Vintage Vinyl News: Grammy Retrospective - Kicking the Pop Habit

1980 Grammys (Awarded in 1981)

• Lady - Kenny Rogers
• The Rose - Bette Midler
• Sailing - Christopher Cross
• Theme from New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
• Woman in Love - Barbra Streisand, Barry Gibb

For the first time, a single artist swept the top four awards at the Grammys. The rather high voiced and non-star looking Christopher Cross took home Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Sailing, Album of the Year for Christopher Cross and New Artist of the Year (over the Pretenders). The closest any other artist would come to the record was when Norah Jones won all but Best Song, which went to a tune she recorded but did not write.

Oddly (and I would like someone to explain this to me sometime), he had the best record of the year, but lost Pop Male Vocalist to Kenny Loggin's This is It.

The balance of the Record of the Year nominees fell solidly in the Easy Listening style, harkening back to the mid-70's nominations. Midler would end up with the Pop Female Vocalist and Streisand would win Pop Vocal Duo or Group (but for Guilty).

Rogers and Sinatra ended up empty handed.


1981 Grammys (Awarded in 1982)

• Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross
• Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
• Endless Love - Diana Ross, Lionel Richie
• (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
• Just the Two of Us - Bill Withers, Grover Washington Jr.

The Grammys once again mixed it up in the Record of the Year category with only two nominees that could be considered Easy Listening.

The winner, Bette Davis Eyes, was an odd but catchy rock-infused track that also won Song of the Year for Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. John Lennon's nominee came from his final studio album, Final Fantasy, which went on to win Album of the Year. Jazz and R B came together on the last nominee, Just the Two of Us, which actually may be the most enduring of the five.

Sheena Easton won Best New Artist in a field where Adam and the Ants were the only weak nominees. Easton beat the Go-Gos, James Ingram, and Luther Vandross (who probably should have won).

The Police won for both Rock Vocal Group (Don't Stand So Close to Me) and Rock Instrumental Performance (Behind My Camel).

In the night's oddest win, Rick Springfield's Jesse's Girl beat Bruce Springstten's album The River for Rock Male Vocalist.

The Manhattan Transfer showed their diversity by winning both Pop Vocal Group for The Boy From New York City and Jazz Vocal Group Performance for Until I Met You (Corner Pocket).


1982 Grammys (Awarded in 1983)

• Always on My Mind - Willie Nelson
• Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder
• Rosanna - Toto
• Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson
• Theme from Chariots of Fire - Vangelis

The Record and Album of the Year came from the same artist in 1982 with Toto winning for Rosanna and Toto IV.

As in 1981, the voters picked a rock (even if it is light-rock) song out from among the Easy Listening. The only other interesting nominee was former new-waver Joe Jackson's Steppin' Out.

In another odd choice, the Song of the Year went to Always On My Mind, a song that had first been recorded in 1973 by Brenda Lee and Elvis Presley.

It won over Ebony and Ivory, Eye of the Tiger, Rosanna and Donald Fagen's IGY (a particularly bold nomination). It also won Best Country Song.

If you use the Grammys as a barometer of current music, you would think that Pet Benatar was the only Female Rock Vocalist.

In 1992, she won the award for the third of what would be four consecutive years (1980 - Crimes of Passion, 1981 - Fire and Ice, 1982 - Shadows of the Night, 1983 - Love is a Battlefield).


1983 Grammys (Awarded in 1984)

• All Night Long - Lionel Richie
• Beat It - Michael Jackson
• Every Breath You Take - The Police
• Flashdance..

  . What a Feeling - Irene Cara

• Maniac - Michael Sembello

Never before had one artist dominated a night at the Grammys. Michael Jackson ended up with eight trophies:

• Record of the Year and Rock Male Vocalist for Beat It
• Album of the Year and Pop Male Vocalist for Thriller
• R B Song R B Male Vocal Performance for Billie Jean
• Best Recording for Children for E.

  T. The Extra Terrestrial

• Producer of the Year with Quincy Jones

Amazingly, he actually lost four times (twice for Song of the Year (Beat It and Billie Jean), Pop Vocal Duo or Group (The Girl is Mine with Paul McCartney) and R B Song (Wanna Be Startin' Somethin').

There actually was room for a few other artists on the stage.

Song of the Year went to Sting for Every Breath You Take and also won Best Rock Instrumental Performance for Brimstone Treacle. The Police won for Pop Vocal Group (Every Breath..

.) and Rock Vocal Group (Synchronicity). New Artist went to Culture Club in a field that also include the Eurythmics and Big Country.

1984 Grammys (Awarded in 1985)

• Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
• Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
• Hard Habit to Break - Chicago
• The Heart of Rock and Roll - Huey Lewis and the News
• What's Love Got To Do with It - Tina Turner

It was Tina Turner's night as she took home three awards for Record of the Year, Pop Female Vocalist (both for What's Love Got to Do with It) and Rock Female Vocalist (for Better Be Good To Me). What's Love..

. also won Song of the Year for Graham Lyle and Terry Britten.

Album of the Year was a puzzler with Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down winning over Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA, Tina Turner's Private Dancer, Prince's Purple Rain and Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusal.

Maybe it made sense at the time, but in retrospect...

.. Springsteen did get Rock Male Vocal (for Dancing in the Dark), Prince received Rock Vocal Group and Original Score (for Purple Rain) and R B Song (for I Feel For You).

Lauper ended up with New Artist of the Year.

Finally, they couldn't let Michael Jackson go without a trophy. He received Video Album for Making Michael Jackson's Thriller.

1985 Grammys (Awarded in 1986)

• Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
• The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
• Money for Nothing - Dire Straits
• The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News
• We Are the World - USA for Africa

Put together new Grammy favorite Michael Jackson with a special cause and you get 1985's "very special" awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year (for Jackson and Lionel Richie), Pop Vocal Group and Short Form Music Video. USA for Africa was the idea of Harry Belafonte, who wanted to put together an American version of the U.K.

's Band Aid. The recording was made after the American Music Awards to ensure artist availability. The song hit the top of the charts and was played simultaneously on over 5,000 radio stations on April 5, 1985.

In retrospect, was it really the best record of the year or was it the Grammys patting itself on the back by honoring a worthy cause? Born in the USA and The Boys of Summer have certainly gone on to become more respected classics but, on that night, the votes were with USA for Africa.

Album of the Year went to Phil Collins' No Jacket Required, a safe choice when other nominees included Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms and Stings' The Dream of the Blue Turtles but, as David Letterman once joked, "You just can't get enough of Phil Collins.

" The artist also won Pop Male Vocalist and Producer of the Year with Hugh Padgham.


With 1985, we get to the end of the Grammys that fall within the scope of Vintage Vinyl News. Tomorrow, for completeness, we'll post the Record of the Year lists for 1986 to 2005.

It is up to you to judge whether Grammy has become more relevant in the last twenty years.