
shows. Until 1971, awards ceremonies were held in both New York and
Los Angeles, with winners accepting at one of the two.
Pierre Cossette bought the rights to
broadcast the ceremony from the
National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences and organized the first live
telecast.
CBS bought the rights in
1973 after moving the ceremony to Nashville, Tennessee
; the American Music
Awards were created for ABC as a result.
The
52nd Grammy Awards ceremony is
scheduled to be held on January 31, 2010, and will be held at
Los
Angeles
' Staples
Center
.
Gramophone trophy
The actual
trophy is manufactured exclusively by Billings Artworks in Ridgway,
Colorado
. The
trophies are all hand made and assembled. Years ago, the old
smaller gramophone had to be revamped because the metals were too
soft and there were many problems with the trophy breaking. The
trophy was made bigger and grander. The Grammy is assembled in
pieces and finally finished off in gold plating. The trophies used
for the broadcast are called "stunt" Grammys.
As of 2007, 7,578 Grammy trophies have been awarded.
Categories
The "General Field" are four awards which are not restricted by
genre.
- Album of the
Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a
full album.
- Record of the
Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a
single song.
- Song of the
Year is awarded to the writer(s)/composer(s) of a single
song.
- Best New Artist
is awarded to a performer who releases, during the Eligibility
Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of
that artist (which may not necessarily be their first proper
release).
Other awards are given for performance and production in specific
genres, as well as for other contributions such as artwork and
video. Special awards are also given out for more long-lasting
contributions to the music industry.
Nomination process
Record companies and individuals may submit recordings to be
nominated. The entries are entered online and then a physical copy
of the product must be sent to the
National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences. Once a work is entered,
reviewing sessions are held by over 150 experts from the recording
industry. This is done only to determine whether or not a work is
eligible or entered into the proper category for official
nomination. They may vote to nominate in the general field
(
Record of the
Year,
Album of
the Year,
Song of
the Year and
Best
New Artist) and in no more than nine out of 30 other fields on
their ballots. Only 5 acts can be nominated for each category.
Following this process the votes are tabulated. The 5 recordings
that earn the most votes become the nominees. There may be more
than five nominees if there is a tie in the nomination process.
After the nominations are announced final voting ballots are sent
to Recording Academy members. They may then vote in the general
field and in no more than eight of the 30 fields. Ballots are
tabulated secretly by the major independent accounting firm
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
Following the tabulation of votes the winners are announced at the
Grammy Awards. The recording with the most votes in a category wins
and it is possible to have a tie. Winners are presented with the
Grammy Award and those who don't win are given a medal for their
nomination. Academy members in the nomination process and final
voting process are to vote based upon quality alone. They are not
supposed to be influenced by sales, chart performance, personal
friendships, regional preferences or company loyalty. The
acceptance of gifts is prohibited. Members are urged to vote in a
manner that preserves the integrity of the academy. The nomination
and final voting processes requires that members vote only in their
fields of expertise. The eligibility period for the 2010 Grammy
awards is October 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009.
Leaders
With 31 Grammy Awards, Sir
Georg Solti
is the male artist with the most Grammy wins.
Alison Krauss is the biggest winner among
female artists with 26 awards.
U2, with 22, holds
the record among bands, and the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra holds
the record for any musical group with 60 wins.
Criticism
Certain musical artists have voiced personal issues with the nature
of the Grammys. Singer
Maynard
James Keenan, of
progressive
metal band
Tool did not attend the
Grammys ceremony to receive their award. He explained his
reasons:
The Grammys are often criticized for not representing public
sentiment. Some critics have argued that major award shows like the
Grammys are merely the recording industry's attempt to congratulate
themselves while advertising their products. Some critics argue
that winners naturally reflect "the social, political and artistic
preferences of the nominating and voting members."
Additionally, many have criticized the Grammys for distributing
more awards than necessary and that a large portion of the ceremony
is "filler" to result in a longer engagement.
Bono (
U2) was critical of the
Grammys early in his career, but later he began to appreciate their
inclusiveness:
"It was all there: anger, love, forgiveness, family, community and
the deepest sense of history... Here was the full power of American
music challenging my arrogance. I watched the rest of the show with
new eyes. The Grammys invited
jazz,
country,
rock,
soul and
classical into the same hall. No regard for
demographic studies of what would deliver ratings, no radio
call-out research-- a mad amalgam of the profound and the absurd
and the creeping realization that one man's Mozart is another man's
Vegas."
Award ceremony locations
Notes and references
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