It`s time for the Grammy Awards again-the 34th annual show will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Tuesday on CBS-Ch. 2-and the big question is not ”Who`ll win?” but ”Who cares?”
With rare exceptions, the Grammys have made a farce of their founders`
mission: to reward artistry and excellence in the record business-as opposed, presumably, to popularity and filthy commercialism.
As reiterated in a book to be published next month, ”Broken Record”
(Birch Lane), by former Daily Variety music editor Harry Schipper, the Grammys paid lip service to artistic excellence from their inception while embracing middle-brow music. And, as the progression of ”excellence”
continues through the decades, from the Captain & Tennille to Christopher Cross, it`s clear that some traditions die hard.
One of the key motivations behind the Grammys, as conceived by five industry big shots in 1957, was to stem the tidal wave that was rock `n` roll, which had begun to overwhelm in sales and stature the achievements of such mature, respected artists as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Doris Day.
”The rock movement was new and we just didn`t understand it,”
acknowledged Jim Conkling, the first chairman of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences, which dispenses the Grammys, in a 1967 Billboard interview quoted by Schipper.
If one were to use the Grammys as the sole barometer of artistic excellence in music in the `50s and `60s, here`s what they`d reveal: Henry Mancini was a giant among twerps such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. Mancini hauled in 20 Grammys in 1958-70; the Beatles four, Presley and Brown one each, while the Stones, Dylan and Berry were shut out. The impact of those last six, of course, continues to reverberate in popular culture while Mancini`s lightweight movie scores have been banished to schmaltz purgatory.
It really wasn`t until 1984 that the Grammys began to show any understanding of rock at all, when Prince, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner all won awards. When U2`s ”The Joshua Tree” won album of the year in 1987, some critics even commented that the Grammys had gotten hip.
But overall, the Grammys remain woefully inept at recognizing popular music`s innovators. According to the academy, the dominant artist of the last decade was not Springsteen, Prince, U2, R.E.M. or Michael Jackson, but Quincy Jones, who collected 20 of his 25 awards in 1980-91.
Such preposterous misjudgments leave one more than a little wary of this year`s awards, even though R.E.M.-a key band in the American rock underground for a good portion of the `80s-is up for seven honors, including album and record of the year.
Despite that bit of enlightenment, there`s more than enough to grouse about: What is one to make of the multiple nominations for Natalie Cole, whose big hit was a ”duet” with the recorded voice of her late father, Nat, on his 1951 ballad ”Unforgettable”? Or the six nominations for a mediocrity such as Bryan Adams, primarily on the strength of the schmaltz ballad ”(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”? And what is R.E.M.`s 3-million-selling mainstream success, ”Out of Time,” doing cluttering up the category for best alternative album?
Nonetheless, the awards continue to carry enormous clout within the recording industry and with record buyers. When Bonnie Raitt won four Grammys two years ago, sales of her modest hit record ”Nick of Time” nearly tripled and her career was resurrected. Such success inevitably has a snowball effect within the academy as well. After ignoring Raitt for decades, it nominated her for five more awards this year.
Unfortunately, there are far too few Bonnie Raitts in the history of the Grammys and far too many Christopher Crosses to bear.
– Even Paul Simon, one of the Grammy elite with 12 awards since 1968, has reservations about the awards.
With a nomination this year for his superb album ”The Rhythm of the Saints,” Simon has a chance to become the first artist to win four album-of- the-year Grammys (the only other artists to win three are Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder).
Simon previously won album of the year in 1970 for Simon and Garfunkel`s
”Bridge Over Troubled Water,” in 1975 for ”Still Crazy After All These Years” and in 1986 for ”Graceland.”
But ”The Rhythm of the Saints” is a long shot to win Tuesday because it`s up against Natalie Cole`s massively popular ”Unforgettable,” as well as R.E.M.`s ”Out of Time,” Raitt`s ”Luck of the Draw” and Amy Grant`s ”Heart in Motion.”
”It was a nice surprise, but at the same time I don`t like false competitions,” says Simon of the nomination. ”It`s like, if I win, therefore Bonnie Raitt, who`s my friend, loses. You can`t win or lose in that sense, but that`s how it`s set up to appear.
”What`s more, it`s impossible to compare albums like R.E.M.`s and Natalie Cole`s. What is it they share, except that they were both No. 1 records?”
Simon says he is looking forward to the ceremony for one reason: He will be reunited with the 17-piece, multinational band he assembled for his recently concluded 14-month world tour. The band`s final performance will be part of the prime-time broadcast.
– Polish expatriate Stan Borys now calls Chicago home, but his music continues to reflect the tribulations and anxieties of his native country.
Half of his new 12-song cassette/CD, ”Stan 1991 Borys,” is sung in Polish, half in English. The music is standard-issue arena rock, but Borys`
record-release party with the Wanderband may be worth checking out. In addition to music, Polish food is promised on Sunday at the Cardinal Club, 5159 W. Belmont Ave. For details, call the club at 312-736-4662.
– Pulse! magazine, one of the more comprehensive music publications in the country, has been available free for eight years to patrons of Tower Records stores throughout the country, including the chain`s still relatively new Chicago outlet at 2301 N. Clark St.
Beginning with this month`s issue (the cover boy is David Byrne), the publication is even more widely available. It now can be purchased for $2.95 at 15,000 newsstands in the U.S. and Canada.
The local Tower outlet also is initiating a series of in-store appearances by local bands, beginning with dance-rock innovators Terminal White on Wednesday. Call the store for details at 312-477-5994.
