Interesting Tidbits You Might Not Heard About The Grammy Awards

The biggest stars in music industry will gather in one very special night for the annual Grammy Awards ceremony. The most awaited event of the music fans all over the world will be held this Sunday, February 10, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony will recognize the musical recordings, compositions, producers, and recording artists that exemplify brilliance over the past year. Perhaps you have already heard too much about the awards and categories that are given out at the Grammys, as well as the typical recipients of these distinctions, but there might be some interesting facts that you might still be missing.

Where Does The ‘Grammy’ Come From? And How Did It Start?

The practice of recognizing the best of the best recording artists began way back in the 1950s, a time when car transport is still not a thing. Although, the recognition was not in the form of a physical award given out during a special event. The renowned people from the recording industry were given their own stars on Hollywood Boulevard. However, the recording executives assigned at the Hollywood Walk of Fame committee thought that there might be too many important people in the music industry that deserved a Walk of Fame star, but they would never get one due to the limited slots available. These executives had decided to create a special award for their industry that follows the concept of the Oscars for film and the Emmys for television. Thus, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (now popularly known as the Recording Academy) was born.

By the time of its conception, the Grammy awards was not supposed to be called “Grammys” at first. There were actually a list of suggestions on what the award should be called. One working title for the award was the Eddie, which aims to pay tribute to the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Alva Edison. However, it had been decided that the award’s name would follow the invention of Emile Berliner, which is none other than the gramophone.

When Was The First Grammys Held?

The first Grammy Award ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, which simultaneously happened in two locations- Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City and Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. That night, 28 Grammys were awarded, with some of the notable recipients including Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como. Since then, improvements on the production of the ceremony were made. The following year, the second Grammy Awards night was finally televised, although it was not until the 13th Grammy Awards in 1971 that the ceremony was aired live.

Many people will surely tune in to their TVs and gadgets as they wait for the announcement of winners for different categories at the 61st Grammy Awards ceremony. If you ever dream of making it big in the music industry and be recognized at the Grammys, perhaps you can start now by learning how to play the piano, or practice your singing voice.