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Grammys Still Hate Rock

November 26, 2020 by A.S. Van Dorston

I know, this is not news, and I’m no longer really complaining. It is what it is, despite laughable efforts to evolve. At this point, it remains interesting to look at exactly how the Grammys sucked for its entire history.

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, now just called the Recording Academy, was formed in 1957 by a small group of major recording industry executives who were helping the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to choose recipients of Walk of Fame stars. It was no surprise that this group of old white businessmen had no interest in rock ‘n’ roll. The winner of the first album of the year in 1958 was The Music from Peter Gunn by Henry Mancini. Frank Sinatra would win three times in the next six years, along with Bob Newhart, Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, and Stan Getz and João Gilberto. They did reluctantly throw The Beatles a bone with best new artist in 1964 (Louis Armstrong was also the first black artist to be acknowledged that year with song of the year, “Hello, Dolly!”). The Academy awarded one of their worst-ever songs, “Michelle” song of the year in 1966 (um, hello, Revolver?), and finally Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the first rock album winner in 1967.

One would think at that point, okay, the dam has been broken, and rock will finally be acknowledged. Who would it be in 1968? The Rolling Stones? The Kinks? Van Morrison? Surely The Jimi Hendrix Experience deserved it. Nope. Glenn Campbell. Other nominees were Jose Feliciano, Richard Harris, Simon & Garfunkel and Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour (wow, people really did hate The White Album). No actual rock artist won again arguably (not counting corporate soft rock/pop/yacht rock) for another 20 years, until 1987, when U2’s The Joshua Tree won. Rock wasn’t even introduced as a category until 1980, the year when Christopher Cross swept all the big four categories. The new categories were called Rock Male Vocalist (Bob Dylan), Rock Female Vocalist (Donna Summer), Rock Vocal Group (The Eagles) and Rock Instrumental Performance (Wings).

Other awards have sprung up to fill in gaps, such as the American Music Awards created by Dick Clark in 1973, the Billboard Music Awards in 1990, and the Latin Grammy Awards in 1997.

Rock’s needs have been feebly addressed by the likes of Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Awards in 2003 and confusingly, Revolver’s Golden Gods in 2008, and Amazon.co.uk’s Heavy Music Awards in 2016 with all the class and glitz as the AVN Awards. To have any impact, all the magazines and bloggers should collaborate on one big awards that could compete for attention. Make voting open to everyone — writers, musicians, fans, recording professionals, with the simple requirement that they demonstrate that they’ve actually listened to a certain number of albums in at least a couple different genres. And here’s a novel idea, let’s give the music some respect as art rather than just product. Meaning, don’t just focus on the top sellers, but actually listen to a wide range. I’d be happy to lend my services in helping with that.

So, back to the Grammys, last year we saw the ghoulish sexual predators/cadavers attempt to become relevant by giving all the awards to teen newcomer Billie Eilish. Meanwhile, in response to a whole dumpster fire of sexual misconduct, and the ongoing issues of lack of diversity, they formed a Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, which apparently accomplished very little. A task force member said in January, “Not one of our proposals has been [executed] and people eventually just stopped showing up.”

Nevertheless, the show lurches on, and the nominees were announced. A few tweaks were introduced, such as “Urban Contemporary” has changed to “Progressive R&B,” “Best Rap/Sung Performance” has changed to “Best Melodic Rap Performance,” and “World Music” to “Global Music” (this one is Fast ‘n’ Bulbous approved, as that name has been used since the ’90s). If the Academy would like more suggestions, I have about 30 more. And yes, music from the entire world relegated to one category is insufficient. But to be fair, this is an American award show, and they simply do not have the expertise to cover all regional music on earth, though they do have South African Trevor Noah hosting, heh. I would suggest a Global Music Academy with committees from each country, but someone’s got to fund that.

My picks.

Album of the Year: UGH. I don’t love any of them. Coldplay’s album was surprisingly okay, and was the highest ranking in my own list in 2019, eeking into the top 500. So yeah, several hundred better albums, but, shudder, they give no better choice than Coldplay – Everyday Life.
Record of the Year: Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage
Song of the Year: Beyoncé – Black Parade
Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion (just edging out Phoebe Bridgers).
Best Dance/Electronic Album: Kaytranada – Bubba
Best Rock Performance: Fiona Apple – Shameika
Best Metal Performance: Power Trip – Executioner’s Tax
Best Rock Song: Brittany Howard – Stay High
Best Rock Album: Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka (edging Fontaines D.C.)
Best Alternative Music Album: Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Best R&B Performance: Brittany Howard – Goat Head
Best R&B Song: Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello – Better Than I Imagine
Best Progressive R&B Album: Robert Glasper – F*** Yo Feelings
Best Rap Performance: Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage
Best Melodic Rap Performance: Anderson .Paak – Lockdown
Best Rap Song: Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – Savage
Best Rap Album: Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo
Best New Age Album: Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal, and Jesse Paris Smith – Songs from the Bardo
Best Improvised Jazz Solo: Christian Scott Atunde – Guinivere
Best Jazz Vocal Album: Thana Alexa – Ona
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Redman Mehldau McBride Blade – Roundagain
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Maria Schneider Orchestra – Data Lords
Best Latin Jazz Album: Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra – Tradiciones
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: Lido Pimienta – Miss Colombia
Best American Roots Performance: Brittany Howard – Short and Sweet
Best American Roots Song: John Prine – I Remember Everything
Best Americana Album: Hiss Golden Messenger – Terms of Surrender
Best Traditional Blues Album: Don Bryant – You Make Me Feel
Best Contemporary Blues Album: Bettye LaVette – Blackbirds
Best Folk Album: Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter
Best Reggae Album: Toots & the Maytals – Got to Be Tough
Best Global Music Album: Tinariwen – Amadjar
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): Flea – Acid For The Children: A Memoir
Best Comedy Album: Tiffany Haddish – Black Mitzvah
Best Instrumental Composition: Maria Schneider – Sputnik
Best Recording Package: Desert Sessions – Vols. 11 & 12
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: Various Artists – The Story of Ghostly International
Best Album Notes: The Replacements – Dead Man’s Pop
Best Historical Album: Prince – 1999 Super Deluxe Edition
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Brittany Howard – Jaime
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Dan Auerbach
Best Immersive Audio Album: Committe unable to meet, judging postponed. I’d recommend they give Motorpsycho – The All Is One a listen.
Best Music Video: Beyoncé – Brown Skin Girl
Best Music Film: ZZ Top -That Little Ol’ Band From Texas

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