The Grammy Awards represent the highest honor in the music industry. The Recording Academy presents these golden statues to recognize outstanding achievements across dozens of genres. Furthermore, the ceremony often creates viral moments that people discuss for weeks afterward. Consequently, the history of the show contains just as much drama as the lyrics of the winning songs. Explore these fascinating details about the night music takes center stage.
Grammy Award
Initially, the organizers planned to name the award “The Eddie” to honor Thomas Edison. However, they eventually decided on “Grammy” as a direct reference to the gramophone invention.
Milli Vanilli holds the infamous title of the first artist to lose a Grammy after winning it. Consequently, the Academy stripped them of their Best New Artist award after they admitted they did not sing on their own album.
Surprisingly, Elvis Presley never won a competitive Grammy in the Rock and Roll category. In fact, the King of Rock and Roll only captured three awards during his lifetime, and all of them were specifically for Gospel recordings.
The trophies that winners accept on stage are actually just “stunt doubles” used for the broadcast. Therefore, the Academy engraves the real statues with the winner’s name later and ships them to the artists months after the ceremony.
Recently, Beyoncé shattered the all-time record for the most Grammy wins by any individual in history. She surpassed the previous record held by conductor Georg Solti to claim the top spot on the leaderboard.
Sinead O’Connor became the first artist to officially refuse a Grammy Award. She boycotted the ceremony and rejected her trophy for Best Alternative Music Performance to protest the commercialism of the industry.
A heavy metal flute player famously upset the band Metallica in a controversial category mix-up. Specifically, Jethro Tull won the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance award in 1989, which shocked the audience and the band members equally.
Interestingly, three different US Presidents won Grammy Awards for their spoken word albums. For instance, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama all took home the golden gramophone for narrating their audiobooks.
The youngest winner in history took home a trophy at the tender age of eight. Specifically, Leah Peasall won as part of The Peasall Sisters for their contribution to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff led a boycott of the ceremony in 1989. They refused to attend because the organizers decided not to televise the presentation of the very first Rap award.
Despite his legendary status, Snoop Dogg received over seventeen nominations throughout his career without a single win. Thus, he remains one of the most nominated artists in history to never walk away with the prize.
Aretha Franklin once stepped in to sing opera when Luciano Pavarotti got sick at the last minute. Amazingly, she performed the aria “Nessun Dorma” with only twenty minutes of preparation.
Each statue weighs roughly five pounds and consists of a special zinc alloy called “Grammium.” Additionally, makers cast the metal by hand in Colorado to ensure every trophy looks perfect.
The very first Grammy Awards ceremony took place in 1959 at two simultaneous events. Organizers held dinners in both Los Angeles and New York City on the same night to accommodate the bicoastal industry.
Finally, Brian McKnight holds the unfortunate record for the most nominations without a win for an R&B singer. He sat through sixteen losses, proving that talent does not always guarantee a trophy.
