The Grammy Awards ceremony is an integral part of American and world culture. It is difficult to find someone who has not heard about this event. Moreover, every year, the event is gaining more and more scope, attracting the attention of millions of people. los-angeles.pro tells more about its history, interesting facts and the event held in Los Angeles.
How did it all begin?
The award originally had a different name, Gramophone Awards, due to the design of the trophies. The first ceremonies began to be held in the late 1950s. The scale of the event grew and the organizers had to gradually reduce the number of categories.
Recording executives in the Hollywood Committee understood that they could not award all the talented representatives of the industry. Thus, they decided to create the Grammy Awards. The first event took place on May 4, 1959 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and the Sheraton Park Hotel in New York.
Nowadays, it belongs to one of the four most famous annual awards ceremonies presented by the US Recording Academy. The Grammys are considered the musical equivalent of the Academy Awards for films, the Emmy Awards for TV and the Tony Awards for theater.
The first event in Beverly Hills
The evening of May 4, 1959 was dedicated to celebrating the best musical releases of 1958. It brought together the most famous music stars of the time at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The first event was hosted by the famous comedian and satirist Mort Sahl. Guests included Frank Sinatra, Gene Autry, Sammy Davis Jr., Peggy Lee and many other stars. Frank Sinatra led the contenders. Despite his successful 1958, he did not win the most awards. Many sources indicate that Ella Fitzgerald won the first ever Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Performance, Individual and Best Vocal Performance, Female.
The first event covered 28 categories, which is a third less than the current number.
It is worth noting that the first ceremony became a famous event. It laid the foundation for subsequent music awards. On the evening of May 4, 1959, Beverly Hills honored the music legends of the time, starting a tradition of recognizing and honoring the talented members of the music industry.
Chronology
Interestingly, the second event took place six months later, in November 1959. The years of the ceremony from 1959 to 1970 belong to the non-television era. These were gatherings with awards, which took place in several places at once:
- it was Beverly Hills in Los Angeles and New York from 1959 to 1961
- Chicago, LA and New York hosted the event from 1962 to 1964
- Chicago, Nashville, LA and New York were chosen from 1965 to 1970.
Viewers are always interested not only in the celebrity who wins but also in the award. Each year, the Grammy statuettes are handcrafted from Grammium, a zinc alloy composition by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado.
After the ceremony, the names of the winners are engraved on the awards. It is worth noting that props are used during filming. The winners receive their real awards only after the ceremony.
Four major categories
The following four categories are the basic and the most prestigious.
- The Album of the Year. This award goes to an artist, a songwriter or a team of producers for a released studio album. Performance, songwriting and production are judged. An album created n in any genre can be a winner.
- The Record of the Year is awarded for an outstanding single. The main attention is focused on a specific recording. The vocals and the general skill of the performer are evaluated.
- The Song of the Year is awarded to the author or authors for the outstanding, most influential song of the year.
- The Best New Artist. This category does not tie a new artist to a specific track or album. It is a way to highlight potential and talent.
For sixteen years, the big four remained unchanged. The Producer of the Year category was added in 1975 and the Songwriter of the Year category was added in 2023.
Viewers often ask who votes on the awards. This is an interesting question, as only members in good standing and paid annual dues are eligible to vote. Hundreds of music experts participate in the nominations, who previously submitted their applications for consideration to recording studios, as well as representatives of the Recording Academy.
Each application is carefully checked. The participants, who are allowed to vote, can only cast their vote in the category in which they have the most experience. After the contestants have made their selections, the independent accounting firm Deloitte tallies the votes, providing a final list of nominations for consideration by the National Review Board.
The next step is the voting of the members of the Academy for the final nominees, after which their votes are also counted by Deloitte. The results are sealed in envelopes and opened directly at the event.
Grammys’ evolution
In 1989, a new stage came, associated with the idea of the Latin Grammys. The spin-off features Latin American music recorded in Portuguese or Spanish. This idea was interesting, but problematic in implementation. That is why it was decided not to add Latin American awards to the traditional event.
The solution was the establishment in 1977 of the Latin Recording Academy. The first event called the Latin Grammy Awards took place in 2000.
Events in Los Angeles
In LA, this ceremony was held at the following locations: the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the Hollywood Palladium, the Al Malaikah Shrine Auditorium, the Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. It is worth considering each location separately.
- Many shows, charity, entertainment and cinematographic events took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, including this one. It was held here from 1959 to 1965.
- In 1971, 1974, 1976 and 1977, the event was held at the Hollywood Palladium. In 2016, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the theater became Los Angeles Cultural Historic Landmark No.1130.
- Al Malaikah Shrine Auditorium hosted it in 1978-1980, 1982-1987, 1989-1990, 1993, 1995-1996 and 1999. This place is considered prominent for hosting grand events, one of which was the Grammy Awards.
- Opened on October 17, 1999, the multi-purpose indoor Crypto.com Arena hosted the event in 2000-2002, 2004-2017, 2019 and 2023-2025. Here, most of the LA ceremonies were held.
- It was held in the LA Convention Center in 2021.
The Grammy Museum Experience
The website of the Grammy Museum presents current, past, mobile exhibits and future exhibitions. This is interesting information, thanks to which one can learn more about the history and transformation of the event.
