Americana grammy to Bonnie Raitt? Really?

[hellindc]

I've got Bonnie's CD that won the Grammy, and I like it. But in the Americana genre, really? Personally, among these nominees, I liked John Fullbright the best. But if not to Fullbright, then it really should go to someone playing acoustic in a more traditional style, I think.

[mrmando]

I think that ship sailed already ... whatever Americana is, it fits Bonnie Raitt better than folk fits the Goat Rodeo Sessions.

[journeybear]

I would like to know how the vague category "Americana" is defined for the Grammys voters. If it's fairly similar to my own vague definition, then I am fine with giving the award to Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams every year they put out an album (as long as they don't have one out the same year, which due to each's infrequent output might never happen), and everyone else can duke it out in the other years. I keep hoping a member who's also a member of the Academy and privy to the actual definitions and procedures (beyond what the website tells us) will enlighten us on these and other matters of great concern. Till then, threads like this serve mostly as an outlet for speculation, venting of frustration, and other rather inconsequential nattering. Not that I don't have a bit of fun indulging myself in such matters, but I know they don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.

It's been a couple weeks since the broadcast, and yes, that ship has indeed sailed. Now the Oscars are coming up, which are even less relevant to many if not most of us. Of course, relevance has seldom been the ultimate deciding factor in what gets discussed here, so ... have at it!

[allenhopkins]

Well, according to the ever-scrupulously-accurate Wikipedia, "Americana, as defined by the Americana Music Association (AMA), is 'contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band.'"

Raitt's blues-based rock is pretty much in accordance with this definition, which is broad enough to encompass "alt country" and "surf klezmer," and everything else in between, I guess. Note "contemporary" in the definition, which I guess would exclude artists who include a large component of traditional material.

[Ed Goist]

Fans of Americana music should be thrilled Bonnie Raitt won the Grammy in this category. Having an established artist with a recognizable name win a Grammy in a niche category means that more folks are likely to be exposed to that genre (even peripherally) in the long run, and may become fans of the genre overall, seeking out the music of other artists in the category.

[Londy]

I don't care what anyone says, there is a certain rigging taking place in all the award shows. Bunch of crap.

[John Flynn]

I'd like to see Grammy categories for best:

North-Indian Global-Zombie-Trance Jazz
Barbershop-Darbhanga Fusion
Rai-Ska Outlaw Country Operetta
Neurofunk Madrigal Throat Singing
Freestyle Acid House Flamenco
Twelve-Tone Boy Bands
Dark Ambient Ragtime Fusion
Klezmer Surf Trance
Gregorian Chant Inspired Bluegrass
Andean-Reggae Black Metal
Chinese Opera-Mississippi Delta Blues
Alpine Yodeling-Samba Fusion
Mariachi-Polka Waltz-Punk

[Bob Clark]

I'd like to see Grammy categories for best:

North-Indian Global-Zombie-Trance Jazz
Barbershop-Darbhanga Fusion
Rai-Ska Outlaw Country Operetta
Neurofunk Madrigal Throat Singing
Freestyle Acid House Flamenco
Twelve-Tone Boy Bands
Dark Ambient Ragtime Fusion
Klezmer Surf Trance
Gregorian Chant Inspired Bluegrass
Andean-Reggae Black Metal
Chinese Opera-Mississippi Delta Blues
Alpine Yodeling-Samba Fusion
Mariachi-Polka Waltz-Punk

I think one or two of these might actually be kind of interesting

[greg_tsam]

Fans of Americana music should be thrilled Bonnie Raitt won the Grammy in this category. Having an established artist with a recognizable name win a Grammy in a niche category means that more folks are likely to be exposed to that genre (even peripherally) in the long run, and may become fans of the genre overall, seeking out the music of other artists in the category.

What genre would that be? Surf Klezmer?

[allenhopkins]

What genre would that be? Surf Klezmer?

Boom Pam:



Oh, by the way: no mandolin content…just a lot of tuba...

[mrmando]

Actually, here's an interview clip with Bonnie Raitt in which she refers to her own music as "Americana." If she's content to use the term, surely I shouldn't have a problem with it.

[journeybear]

Americana is a hybrid term, incorporating a lot of different styles into one, therefore undefined, ill-defined, underdefined, or as-yet-undefined, depending on your perspective. It may indeed include any or all of the hybrids the facetious Mr. Flynn proposed - if for no other reason than it lacks a strict commonly accepted and understood definition. The wiki's definition is pretty good, IMO, though it would be most enlightening for the purposes of this discussion to learn how The Grammys defines it. I may have a look-see through the site in a while.

Meanwhile, I agree - if it's good enough for Bonnie, it's good enough for me. I believe there was no such category in 1998, so Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road" won the award in the Contemporary Folk Album category, though it is clearly not folk. It even rocks a bit harder than a lot of other Americana efforts, but I still think of it as a benchmark for the genre - possibly because it is just so darned good, in its entirety. There never was a Folk Rock category, AFAIK, FWIW.

[jesserules]

She's great, I'm happy to see her win a Grammy, but I've always thought of her as a blues singer/player. I guess blues fits inside the academy's extremely broad definition of "Americana" though.

[journeybear]

I have too, and yet ... The Grammys think otherwise. The estimable Ms Raitt has won nine Grammys, but only one in a Blues category - Best Traditional Blues Recording for "I'm In The Mood," her collaboration with John Lee Hooker. Everything else has been in Rock or Pop, most notably in 1989, for "Nick Of Time" - Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, and Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female - as well as the above-mentioned award. She hasn't won a Grammy since 1996, for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, as one of eight artists playing on a Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute, "SRV Shuffle."

I will grant that she has done some great work in the blues, and sure has a bluesy sounding voice and noteworthy slide guitar style. I also think it's worth noting that it's her version of "Angel From Montgomery" that put her on the map, and still stands as the definitive version, the reason why so many female singers perform it - and this John Prine composition, and her rendition, are pretty solidly folk, I would say. I also recall she did a heckuva rocking cover of an NRBQ song, "Green Lights," quite some time ago. I would say she is an accomplished musician in several genres. I would also say, and have, let her have her Grammy.

[hellindc]

OK, OK, I'm voted down. Actually, I agree with the points made about frangibility of genres, and that does open space for Bonnie -- whose early blues recordings in particular are distinguished. The Grammies have in fact narrowed categories. I can't see why they didn't return the larger categories. (By the way, my own preference would be a category combining bagpipe and castanets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzF35iRocJA; we can call it "Galiciana") I still think the production values of Raitt's more recent CDs are closer to pop -- and honestly, I do like them. I thought mando players who visit here might like to see more traditional styles honored. Oh, rats, my backspace won't work, so I've left myself open to criticism about what's "traditional."

[Paul Kotapish]

Anyone who meets the basic requirements* and wants to invest $100 and bother with the membership application can join the Recording Academy vote for the Grammys.

*You can qualify to be a voting member if can prove that you've made a few recordings (at least one within the past five years) and that they are for sale commercially (digital or hard copy) and that you are an active musician/singer/music professional. There are a few other hoops to jump through, but it's nothing too strenuous.

If all of the recording musicians playing trad/folk/bluegrass/blues music actually joined the organization and exerted their sway, it might be possible to retool the awards into something a little more meaningful. That's what the hip-hop folks did.

https://www.grammy365.com/join/membership-types

[Charlieshafer]

Very true, and you can lobby the academy through social media and get nominated that way, especially in the lesser-watched categories. That was the case with a couple of the Americana nominees that way. They weren't any better than the others, not as good as some, but they spent hours each day linking themselves all over the digital domain to make sure that all the voting members knew about themselves. That way, when the heavy pop or Hip Hop artists had to fill in some nominee categories with names, they just picked someone they'd heard about, thinking they had a "buzz." The buzz was competely self-made. So get cracking guys, start lobbying.

[journeybear]

Right. I remember reading an article about a young lady a year or two ago who manipulated social media to get herself nominated. She didn't win, mind you, but she got on the ballot. So she can now claim, till the end of her days, that she is a Grammy-nominated artist. She can put stickers on her CDs and everything. Maybe it helps with sales, publicity, and booking; maybe not. It still looks good, even if it's hollow.

BTW, I neglected to mention, I haven't heard Bonnie's CD yet. I just assume it's worthy.

[Pasha Alden]

Not familiar with the award mentioned. I just think if you manipulate it adds to the feeling of hollowness about the whole business - easy to manipulate, perhaps less so to win by being worthy. Not heard the latest from Bonnie Raite, but I do enjoy the odd song by her. Best to you all VM

[Paul Kotapish]

Not familiar with the award mentioned. I just think if you manipulate it adds to the feeling of hollowness about the whole business - easy to manipulate, perhaps less so to win by being worthy. Not heard the latest from Bonnie Raite, but I do enjoy the odd song by her. Best to you all VM

Vannilla,

The Grammy's are the highest profile music-industry awards in the United States. Obviously they are not revered or even respected by everyone, but the do carry some caché in the mainstream music business.

My suggestion to folk to get involved was an invitation to manipulate anything.

As it stands, the voting body of the Recording Academy that determines who gets nominated and awarded the Grammys is skewed towards mainstream pop. Proponents of the various musical roots and branches represented in the Cafe, for example, are woefully underrepresented. Part of the reason the Americana category (or bluegrass or contemporary folk or whatnot) gets quirky results is that so few folks who actually understand American roots music are actively engaged in the organization.

Just passing along a little Joe Hill advice: "Don't mourn: Organize!"