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Welcome to the Grammys

I’m sure all of you would have heard about the Grammy awards, this blog brings to light the amazing history and facts about the Grammys. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely viewed televised ceremony. It is the music equivalent to the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for stage,and the Academy Awards for film.

The awards were established in 1958. The first Grammy Award telecast took place on the night of November 29, 1959, as an episode of the NBC anthology series Sunday Showcase, which was normally devoted to plays, original TV dramas, and variety shows. Until 1971, awards ceremonies were held in both New York and Los Angeles, with winners accepting at one of the two. Pierre Cossette bought the rights to broadcast the ceremony from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and organized the first live telecast.

The trophies are made and assembled by hand. In 1990, the original Grammy design was revamped, changing the traditional soft lead for a stronger alloy less prone to damage, and making the trophy bigger and grander. The Grammy is assembled in pieces and finally finished off in gold plating. The actual trophies, with the recipient's name engraved, are not available until after the award announcements, so a series of "stunt" trophies are re-used each year for the broadcast.

The Grammy Awards are awarded in a series of categories, each of which isolate a specific contribution to music. The standard awards list nominees in each category from which a winner is selected. Grammy categories have been added and removed over time and there are over 100 awards given out spread over various fields and categories.

For the records books, Sir Georg Solti is the male artist with the most Grammy wins,31 in total.Alison Krauss is the biggest winner among female artists with 26 awards.U2, with 22, holds the record among bands,and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra holds the record for any musical group with 60 wins.And the next grammys, 53rd Grammy Awards will take place on 13 February 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

source: wikipedia

Planning a Birthday Bash?

 If you’re planning to sing “Happy Birthday to You” you might have to spend more than you anticipated.

The song “Happy Birthday To You” is NOT a public-domain composition, despite the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records declaring it to be the most recognised song in the English language.

The melody was written, in 1893, by two kindergarten school teachers, sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill from Kentucky for the song “Good Morning to All”, as a song that would be easy to be sung by young children.

The Original lyrics of the song “Good Morning to All” goes this way...
    Good morning to you
    Good morning to you,
    Good morning, dear children,
    Good morning to all.
(I know you are humming the song now and checking the resemblance.)

”The Summy Company, who owned the publishing rights of “Good Morning to All”, copyrighted
 “Happy Birthday to You” in 1935 as a song for hire. Warner Corporation purchased the company owning the copyright for U.S. $15 million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at U.S. $5 million.Based on the 1935 copyright registration, Warner claims that U.S. copyright will not expire until 2030, and that unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to it. In one specific instance in February 2010, these royalties were said amount to $700.

In European Union countries the copyright in the song will expire December 31, 2016.
So now a single use in a film or TV programme will cost around $10,000!

Planning a Birthday Bash? Pondering how much to spend? Then think again!

Source :musicouch.com and wikipedia

Gibson Announces the Revolutionary Guitar " Firebird X " Limited Edition.

Recently in New York City, Gibson Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz made an announcement that staggered the music world. Juszkiewicz unveiled Gibson’s latest guitar, Firebird X. 

But press, fans and celebrities in attendance quickly learned that Firebird X was much, much more than any guitar ever conceived. Speaking to an audience that included such guitar luminaries as Ace Frehley, The Roots’ Kirk Douglas, Eddie Ojeda and Jay Jay French from Twisted Sister, Lou Pallo, Russ Paul and others, Juszkiewicz described an instrument light years ahead of anything ever built.

“This is new. This is different. This is revolution,” he declared before unveiling the axe. “Nobody looks and spends the time to reinvent the guitar. This is a new guitar.”

The Firebird X guitar takes the guitar instrument to new heights of functionality and usability for the professional player and the aspiring enthusiast. Using technologies that did not exist even a few years ago, Gibson has enhanced an already outstanding instrument to unbelievable performance and creative heights. The enhancements touch every aspect of the instrument from improved manufacturing technologies to the latest electronics.

To drive this point home, Juszkiewicz grabbed a traditional guitar and smashed it to pieces. Afterward, the crowd buzzed over the announcement. And already, video of the occasion has leaked onto the Internet.

Enjoy…

Source: Gibson.com

World's best-selling Musical Instrument

If there is a question thrown out "What is the world's best-selling musical instrument?" what would your answer be..the most likely answer expected would a Guitar or Drums or a Piano.But spare a thought here,the musical instrument which is the most sold in the world till date which is inexpensive and small, fits into the pocket.If you still have not got the answer I'm talking about the humble Harmonica.

The harmonica is the world's best-selling musical instrument. Harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ,is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country music, and rock and roll originating in the early 1800s in Europe.The harmonica is the smallest and simplest of the free reed instruments, but it has one huge advantage over all its bellows-blown cousins: the tone and pitch of each note can be dramatically altered by the player .They gained popularity in the 1920s in the U.S. and were used in blues recordings. The harmonica maker Hohner had sold over 1 billion harmonicas way back in 1986 and the count is still on.

As a matter of fact The harmonica became the first musical instrument to be played in outer space on December 16, 1965, when astronaut Wally Schirra played "Jingle Bells" on a Hohner Little Lady model -- that he smuggled aboard Gemini 4.

One of famous harmonica player in the recent times has been Buddy Greene,this video(please click the link) showcases the expressiveness of the instrument played by a very very talented Buddy Greene.


If  i would have said that a harmonica couldn't hold it's own with an orchestra, i would have been wrong ,watch this video and you will understand what i meant.

Pandit Ravi Shankar at the Woodstock Festival

  
Any avid music lover would have definitely heard of the Woodstock Festival,which arguably to this day is
the most famous pop culture music event.This musical extravaganza attracted acts from all around the world
and was first performed at Max Yasgur's Farm in Bethel, NY on August 15-18, 1969 for a celebration of peace and music.

What began as a paid event drew so many viewers from across the world that the fences were torn
down and it became a free concert open to the public. 500,000 youthful individuals gathered
peacefully at Woodstock 1969 creating the largest gathering of human beings in one place in history.
Woodstock 1969 defined an entire generation and its effects on music and American culture can still
be felt today.

Woodstock '69 featured one of the most prolific musical lineups in history including such icons as
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Santana, and The Who. Fans got a taste of a variety of music
styles which came together in perfect harmony. The crowd at Woodstock in 1969, which reached near a
half a million people sent a message to the world that individuals could come together peacefully to
celebrate peace and music.

But what many do not know is that Pandit Ravi Shankar,the Indian music genius performed at this very
festival.Pandit Ravi Shankar became well known outside of India by performing his native music at Woodstock 1969, the Monterey Pop Fest, and other large venues all over the world.

Pandit Ravi Shankar's performance at Woodstock was crucial to the world music scene and came at a highly impactful period and he went on to introduce and teach sitar to George Harrison .Later material by the Beatles would feature the Sitar and it could be said that Pandit Ravi Shankar is responsible for popularizing Indian music within the timeframe.

Here is the video of Pandit Ravi Shankar along with Ustad Allah Rakha on the tabla at Woodstock.

Pretty neat philosophy in four words...Don't worry, be happy

Many of you would heard the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy"  by musician Bobby McFerrin.
This track was released in September 1988 went on to reach number one on the Billboard
 Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. On the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number 2
during its fifth week on the chart. At the 1989 Grammy Awards, "Don't Worry Be Happy" won the awards
 for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Whats amazing about this song is the fact that its an "Cappella Song" by definition - a cappella song comprises of entirely overdubbed voice parts and other vocal sounds using no instruments at all.Eight tracks were used, each dubbed on top of the other with Bobby's voice. There are no instrumentalists, percussion instruments, or other singers other than Bobby.

To tell you more about this amazing singer,Bobby McFerrin is one of the natural wonders of the music world.
A ten-time Grammy Award winner, he is one of the world's best-known vocal innovators and improvisers,

Here is the video of the song featuring Bobby McFerrin, Robin Williams and Bill Irwin.Watch the video and im sure it will put a smile on your face.