“Ladies and gentlemen…and others”
Congratulations are due to all involved with the creation of David Bowie’s ★ album, after the news that the release enjoyed a clean sweep at the Grammy Awards tonight, with all five nominations winning the gongs in the following categories…
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12. Best Rock Performance
(Accepted by Donny McCaslin)
Blackstar
David Bowie
Track from: Blackstar
Label: ISO/Columbia Records
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14. Best Rock Song
(Accepted by the presenters)
Blackstar
David Bowie, songwriter (David Bowie)
Track from: Blackstar
Label: ISO/Columbia Records; Publisher(s): Nipple Music admin. by RZO Music, Inc.
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16. Best Alternative Music Album
(Accepted by Donny McCaslin)
Blackstar
David Bowie
Label: ISO/Columbia Records
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65. Best Recording Package
(Accepted by Jonathan Barnbrook)
Blackstar
Jonathan Barnbrook, art director (David Bowie)
Label: ISO/Columbia Records
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69. Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
(Accepted by Kevin Killen and Joe LaPorta)
Blackstar
David Bowie, Tom Elmhirst, Kevin Killen & Tony Visconti, engineers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer (David Bowie)
Label: ISO/Columbia Records
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Today’s ‘lyric’ quotation was taken from Bowie’s introduction to Aretha Franklin when he presented her with the Grammy for Best R & B Female Vocalist in 1975. (See picture)
In a nod to that moment, the same words were used by Jonathan Barnbrook in his introduction when he accepted the Grammy for Best Recording Package this evening.
Barnbrook also had this to say of Bowie: “He had this very rare quality of getting people to produce their best work, but doing it in a way that was wonderful, charming, a great, great enjoyable ride, and I want to thank him for that.”
Speaking about the power and importance of music, Barnbrook offered the following observation: “I’ve seen how important what musicians do for people is. It’s there when you’re born, it’s there when you get married, it’s there when you die at your funeral. So we should celebrate that, absolutely.”
You can watch Donny McCaslin’s touching speech, when (along with the ★ band), he accepted the Best Rock Performance gong on behalf of David Bowie, here.
In a backstage interview later, Donny spoke of the sheer joy expressed by Bowie during the creation of ★ – That is a joy that will live forever in the grooves of ★
#59thGrammyAwards #Grammys2017 #BowieGrammyAwards #BowieBlackstar #Blackstar