The Grammy Awards - A Close Up Look
The Grammy Awards Ceremony, ( originally called the Gramophone Awards), is presented by the Recording Academy, (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry,) for outstanding musical achievements. In the entertainment industry, this is only one of the four major music awards shows. It is considered by the artists in the music world to be the approximate equivalent to an Oscar award.
Like the policy for the Oscars, the Recording Academy reserves the voting privileges for the members, rather than being based upon popularity in the media headlines on entertainment. There are currently over 100 categories of music to be judged. This includes, but is not limited to; pop, rock, rap along with many others.
The Grammy Awards name comes originally from the name of the trophy which each winner will receive, a special gold statue of a gramophone, (thus the original name). It is handcrafted by the talented Billings Artworks. The awards ceremony features performances by well known artists, some ceremonies take place in the privacy of the members, and some are announced on a widely-viewed televised ceremony appearance.
It is felt by some, that the voters tend in general, tend to vote too conservatively. The most widely-recognized Grammy Awards, for instance, will usually go to either well-established artists or those popular in the recording industry. Because of this, the Grammy Awards are not taken seriously by some musicians and music fans. In fact, many artists who have gained achievement artistically, such as; ‘The King of Rock and Roll’, Elvis Presley, Garth Brooks, Pink Floyd, Kenny Rogers, even The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin, have individually been awarded very few Grammy Awards.
Despite the disagreements in voting procedures, of the “big three” music awards shows, the public still love to watch the Grammy Awards.
Unlike the Academy Awards, for which the eligibility period begins January 1, the eligibility period for the Grammy Awards begins October 1. The artists in the music industry generally release albums in September, which is considered the Christmas sales period, albums will then qualify for the next year. So, for example, when John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s album; ‘Double Fantasy’, was released in November of 1980, it became a month-and-a-half too late to qualify for the 1981 Grammy Awards. It was then eligible for the 1982 awards, and in the end, won a special award for Album of the Year.
Usually held in February of every year, the show is currently shown on a special broadcast on CBS, although history shows that the very first live telecast was aired on ABC in 1971.