The (In)Credible Grammy Awards

Rip It Up, Issue 200, 1 April 1994, Page 6

The (In)Credible Grammy Awards

Music Industry voted Awards internationally are low on credibility. The British Industry Awards are the biggest joke and even the highly- respected USA Grammy Awards often miss the point. The Los Angeles Times noted that Toto and Christopher Cross have both won five Grammy Awards, while the Who, the Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin have never won a Grammy. The Beatles won Album of the Year for thei r hard to ignore Sgt. Pepper'in 1967 but the Rolling Stones have only won a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986. Accepting the overdue Grammy, Mick Jagger quipped, “The joke is on you.” The Grammy voters have always had difficulty choosing Best New Artists — in 1978 they chose disco divas Taste of Honey above the Cars and Elvis Costello whilst in 1989 they voted in lip-syncing Milli Vanilli. In 1980 when Christopher Cross won five awards he won Best Album against Pink Floyd’s The Walland Best New Artist against the Pretenders. A Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance category was introduced in 1988 to reflect the new wave of aggressive rock bands. And the winnerwas— Jethro Tull. M.C.