Awards
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Yothu Yindi, the Australian rockers, activists, and traditional songmen, will be inducted into the National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) Hall of Fame this weekend.
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Hailing from a small Yolŋu town in Northeast Arnhem Land, Yothu Yindi had a global hit with their 1991 song “Treaty,” written to highlight the then-Hawke Government’s broken promise of a treaty with Aboriginal people.
Blending rock and traditional Aboriginal music, “Treaty” went on to win song of the year at the ARIA Awards, one of the collective’s eight career wins.
Yothu Yindi played it the following year in New York to help launch the United Nations’ “International Year of the World’s Indigenous People,” and the track would log two weeks on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
Later, the trailblazers performed their signature track at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and, in 2012, elevation into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
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Their influence can be seen today in Australia’s music landscape. Multiple award-winning Yolŋu surf-rock act King Stingray — multiple nominees at the 2023 NIMAs — includes band member Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu, the nephew of late Yothu Yindi frontman Mandawuy Yunupiŋu, and the Stingers’ Roy Kellaway is the son of the veteran act’s bass player, Stu Kellaway.
The current incarnation of Yothu Yindi features frontman Yirringa Yunupiŋu, nephew of Mandawuy, who had co-founded the group in 1986.
From the start, Yothu Yindi “was about indigenous culture, about indigenous rights, about our rights and place in Australia,” Mandawuy told guests at the ARIAs in 2012, adding that his group “has been about messages and bringing people together and asking them and the people to respect and understand one another.”
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Yunupiŋu, who died in 2013 at the age of 56, and bandmate Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupiŋu, who passed in 2017, aged 46, will be posthumously saluted when Yothu Yindi is inducted for “its long and powerful contributions to Indigenous and Australian music,” reads a statement from organizers.
The induction ceremony will take place during the 19th annual NIMAs, the annual celebration of Australia’s First Nations music community, set for Saturday, Aug. 12 at Darwin Amphitheatre on Larrakia Country.
As previously reported, the Stingers are up for song and film clip of the year. Other multiple nominees include gifted vocalist Budjerah and Arnhem Land newcomers Wildfire Manwurrk.
Sponsored by Amazon Music, the NIMAs will feature performances from Thelma Plum, Barkaa and Budjerah, while veteran pop star Jessica Mauboy will be on hand to present an award.
Keith Urban and Kix Brooks are among the five newest hitmakers set to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The two country artists — who each wrote several of their own hits — will join the hall alongside fellow inductees Casey Beathard, David Lee Murphy and Rafe Van Hoy.
Since its founding in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has honored many of Music City’s premier songcrafters, inducting 235 songwriters, including Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Garth Brooks, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Don and Phil Everley, Harlan Howard, Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Cindy Walker, Fred Rose and Cindy Walker.
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During a press conference held at Nashville’s historic Columbia Studio A on Thursday (Aug. 3), the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame executive director Mark Ford and chair of the board of directors Rich Hallworth revealed that Beathard and Murphy will be added to hall’s ranks, inducted into the contemporary songwriter category, while Van Hoy will be inducted in the veteran songwriter category. Urban will be inducted as the contemporary songwriter-artist, while Brooks will be inducted as the veteran songwriter-artist.
During the press conference, Urban recalled his early days in Nashville, his first time visiting the Bluebird Café and his years spent in writing rooms along Nashville’s Music Row. He also expressed gratitude for being inducted alongside Brooks.
“Kix was one of the first that came along, who sat at [Nashville venue] Jack’s Guitar Bar to hear me play, and later took me on tour. He’s been a champion ever since. I’m honored to be here with you,” Urban told Brooks.
Urban penned many of his own hits, including “But For the Grace of God,” “Somebody Like You,” “Wasted Time” and the CMA Award nominated songs “Tonight I Wanna Cry” and “Better Life.” His 2009 song “Sweet Thing” was named SESAC’s country song of the year, while 2012’s “For You” was featured in the film Act of Valor and earned Urban a Golden Globe nomination for best original song.
Country Music Hall of Fame member (as part of the duo Brooks & Dunn) Brooks had a hand in writing many of the duo’s hits, including “Brand New Man,” “My Next Broken Heart,” “Lost and Found,” the 1995 ACM song of the year nominee “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” and the 2003 CMA song of the year nominee “Red Dirt Road.” He has also written chart-toppers including John Conlee’s “I’m Only In It For the Love,” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Modern Day Romance” and Highway 101’s “Who’s Lonely Now.”
Brooks said, “I walked in here and saw these guys and was like, ‘We’re doing this together?’” He recalled a time when he and David Lee Murphy were sweeping floors at what is now the Musicians Hall of Fame. He wrote “I’m Only In It for the Love” with fellow inductee-elect Van Hoy.
“I came here as fan of songwriters. That’s all I wanted to do,” Brooks said. “My heroes were not just artists, but artists who wrote their own songs. To even think I would even be recognized in the same sentence as the mention of their names …”
California-born, Virginia-raised Beathard moved to Nashville in 1991; by 1998, he earned his first writing deal and penned the title track to Kenny Chesney’s I Will Stand album. In 2002, he earned his first No. 1 with Tracy Byrd’s “Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo.” Additional hit writing credits followed, including “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” (Tracy Lawrence), “Cleaning This Gun” (Rodney Atkins), Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink,” “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” and “The Boys of Fall.” He’s also frequently collaborated with Eric Church, writing “Like Jesus Does,” “Hell of a View” and “Like a Wrecking Ball.” He also penned “There Was Jesus,’ recorded by Dolly Parton and Zach Williams. Beathard was named BMI’s country songwriter of the year in 2004 and 2008, and was named NSAI’s songwriter of the year in 2008.
“I’m just grateful to God and to everybody in this room … for considering me,” Beathard said. “It’s humbling beyond words and I’m just grateful.”
Murphy moved to Nashville in 1983, before forming the band The Blue Tick Hounds and eventually signing with MCA Records a decade later. In 1994, his debut album spurred the hit singles “Party Crowd” and “Dust on the Bottle.” In the 2000s, he began writing songs for other artists, penning several hits for Kenny Chesney, including “Living in Fast Forward,” “Here and Now” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” which Murphy performed as a duet with Chesney. The song earned Chesney and Murphy the 2018 CMA Award for musical event of the year. Murphy also penned hits including “Big Green Tractor” (Jason Aldean), “Why We Drink” (Justin Moore) and “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” (Thompson Square).
“It’s a huge honor to be here today,” Murphy said. “Most writers, this is one of those ten feet off the ground moments … The songwriter community in Nashville is such a tight-knit community … guys that I write with all the time. It’s a special group of people that are songwriters in Nashville. They are supportive and hugely talented and creative. That makes it even more special that I am here today with these guys … this is something I will always remember.”
Raised in Bristol, Tenn., Van Hoy and his family moved to Nashville after he graduated from high school in 1972. Curly Putman signed him to Green Grass Music, which led to a publishing deal with Tree International. In 1976, Van Hoy found success as a writer on the George Jones/Tammy Wynette classic “Golden Ring.” His catalog of writing hits would grow to include the 1983 best country song Grammy-nominated “Baby I Lied” (Deborah Allen), “Friday Night Blues” and “I’m Only In It For the Love” (John Conlee), “Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way)” (Patty Loveless), “Let’s Stop Talkin’ About It” (Janie Fricke) and “What’s Forever For” (recorded by artists including Michael Martin Murphey, Anne Murray, Johnny Mathis, B.J. Thomas and Olivia Newton-John).
“To be in the Hall of Fame is something I always dreamed of,” Van Hoy said. “To be included with the club of brilliant minds and brilliant songwriter that are in the Hall of Fame is unbelievably humbling and immense gratitude from my heart.” He also noted that earlier in the day, his phone started playing Tammy Wynette’s “’Til I Get It Right.” “I hadn’t touched it,” he said. “It was like my buddies [the song’s writers] Red Lane and Larry Henley were saying, ‘Welcome in.’”
The honorees will formally inducted into the prestigious organization during the 53rd Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Wednesday, Oct. 11, to be held at Nashville’s Music City Center.
Not many non-technical awards given out at the first-ever MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 — which included such now-defunct categories as best stage performance in a video and most experimental video — are still around in any form nearly three decades later. But the Video Vanguard, a lifetime achievement honor awarded to an artist […]
Eight managers, who have guided the careers of everyone from Nirvana to Robert Goulet, have been named as 2023 inductees to the Personal Managers Hall of Fame. Two of the managers, George Shapiro and Shirley Grant, are being honored posthumously.
The 2023 inductees will join 50 current Hall of Fame members, which include Sid Bernstein, Bernie Brillstein, Brian Epstein, Ken Kragen, Doc McGhee, Patricia McQueeney, Dolores Robinson, Jack Rollins and David Sonenberg.
“The Personal Managers Hall of Fame celebrates illustrious careers in entertainment, music, sports and talent management,” Clinton Ford Billups Jr., national president of the sponsoring National Conference of Personal Managers (NCOPM), said in a statement. “The 2023 inductees reflect the contributions, ethics and history of personal management that the Hall of Fame acknowledges and honors.”
Nominations are solicited nationwide from the personal management community. Inductees are selected by the national board of officers of the National Conference of Personal Managers, the nation’s oldest trade association committed to the advancement of personal managers and their clients.
The 2023 Personal Managers Hall of Fame red carpet reception and induction ceremony will be held Wednesday, Oct. 25 at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
More information and tickets for the Personal Managers Hall of Fame is available at www.PersonalManagersHallofFame.org.
Here’s the full list of 2023 inductees to the Personal Managers Hall of Fame.
Phil Brock – CEO of Studio Talent Group, which for more than 25 years has represented actors for commercials, film, television and theatre, including Richard Moll, Mary Woronov and Emmy winner Pat Harrington Jr. (One Day at a Time). Brock was elected in 2020 as a member of the Santa Monica (Calif.) City Council.
Chris DiPetta – Veteran talent manager, television producer and owner of Atlanta comedy club The Punchline. For more than three decades, Chris DiPetta has managed the career of Billy Gardell, actor, comedian and star of the CBS sitcoms Mike and Molly and Bob Hearts Abishola.
Danny Goldberg – Has worked in the music business as a personal manager, record company president, publicist and journalist since the late 1960s. His current management clients include The Waterboys and Martha Wainwright and three-time Grammy winner Steve Earle.
Vera Goulet – For more than three decades, managed the career of her late husband Robert Goulet, who won a Grammy as best new artist of 1962 and a Tony for best actor in a musical in 1968 for The Happy Time. The singer/actor died in 2007.
Shirley Grant – During a career spanning more than four decades, guided the careers of Jonas Brothers, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Christina Ricci, Allison Smith and JD Roth, as well as Broadway stars Alex Boniello and Michael Lee Brown. Grant died in 2020. (Posthumous inductee)
Susan Joseph – A personal manager, concert promoter and branding consultant. Her clients have included songwriter Diane Warren, actress Nell Carter, singer Laura Branigan and actress Pia Zadora.
George Shapiro – A champion of comedy who guided the careers of Carl Reiner, Andy Kaufman, Peter Bonerz, Marty Feldman, Gabe Kaplan, Robert Wuhl, Bill Persky & Sam Denoff, Austin & Irma Kalish, and Norman Barasch. Shapiro died in 2022 at age 91. (Posthumous inductee)
David Spero – A music manager who has overseen the careers of Bad Company, Dickey Betts, Petula Clark, Billy Bob Thornton, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Survivor, Don Felder, Patty Smyth, Joe Walsh and many others. Spero is also a 1970s rock-radio pioneer and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board of directors.
In 1991, the MTV Video Music Awards exhibited both showmanship and class when they allowed Paul Reubens to begin his comeback on their stage. Reubens, who died on Sunday (July 30) at age 70, made the most of the opportunity.
Reubens, creator of the beloved Pee-wee Herman character, had been arrested in Sarasota, Fla. in July 1991 for masturbating in an adult theater. Even years before the Internet and TMZ, this was very big news – not important, to be sure, but deeply embarrassing and career-imperiling, especially for someone who had a big following among kids.
Such artists as Cyndi Lauper and Big Top Pee-wee director Randal Kleiser spoke out in Reubens’ support, but far more celebs were quiet, while comics and late-night talk show hosts, including Arsenio Hall, who hosted the VMAs for the fourth year in a row, had a field day at Reubens’ expense.
The MTV Video Music Awards, then at the peak of their influence, came to Reubens’ support. At the top of the Sept. 5, 1991 show, the announcer said “MTV is proud to introduce someone who has been a friend for a long time.” Reubens, in his Pee-wee costume, then walked on stage to a very warm response from the audience, which stood and chanted his name.
Reubens had a great line ready: “Heard any good jokes lately?,” followed by “So funny I forgot to laugh.” Reubens, who had probably spent the previous six weeks wondering if he still had a career, seemed genuinely moved by the audience response and said, “Thank you very much. That really means a lot to me,” before suggesting that he had something to say.
“I just one have thing that I’d like to say to all of you out there and to everyone in the nation – and that is, Welcome to the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards.”
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MTV had created a perfect television moment – it wasn’t overdone or overwritten. MTV had made a statement, but the network also trusted the audience to get the statement without beating them over the head with it.
With the 2023 Video Music Awards set for Sept. 12, the network can only hope that they handle unforeseen developments with as much class and grace as the producers did that year. (Joel Gallen produced the 1991 show. Doug Herzog, Judy McGrath and Gregory Sills were executive producers.)
R.E.M. were the big winners on the 1991 show, with six awards, including video of the year for “Losing My Religion.” That top award was presented by George Michael and Cindy Crawford. Michael would experience his own embarrassing arrest for lewdness in April 1998. Again, MTV helped right the ship by airing his laugh-it-off video “Outside,” which was released six months later.
Shadoe Stevens, best known as host of American Top 40 from 1988 to 1995; Bob Rivers, an air personality and prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs; and Nina Totenberg, legal affairs correspondent for NPR, are among the eight 2023 inductees into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Other honorees include Gerry House, who was heard on WSIX-FM in Nashville for many years and also wrote hits for such top country stars as George Strait, Reba McEntire and LeAnn Rimes; John DeBella, who played a major role in developing the Morning Zoo format; and Pat St. John, who began his radio career in Windsor, Ontario in 1969, but is best known for the 42 years he spent in the New York City radio market.
Six inductees were determined by a voting participant panel comprised of more than 950 industry professionals. The two remaining inductees were voted on by the Radio Hall of Fame nominating committee.
“My congratulations to our newest inductees,” Kraig T. Kitchin, co-chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, said in a statement on Monday (July 31) when the Museum of Broadcast Communications announced the selections. “I’m thrilled to see each individual receive this recognition from the industry they’ve devoted their professional lives to.”
Dennis Green, co-chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, added: “On behalf of the Radio Hall of Fame nominating committee, we are proud to induct eight individuals into the Radio Hall of Fame who have made an indelible impact upon the industry. It is a pleasure to honor the careers of these individuals who quite simply define excellence in the industry and have earned the right to be called a Hall of Famer.”
The inductees will be honored at the in-person 2023 Radio Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 2, at the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel in New York City. Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, a 2022 Radio Hall of Fame inductee, will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. Tickets are on sale now at www.radiohalloffame.com. A portion of each ticket purchase is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
The Radio Hall of Fame was founded by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. The Museum of Broadcast Communications took over operations in 1991.
Here’s a complete list of 2023 Radio Hall of Fame inductees:
John DeBella
Gerry House
Deborah Parenti
Bob Rivers
Pat St. John
Shadoe Stevens
Nina Totenberg
Charles Warfield
Arctic Monkeys’ The Car was named one of the 12 albums of the year by the 2023 Mercury Awards on Thursday (July 27). It’s the band’s fifth album to be shortlisted for the honor, which puts them in a tie with Radiohead for the most shortlisted albums since the award was introduced in 1992.
Arctic Monkeys won the award in 2006 with Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and were finalists with Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), AM (2013), Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018) and now The Car. Radiohead was shortlisted with OK Computer (1997), Amnesiac (2001), Hail to the Thief (2003), In Rainbows (2008) and A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). Radiohead has yet to win the award.
Should Arctic Monkeys win again, they will join PJ Harvey as the only two-time winners of the award. Harvey won in 2001 with Stories form the City, Stories from the Sea and in 2011 with Let England Shake.
Two of the shortlisted albums — The Car and Fred Again..’s, Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) appeared on Billboard’s list of The 50 Best Albums of 2022: Staff List.
The Mercury Prize — officially known as The Mercury Prize with FREENOW — celebrates the best of British and Irish music across a range of contemporary music genres.
The 2023 awards show will take place on Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London. The event will feature live performances from many of the shortlisted artists and the evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner.
The shortlist was revealed at a launch event. It was also announced live on BBC Radio 6 Music by Tom Ravenscroft as part of a Mercury Prize special. BBC Music, The Mercury Prize’s broadcast partner, will provide coverage of the event across BBC TV, radio, online and social media.
The shortlist was chosen by an independent judging panel chaired by Jeff Smith, head of music, 6 Music & Radio 2. Unlike judging panels for the Grammy Awards, where the members’ names are not revealed, the Mercury Prize publishes the names of all of the committee members. In addition to Smith, this year’s committee consisted of: Anna Calvi – musician, songwriter & composer; Danielle Perry – broadcaster & writer; Hannah Peel – musician, songwriter & composer; Jamie Cullum – musician & broadcaster; Jamz Supernova – broadcaster & DJ; Lea Stonhill – music programming consultant; Mistajam – songwriter, DJ & broadcaster; Phil Alexander – creative director, Kerrang!/contributing editor, Mojo; Sian Eleri – broadcaster & DJ, Tshepo Mokoena – music writer & author; Will Hodgkinson – chief rock & pop critic, The Times.
Here’s the complete list of 2023 Mercury Prize albums of the year:
Arctic Monkeys, The Car
Ezra Collective, Where I’m Meant to Be
Fred Again., Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)
J Hus, Beautiful and Brutal Yard
Jessie Ware, That! Feels Good!
Jockstrap, I Love You Jennifer B
Lankum, False Lankum
Loyle Carner, hugo
Olivia Dean, Messy
RAYE, My 21st Century Blues
Shygirl, Nymph
Young Fathers, Heavy Heavy
Sinead O’Connor made history at the seventh annual MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 6, 1990, becoming the first woman to win for video of the year. Her striking clip for “Nothing Compares 2 U,” directed by John Maybury, took the prize, besting Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun,” Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence” and Madonna’s “Vogue.”
In the VMAs’ first six years, just two women had even been nominated for the marquee award. Cyndi Lauper was nominated in 1984, the VMAs’ first year, for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Madonna was nominated in 1989 for “Like a Prayer.”
Even after O’Connor — who died at age 56 on Wednesday (July 26) — broke this barrier, it took awhile for women artists to achieve parity with men at the VMAs in this category. The award went to all-male rock bands the next four years, before TLC won in 1995 for “Waterfalls.” And then we started to see real change. Madonna and Lauryn Hill won in 1998 and 1999, for “Ray of Light” and “Doo Wop (That Thing),” respectively, marking the first time women won back-to-back awards in the category.
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Women won six years in a row from 2007-12, thanks to Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z), Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Rihanna again (this time featuring Calvin Harris).
Even though male artists and groups won 10 of the first 11 awards presented in this category, with only O’Connor busting up that streak, women have nearly caught up. Male artists and groups have won 21 times, to 18 for women.
O’Connor won two other “Moonmen” (the gender-neutral term “Moonperson” was still years in the future) that night – best female video and best post-modern video, both also for “Compares.”
When the Grammy nominations were announced at the end of 1990, O’Connor was up in four categories, including record of the year and best pop vocal performance, female. (Prince was nominated for song of the year for writing the song.)
At the inaugural Billboard Music Awards in December 1990, “Nothing Compares 2 U” won for #1 World Single. (Phil Collins’ …But Seriously was named #1 World Album.) At the Brit Awards in February 1991, she took international female solo artist against an incredibly strong field – Mariah Carey, Neneh Cherry, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Tina Turner.
When the Grammys were presented in February 1991, O’Connor won best alternative music album — which was presented for the first time that year — for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. It was her only career Grammy win.
O’Connor received three more Grammy nominations after that night, all in music video categories – a sign of how strongly she was associated with the art form after “Nothing Compares 2 U.” She was nominated for the Year of the Horse long-form video and two short-form videos, “Fire on Babylon” and “Famine.”
Wyclef Jean is set to host the first Caribbean Music Awards, to be held on Aug. 31 at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. The show will livestream on YouTube at 8 p.m. ET. Jean discussed hosting the show on NBC’s Today show last week. He said the success of the Verzuz episode in May 2020 featuring […]
When the nominations for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards are announced on Nov. 10, two country hits could be in the running for record of the year for the first time since Jimmy Carter was President.
Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” and Luke Combs’ remake of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” both have a very good chance of making the finals. Wallen’s song has logged 23 weeks atop Hot Country Singles. “Fast Car” has logged 12 weeks at No. 2. (Both songs dropped one rung this week, to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, with the re-entry in the top spot of Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town.”)
Combs’ hit probably has a better chance of being nominated than Wallen’s does. Combs has received six Grammy nominations over the years (though he has yet to win). And Chapman’s original version was nominated for record and song of the year. Wallen has yet to be nominated for a Grammy, so there’s no evidence yet that Grammy voters are ready to forgive and forget the 2021 incident where he was videotaped using a racial pejorative.
If both hits are nominated, this would be the first time in 46 years that two or more country hits have competed in this marquee category. (We define a country hit as a song that made the top 20 on Hot Country Songs.) In 1977, three top five country hits vied for record of the year – Crystal Gayle’s elegant torch ballad “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” (which topped the country chart for four weeks), Linda Ronstadt’s exquisite pop/country version of Roy Orbison’s 1963 pop hit “Blue Bayou” (which reached No. 2) and Debby Boone’s megahit rendition of the Oscar-winning ballad “You Light Up My Life” (which reached No. 4).
In three earlier years, two or more country hits competed for record of the year. In 1967, Glen Campbell’s sublime reading of Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (a No. 2 country hit) vied with Bobbie Gentry’s enigmatic pop/country crossover smash “Ode to Billie Joe” (a No. 17 country hit).
The following year, for the first and so far only time in Grammy history, three No. 1 country hits competed for record of the year. They were Jeannie C. Riley’s reading of Tom T. Hall’s “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Bobby Goldsboro’s tearjerker ballad “Honey” and Campbell’s version of another Webb classic, “Wichita Lineman.” The Riley and Goldsboro hits each topped the country chart for three weeks; Campbell’s smash headed it for two.
In 1975, Campbell’s sleek version of Larry Weiss’ “Rhinestone Cowboy” and Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes” competed for the prize. “Rhinestone Cowboy” topped the country chart for three weeks. “Lyin’ Eyes” reached No. 8 on the country chart.
In 1979, two record of the year nominees had charted on Hot Country Songs, but only one of them was a home-run country hit. That’s Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” which topped the country chart for three weeks on its way to becoming his signature song. The other is a pop smash – Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond’s “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” – that was covered by Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius, one of the top country duos of the era. Both versions entered Hot Country Singles – as the chart was then called – on Nov. 25, 1978. But whereas the version by Brown and Cornelius made the top 10, the version by Barbra & Neil stalled at No. 70. (It had star-power to burn, but you can practically hear country programmers saying “It just isn’t country.”)
In recent years, it has been hard for even one country hit to wind up with a Grammy nod for record of the year. The last five country hits to be nominated in that marquee category (again defining a country hit as a song that reached the top 20 on Hot Country Songs) were Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” (No. 19 in 2019), Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together) (No. 1 for 10 weeks in 2012), Lady A’s “Need You Now” (No. 1 for five weeks in 2010), Swift’s “You Belong With Me” (No. 1 for two weeks in 2009) and Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” (No. 1 for one week in 1998).
The Recording Academy expanded the number of nominees in each of the Big Four categories (including record of the year) from five to eight in 2018. They expanded it again to 10 in 2021, but have announced that they are dropping it back down to eight for the nominations that will be announced on Nov. 10.