Grammy Awards

Grammy Awards History

The Grammy Awards recognize the yearly achievements of the music industry. The awards are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and feature performances by the year’s most prominent musicians. Award winners are chosen by voting members of the Academy. For most awards, members are only permitted to vote in their areas of expertise.

First awarded in 1959, the awards aimed to recognize artists who may never earn a star on Hollywood Boulevard. The four most popular Award categories include Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. In total, there are more than 80 different categories, in which an artist may receive one or more awards. This event is usually held in late January or early February every year.

Facts & quotes about Grammy Awards

• In 2024, the song What Was I Made For?, by Billie Eilish and Finneas won the award for song of the year.
  In 2023, the song Just Like That, by Bonnie Raitt won the award for song of the year.
• The first Grammy Awards were given out on May 4th, 1959 at the Beverley Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Both Song and Record of the Year awards were won by Domenico Modugno for Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare).
• Facts about the Grammy Awards
  1) The award's name, "Grammy", is short for Gramophone, which was invented by Emile Berliner.
  2) Initially called the Gramophone Awards, it was supposed to be named the "Eddie", in honor of Thomas Alva Edison, who invented the phonograph, but was ultimately named the Grammy.
  3) Originally, there were only 28 categories. Today, there are 84 categories split across 30 different fields, including Pop, Gospel, Rap, Jazz, Latin etc.
  4) The Grammy is considered one of the four major annual American entertainment awards alongside the Academy Awards (film), the Emmy Awards (television), and the Tony Awards (theater and Broadway).
  5) Stevie Wonder holds the record for most Grammys won by a solo artist, with 28 awards and a Lifetime Achievement award.
• The Grammy was originally called a Gramophone award. The name was inspired by the gold-plated trophies depicting a gilded gramophone that are handed out to winners.
• It's really nice to be nominated by people that do what you do, love what you do. It's just a really exciting and humbling feeling. - Hayley Williams, singer/songwriter of band Paramore

In the News and Trending for Grammy Awards

Top things to do for Grammy Awards

• Watch the Grammy Awards as they air live on CBS. CBS owns the broadcasting rights until 2021.
• Listen to the most honored Grammy Award Albums:
  How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb(2004) by U2 - won 9 Grammy Awards
  Supernatural (1999) by Santana - won 9 Grammy Awards.
  Thriller (1982) by Michael Jackson – won 8 Grammy Awards.
• Listen to the symphonies conducted by Sir Georg Solti, who holds the record for the most Grammy Awards at 31.
• Host a Grammy Award party complete with a red carpet and a playlist of the top recording artists.
• Listen to the works of Alison Krauss, a bluegrass musician who holds the record for the most Grammy Awards won by a female artist. Some of her most awarded works includes The Scarlet Tide and You Will Be My Ain True Love. Both were nominated for the Best Original Song and featured on the soundtrack for Cold Mountain (2003).

Grammy Awards references