BMG And Penguin Random House Audio Celebrate Grammy Awards
Several BMG singers and songwriters were honored at the 63rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. They also took part in the awards gala. BMG won a Grammy in the Reggae genre for the first time ever, and the audiobook “Blowout” by Rachel Maddow, published by Penguin Random House Audio, also won an award.
They are among the world’s most important music prizes and should actually have been presented in January. But like so many other things, the 63rd Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles were finally held at a later date. And BMG artists were not only once again among the award-winners in the more than 80 categories, but were also involved in the gala at the LA Convention Center, which featured video recordings as well as live performances. The U.S. audiobook publisher Penguin Random House Audio also had reason to celebrate: the audiobook “Blowout” by Rachel Maddow, read by the author and published as a book by Crown, won the coveted Best Spoken Word Album award.
BMG-signed American singer-songwriter Ledisi, herself a Grammy nominee and eventual winner, sang the opening lines to Marvin Gaye’s classic “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” in an all-star jam as a nod to the special circumstances the world is in right now. The Canadian-American singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright, also nominated for a Grammy, performed the track “Devils and Angels (Hatred)” from his 2020 album “Unfollow The Rules” released by BMG. And Jimmy Jam from BMG’s famous music producer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis presented the awards in the Rhythm & Blues (R&B) category.
First reggae award for BMG
At the awards themselves, BMG was pleased to win the music company’s first Best Reggae Album award for “Got To Be Tough” by Toots & The Maytals, released on BMG’s Trojan Records label. It was a posthumous tribute for the band’s founder Toots Hibbert, who passed away on September 11, 2020. The band The Strokes, who are signed to BMG as publishing artists, won Best Rock Album. Here is a list of all the BMG artists (recording or publishing clients) who won a Grammy:
- „Best Reggae Album“: „Got To Be Tough“ Toots & The Maytals (Recording)
- „Best Rock Album“: „The New Abnormal“, The Strokes, BMG-Songwriter: The Strokes (Publishing)
- „Best Traditional R&B Performance“: „Anything For You“, Ledisi (Recording)
- „Best R&B Album“: Bigger Love, John Legend, BMG-Songwriter: John Legend (Publishing)
These BMG songwriters contributed to the Grammy winning songs of other artists:
- „Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package“ Lawrence Azerrad & Jeff Tweedy (Publishing)
- „Best Remixed Recording“: „Roses (Imanbek Remix)“, Imanbek Zeikenov und Remixer SAINt JHN, BMG-Songwriter: SAINt JHN (Publishing)
- „Best Country Duo/Group Performance“: „10,000 Hours“, Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber, BMG-Songwriter: Poo Bear (Publishing)
Plus a Grammy for Penguin Random House Audio:Best Spoken Word Album
- Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) „Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, And The Richest, Most Destructive Industry On Earth“ von Rachel Maddow
