Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Ask Mr. Music by Jerry Osborne

FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 5, 2012


DEAR JERRY: As a new fan of Adele's, I was thrilled to see her dominate at this year's Grammy Awards show.

Her special night got a lot of media coverage, but I'm curious about this one comment I read: “Adele became the second female artist to win six awards in one night.”

What they didn't bother mentioning is the name of the other woman.

It's just a guess, but I think it might be Carole King. I know she had a big year because of the “Tapestry” album.

Am I right?
—Lana Clifford, Patterson, N.J.


DEAR LANA: You are absolutely right about Carole and “Tapestry” having a monster year at the 1971 Awards show; however, her four Grammys that night leaves her two short of the six Adele took home this year.

The only other female with a six-Grammy night is the coincidentally mononymous Beyonce, just three years ago. In 2009, Beyonce topped her own record, set in 2003, of five Grammys.

One noteworthy difference is in the Award categories themselves, where the competition varies widely.

All but two of Beyonce's 16 overall wins (2000-2009), are in the R&B/Rap field, where the pool of potential nominees is obviously limited.

Adele prevailed each time against performers from virtually any mainstream genre. Winning here means being the best of the best.

Adele picked up her first two Grammys in 2009, for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (“Chasing Pavements”).

Then last month (Feb. 12) came Adele's phenomenal night to remember:

Album of the Year: “21”
Best Pop Vocal Album: “21”
Record of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep”
Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep”
Best Short Form Music Video: “Rolling in the Deep”
Best Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You”

Adele is the only woman ever to win all four of what the Academy calls General Field awards, which are: Best New Artist; Album of the Year; Record of the Year; and Song of the Year.

This is such a rare achievement that only one other person, Christopher Cross (1981), completed the General Field quadfecta.

Now with eight Grammys on her mantle, and still only 23, Adele has a good shot of joining the all-time top 15 winners — where only two females currently reside.

In order of total Grammy wins, with first and last year awarded and primary category, they are:

31 Sir Georg Solti: 1962-1997 (Classical/Opera)
27 Quincy Jones: 1963-2001 (Jazz/Pop)
27 Alison Krauss: 1990-2008 (Bluegrass/Country)
26 Pierre Boulez: 1967-2005 (Classical/Opera)
25 Vladimir Horowitz: 1962-1992 (Classical)
22 Stevie Wonder: 1973-2006 (R&B/Pop)
22 U2: 1987-2005 (Pop)
21 John Williams: 1972-2008 (Classical/Pop/Soundtracks)
20 Henry Mancini: 1958-1970 (Pop/Soundtracks)
20 Bruce Springsteen: 1984-2009 (Pop)
20 Vince Gill: 1990-2008 (C&W)
18 Aretha Franklin: 1967-2007 (R&B/Pop)
18 Pat Metheny: 1982-2007 (Jazz)
16 Paul Simon: 1968-1987 (Pop)
16 Chick Corea: 1975-2009 (Jazz)

These include awards for being part of a winning collaboration (i.e., Simon & Garfunkel; Alison Krauss & James Taylor; Stevie Wonder & Tony Bennett, etc.)


IZ ZAT SO? As of this writing (March 3), Adele's “21” is enjoying its 22nd week as the nation's No. 1 album — a feat unmatched by any female in music history!

Of the millions of albums since 1948, only three by solo artists are still ahead of Adele in this race, all by men. With those total weeks at No. 1, they are:

37 “Thriller” (Michael Jackson)
31 “Calypso” (Harry Belafonte)
24 “Purple Rain” (Prince and the Revolution)

Catching “Calypso,” or more so “Thriller,” would be a real challenge, but putting “Purple Rain” in the review-view mirror is not only doable, but even probable. We'll know later this month.

Last year on March 12th, Adele's “21” debuted as the No. 1 album. It has now been in the Top 10 for a full year, while at no time ranking any lower than No. 7.


Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net   Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com


All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.


Copyright 2012 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission



 

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