Tonight is the 62nd Grammy Awards ceremony, presented by the Recording Academy at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and broadcast live on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
The very first Grammy gathering was held in May 1959. At that ceremony, the first-ever Song of the Year winner was “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” by Domenico Modugno – better known as “Volare”:
The first Album of the Year winner was “The Music From ‘Peter Gunn'” by Henry Mancini:
The Best Comedy Performance that first year was “The Chipmunk Song” by David Seville and the Chipmunks:
The all-time BIGGEST Grammy winner? Late classical conductor Sir Georg Solti, with 31 Grammys, followed by artist-producer-arranger Quincy Jones, who has 28 Grammy statuettes.
Listen: Sir Georg Solti conduct the second movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (winner of Best Orchestral Recording, 1987):
Listen; Quincy Jones’ recording of “Birdland” (winner of Best Jazz Fusion Performance and Best Arrangement on an Instrumental in 1990):
It’s a safe guess that, given the current turmoil at the Recording Academy, there are likely to be changes to respond to, among other things, the debate over the Grammys’ selection process.
- Suspended Grammys CEO Deborah Dugan says nomination process is rigged: “A blatant conflict of interest” (“CBS This Morning,” 1/23/20)
- Suspended Grammys CEO alleges corruption, says former CEO was accused of rape (“CBS This Morning,” 1/22/20)
- Veteran music reporter calls Academy fallout with CEO “a nuclear device” in the middle of Grammys week (“CBS This Morning,” 1/24/20)
But everyone agrees on this: The official weight of a Grammy statuette is six pounds.
- GALLERY: Whatever happened to Grammy’s Best New Artists? (CBS News)
For more info:
- How to watch the Grammys
- Grammy Awards 2020: Full list of nominees
- grammy.com
Story produced by Charis Satchell.
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