grammy facts

1. Throughout GRAMMY history, there have been 18 ties for a single GRAMMY Award.

2. There have been more than 580 performances on the GRAMMY stage since the annual GRAMMY Awards show transitioned to a live telecast in 1971.

3. The Red Carpet for the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast arrivals was 450 feet long.

4. More than 250,000 people have attended the live annual GRAMMY Awards shows since the telecast's inception in 1971.

5. The annual GRAMMY Awards show has been held in eight different venues since the inception of the live telecast in 1971.

6. The annual GRAMMY Awards show has been telecast from three cities: Los Angeles, New York and Nashville.

7. The annual GRAMMY Awards show was held in Nashville in 1973, the only year the telecast took place in Nashville.

8. Held at the Hollywood Palladium, the 13th Annual GRAMMY Awards show in 1971 was the first live telecast.

9. The first GRAMMY Awards event was the GRAMMY Awards dinner ceremony, hosted by comedian Mort Sahl, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on May 4, 1959.

10. Andy Williams hosted the most GRAMMY telecasts, from the 13th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1971 through the 19th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 1977, totaling seven consecutive shows.

11. More than 450 microphones were used in the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast, compared with only two microphones used in the inaugural GRAMMY Awards dinner ceremony.

12. The actual GRAMMY Award itself weighs approximately six pounds.

13. Over time, the post-telecast GRAMMY Celebration™ has grown to be an event hosting more than 6,000 guests.

14. The actual GRAMMY Award itself stands nine inches tall and is made of GRAMMIUM, a special customized metal alloy.

15. The GRAMMY audience has grown from 500 attendees at the inaugural GRAMMY Awards dinner ceremony to a current live audience of more than 13,000 at the annual GRAMMY Awards telecast.

16. In a national contest to name the award in April 1959, Jay Danna of New Orleans was the winner by suggesting the name "GRAMMY." Although several others proposed the same name, Danna's submission was the first to be received in the mail. For her winning contest entry, she received 25 LPs as a thank-you gift from The Recording Academy®.

17. The number of GRAMMY Awards categories has increased from 28 for the inaugural GRAMMY Awards dinner ceremony in 1959, to 108 categories for the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2007.

18. The GRAMMY Award statuette reached new heights in 1991 with a 30 percent size increase.

19. The GRAMMY Awards categories span more than 25 different musical genres, and qualified voting members of The Recording Academy determine the GRAMMY Awards recipients.

20. When the annual GRAMMY Awards show moved to Nashville for one year in 1973, CBS purchased the rights to air the telecast. Since that year, CBS has continuously broadcast the annual GRAMMY Awards show.

21. During the 1959 GRAMMY Awards dinner ceremony, the 28 existing categories yielded a total of 149 nominated recordings. Over time, this number has grown to 540 nominated recordings in the 108 categories of the most recent 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

22. With 11 total performances each, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder have performed the most times of any artist on the annual GRAMMY Awards telecasts.

23. Composer Meredith Willson was the recipient of the first GRAMMY Award ever presented, for "The Music Man," in the category of Best Original Cast Album (Broadway Or TV).

24. Christopher Cross is the only artist to sweep all top four GRAMMY Awards categories: Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist.

25. The GRAMMY Awards category with the longest title in GRAMMY history is: Best Performance By An Orchestra Or Instrumentalist With Orchestra — Primarily Not Jazz Or For Dancing. This title existed in the 1960s.

26. Elvis Presley won GRAMMY Awards, but only in the sacred/inspirational categories.

27. George Burns holds the record as the oldest male GRAMMY Award recipient, winning at 95 years old.

28. Elizabeth Cotten holds the record as the oldest female GRAMMY Award recipient, winning at 90 years old.

29. LeAnn Rimes holds the record as the youngest GRAMMY Award recipient, winning at 14 years old.

30. Artists Bob Dylan and Jakob Dylan are the only father and son to be presented with a GRAMMY Award in the same year, for separate recordings.

31. Two U.S. presidents have received GRAMMY Awards: Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

32. With 31 GRAMMY Awards, Sir Georg Solti is the male artist with the most GRAMMY wins.

33. With 20 GRAMMY Awards, Alison Krauss is the female artist with the most GRAMMY wins.

34. With eight GRAMMY Awards, U2 is the group with the most GRAMMY wins.

35. Both Michael Jackson and the group Santana are the artists receiving the most GRAMMY Awards in a single year.

36. Though other sports figures have been nominated, Earvin “Magic” Johnson is the only one to win a GRAMMY Award.

37. The all-time record for the most GRAMMY Awards given out for one GRAMMY category is 50: for Album Of The Year in 1978, awarded to various professionals who worked on the soundtrack album project for Saturday Night Fever.

38. Itzhak Perlman is the only artist in GRAMMY history to tie with himself, receiving two GRAMMY Awards in one category: Best Classical Performance — Instrumental Soloist Or Soloists (With Orchestra), at the 23rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.

39. At the 7th Annual GRAMMY Awards, the Beatles were the first rock group to receive a Best New Artist GRAMMY Award.

40. Out of the 46 Best New Artist GRAMMY Award recipients, 24 have gone on to win additional GRAMMY Awards during their careers.

41. In GRAMMY history, Bob Newhart is the only comedian to receive a GRAMMY Award in the Best New Artist category (in 1960).

42. The 10th Annual GRAMMY Awards and the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards are the two times when there was a tie in more than one category.

43. Over the years, the number of show crew personnel who produce and execute each annual GRAMMY Awards telecast has grown to more than 1,500.

44. The only artists to win the Album Of The Year GRAMMY Award two years in a row are Frank Sinatra (in 1965 and 1966) and Stevie Wonder (in 1973 and 1974).

45. With 12 GRAMMY Awards nominations each, Michael Jackson (in 1983) and Babyface (in 1996) share the record for receiving the most nominations in one year.

46. Bobby Darin, Christopher Cross, Sheryl Crow and Norah Jones are the only artists who have won both Record of the Year and Best New Artist GRAMMY Awards in the same year.

47. The 25th Annual GRAMMY Awards show included 26 live performances, the most of any GRAMMY telecast.

48. In 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were the first artists to win a GRAMMY Award in the newly added rap category of Best Rap Performance, for their recording of “Parents Just Don’t Understand.”

49. Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is the only winner in the Best Disco Recording category, which existed only in 1979.

50. The first GRAMMY Award for Record Of The Year went to Domenico Modugno for his 1958 recording of "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volaré)."

51. The new GRAMMY Museum opened in downtown Los Angeles on December 6th, 2008.