Grammy facts and figures, including who has the most career wins
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Welcome to the Grammys, an awards show fairly new to The Envelope. If like us, you are not fully immersed in this territory, here are a few tidbits to get you up to speed.
Voters: Over 13,000 members of the Recording Academy, a Santa Monica-based organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and industry professionals.
Eligibility period: Oct. 1, 2017-Sept. 30, 2018.
Awards telecast: Feb. 10, 2019 on CBS.
New this year: The number of nominations in the four general field categories — album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and new artist — will increase from five to eight.
Number of categories: 84
Most nominations this year: Kendrick Lamar (8); Drake (7); Brandi Carlile and Boi-1da (tied with 6 each).
Most career nominations: Quincy Jones (79); Paul McCartney (78, including 41 with the Beatles); Jay Z (76); George Solti and Stevie Wonder (tied with 74 each).
Most career trophies: Conductor George Solti (31); Alison Krauss and Quincy Jones (tied with 27 each); Pierre Boulez (26).
Most career snubs: Morton Lindberg, a Norwegian recording engineer and producer specializing in classical music, has been nominated 24 times without a victory.
What is a “Grammy”? Short for gramophone, the award is named for an old 78 rpm record player and is shaped like a miniature version in gold plating.
What is the difference between song of the year and record of the year? Song of the year is a songwriter award that honors compositions; record of the year honors an artist’s performance, as well as the behind-the-microphone contributions of the producers, recording engineers and mixers.
Last year’s top category winners:
Album of the year: “24K Magic,” Bruno Mars
Song of the year: “That’s What I Like,” Bruno Mars
Record of the year: “24K Magic,” Bruno Mars
Best new artist: Alessia Cara
For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com.
