50 Fun Facts About Grammy Awards

What object does the Grammy trophy depict?

A gramophone tone arm so thin that it kept breaking was John Billings's main concern when he redesigned the Grammy in the early 1990s.

Which organisation presents the Grammy Awards?

The Recording Academy's voting members are music professionals, and in 1997 it launched a separate Latin Recording Academy to run the Latin Grammys.

Which Hollywood landmark's committee inspired the Grammys?

Compiling music names for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, executives saw many industry leaders who would never earn a star, so they created their own awards.

Which singer won two of the first Grammys with her songbook albums?

Ella Fitzgerald won Best Female Vocal Performance for her Irving Berlin Song Book and a jazz award for her Duke Ellington Song Book.

Which singer died at the Beverly Hilton the night before the 2012 Grammys, prompting a Jennifer Hudson tribute?

Jennifer Hudson sang Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' at the 2012 Grammys, held the day after Houston died.

Which conductor held the all-time Grammy record, with 31 wins, until 2023?

Georg Solti, born in Budapest, led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 22 years and won his 31 Grammys between 1963 and 1998.

Which producer holds the record for the most Grammys won by a producer, with 28?

Quincy Jones produced 'We Are the World' and taped a sign on the studio door telling the stars to check their egos.

Which band holds the record for the most Grammys won by a group?

U2 are the only act to win Record of the Year in consecutive years with songs from one album, 'Beautiful Day' and 'Walk On'.

Michael Jackson won a Grammy for narrating the storybook album of which Steven Spielberg film?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial won Best Recording for Children in 1984, one of Michael Jackson's record eight Grammys that night.

Which 1999 album holds the record as the most-honoured album, with nine Grammys?

Supernatural was Carlos Santana's comeback after he lost his record deal, and its hit 'Smooth' with Rob Thomas also won Song of the Year.

Michael Jackson's record eight Grammys in 1984 came mostly for which album?

Thriller's sweep came a month after Michael Jackson's hair caught fire while he was filming a Pepsi commercial.

Jennifer Lopez's green Versace dress at the 2000 Grammys inspired which Google product?

Google Images launched in 2001 after Eric Schmidt's team saw the dress become the most popular search query they had ever seen.

Who was the first artist to win all four Big Four Grammys in a single night, in 1981?

Christopher Cross swept all four with his debut album, and its single 'Sailing' took both Record and Song of the Year.

Which artist won all four Big Four awards on separate occasions rather than in one night?

Adele won Best New Artist in 2009, then became the first to sweep Album, Record and Song of the Year twice, in 2012 and 2017.

Who is the youngest lead artist ever to win Album of the Year?

Billie Eilish was 18 when When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? won, on the night she swept all four Big Four awards.

Which indie band surprised many viewers by winning Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammys?

Arcade Fire won with The Suburbs, released by the independent label Merge Records, and became the first indie act to take Album of the Year.

Who was the first woman to win Album of the Year, in 1962?

Judy Garland won for Judy at Carnegie Hall, a live album of a 1961 concert many called the greatest night in show business history.

Which was the first hip hop album to win Album of the Year?

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is still her only studio album, and it made her the first woman to win five Grammys in one night.

Which was the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year?

Debí Tirar Más Fotos won three years after Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti became the first Spanish-language album nominated for the award.

Which two artists each won Album of the Year two years running as main artists?

Frank Sinatra won in 1966 and 1967, and Stevie Wonder in 1974 and 1975, then again with his next album, Songs in the Key of Life.

Which was the first rock and roll album to win Album of the Year?

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was made as a pure studio project after the Beatles quit touring in 1966.

Which singer won five Grammys in 2008 while performing by satellite from London after her US visa came too late?

Amy Winehouse sang 'Rehab' by satellite from London's Riverside Studios, and the song won both Record and Song of the Year.

Which act is the only one ever to have a Grammy revoked?

Milli Vanilli's Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan never sang on their album, and the award was taken back days after producer Frank Farian admitted it.

At 14, who became the youngest Best New Artist winner and the first country artist to win it, in 1997?

LeAnn Rimes broke through with 'Blue', a song Bill Mack had written in the 1950s, nearly 40 years before her version.

Which comedian won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1961?

Bob Newhart won with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, a debut built on one-sided phone calls that also won Album of the Year.

Who won Best New Artist in 1969, becoming the first blind artist and first Puerto Rican to win it?

José Feliciano won for his Latin-flavoured cover of The Doors' 'Light My Fire', and in 1970 he wrote 'Feliz Navidad' while homesick at Christmas.

Which song won Record and Song of the Year at the first Grammys?

'Volare' by Domenico Modugno, officially 'Nel blu, dipinto di blu', won the Sanremo Festival but finished only third at Eurovision.

Which two artists have won Record of the Year three times?

Paul Simon won twice with Simon & Garfunkel and once for 'Graceland'; Bruno Mars's third came with Silk Sonic, his duo with Anderson .Paak.

Who was the first artist to win Record of the Year in two consecutive years?

Roberta Flack's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' became a hit years after she recorded it, once Clint Eastwood used it in Play Misty for Me.

As of the 2026 Grammys, who had the most Record of the Year nominations, with nine?

Beyoncé has won more Grammys than anyone, 35, yet has never won Record of the Year.

Which studio drummer played on six consecutive Record of the Year winners from 1966 to 1971?

Hal Blaine, a core member of the Wrecking Crew session players, drummed on every winner from 'A Taste of Honey' to 'Bridge over Troubled Water'.

Which act became the first French artists to win Record of the Year, in 2014?

Daft Punk accepted for 'Get Lucky' in their robot helmets without saying a word, and Random Access Memories also took Album of the Year.

A 1991 virtual duet between Natalie Cole and her late father won Song of the Year for which song?

Unforgettable won its writer, Irving Gordon, Song of the Year at 77, four decades after Nat King Cole first recorded it in 1951.

Which songwriter had eight Song of the Year nominations but no win as of the 2026 Grammys?

Taylor Swift shares the record of eight nominations with her producer Jack Antonoff, who won in 2013 for Fun's 'We Are Young'.

Who is the youngest songwriter ever to win Song of the Year?

Lorde got the idea for 'Royals' from a National Geographic photo of baseball star George Brett, whose shirt said 'Royals'.

Who was the first woman to win Song of the Year, in 1972?

Carole King won for 'You've Got a Friend', and her album Tapestry also took Album and Record of the Year that night.

Which pair of songwriters won Song of the Year for 'Moon River'?

Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer won again for 'Days of Wine and Roses', and both songs also took the Oscar for Best Original Song.

As of the 2026 Grammys, which rapper had won more Grammys than any other, with 27?

Kendrick Lamar lost Best Rap Album in 2014 to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Macklemore then texted him an apology saying Lamar should have won.

Which jazz artist has won the most Grammys?

Chick Corea died in February 2021, and a month later he won two more Grammys posthumously, including one for his solo on 'All Blues'.

Who won a Grammy posthumously at 100, becoming the oldest winner in the awards' history?

Jimmy Carter died in December 2024 at 100, and his audiobook win came at the 2025 Grammys.

The 2026 Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media went to 'Golden' from which Netflix animated film?

KPop Demon Hunters' 'Golden', sung by the film's fictional girl group Huntrix, became the first K-pop song to win a Grammy.

Which Los Angeles venue has hosted the Grammys almost every year since 2000?

Crypto.com Arena, the former Staples Center, is part of the downtown LA Live complex, where the Grammy Museum opened in 2008.

After more than 50 years on CBS, which network won the Grammys broadcast rights from 2027?

ABC last aired the Grammys in 1972, before CBS took over in 1973, and Disney's ten-year deal also streams the show on Hulu and Disney+.

Which Grammy honour goes only to recordings more than 25 years old?

The Hall of Fame, set up in 1973, honours specific singles and albums, while the Lifetime Achievement and Trustees awards honour people.

Which producer matched Michael Jackson's record of 12 Grammy nominations in one night, in 1997?

Babyface won Producer of the Year that night, and his production of Eric Clapton's 'Change the World' took Record of the Year.

Who hosted the Grammys for the sixth and final consecutive time in 2026?

Trevor Noah, the South African comedian who hosted The Daily Show from 2015 to 2022, emceed every Grammys from 2021 to 2026.

Which country group swept Album, Record and Song of the Year in 2007 after radio stations boycotted their music?

The Dixie Chicks' 'Not Ready to Make Nice' answered the backlash after Natalie Maines told a 2003 London crowd she was ashamed the president was from Texas.

What is the name of the trademarked zinc alloy from which Grammy trophies have been made since 1990?

Grammium trophies are engraved after the show, so winners on the broadcast hold reusable 'stunt' trophies.

Why were the 1971 Grammys at the Hollywood Palladium held in a single location, unlike earlier years?

The event was televised live for the first time; the first Grammys, in 1959, had been split between Beverly Hills and New York.

Which jazz style's Grammy category was dropped in 2012, then restored in 2013?

Latin jazz albums were moved into the general jazz categories when awards fell from 109 to 78, until Best Latin Jazz Album returned in 2013.