61st Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center

February is a big month in Los Angeles as we honor stellar performers in the creative arts.  It begins with the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 10th.

Prior to 2004 the Grammy Awards were held in different cities around the country. In 2004 the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles became the permanent home of the Grammys.  The Grammy Museum was constructed in the LA Live complex to preserve the history of the Grammy Awards.  The Grammy Walk of Fame was created around LA Live by the Recording Academy in recognition of the top awardees.

The 61st Annual Grammy Awards will broadcast live on CBS TV at 8 pm Eastern Time and 5 pm Pacific Time.

Looking over the sheer number of music categories, songs and artists being considered one can’t help but be amazed as what a rich musical heritage we have.  Winners from about 80 categories will be announced.  Categories include, Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist.  They then cover every genre of music with best album, best song, etc.  You can see a full list of the 61st Annual Grammy Awards categories and nominees here.

As for getting tickets to the Grammys, it’s a closed event.  Only nominees, special guests of the academy, and voting members are invited to attend the Grammy awards.

Beware if you see tickets to the Grammys advertised somewhere.  They are most likely counterfeit. This is actually true of any major event.  Get your tickets from authorized ticket agents only. Ticket scalpers range from those that produce outright counterfeit tickets to those that buy up extremely large quantities of tickets for events they expect to sell out and jack up the prices astronomically.  Don’t get burned and don’t encourage scalping.  It cheats everyone.

History of the Grammy Awards

Originally called a Gramophone Award, the Grammy Award is presented by the Recording Academy to acknowledge achievements in the music industry.  They originated with the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the fifties.  While we do see recording artists acknowledged on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, recording executives realized there were far too many important recording artists for the walk to handle.

The first Grammys were held on May 4th 1959.  It was held simultaneously at both the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City and 28 awards were presented.  With the second ceremony, the Grammys were televised, but it wasn’t until 1971 when they were first televised live.

More photos after the break…