2019 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

After years of the Recording Academy being accused of being way out of touch by giving familiar veteran performers most of the major nominations for the Grammy Award while the music of contemporary artists were largely being shut out, this year the nominations for one of the highest honors in music seem to have gotten closer in closing that gap. Artists that are creating exciting cutting edge music like Bon Iver, Lana Del Rey and Vampire Weekend each received multiple nominations in the top categories while women have finally made strides in getting recognized for their work with five of the eight Album of The Year nominees are by female artists.

R&B/hip-hop sensation, Lizzo leads the pack with the most nominations with eight for her breakout single, "Truth Hurts" and third album, "Cuz I Love You". For the first time in Grammy history, there are two artists to receive nominations in the top four categories, Album of The Year, Song of The Year, Record of The Year and Best New Artist with Lizzo being one and alt-rocker, Billie Eilish being the other performer. The seventeen year old had a great year with her debut studio album, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" becoming a critical hit and major seller. She follows with the most nominations with six along with another new artist, Lil Nas X who merged hip-hop and country to have the crossover smash, "Old Town Road" with a little assist from Billy Ray Cyrus. Ariana Grande, H.E.R. and Finneas O'Connell, Eilish's brother who co-wrote and produced her album, all received five nominations.

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday, January 26, 2020 at Staples Center in Los Angeles with Alicia Keys returning as host. Here is a partial list of the 2019 Grammy Award nominations:

Album of The Year:

"I, I" — Bon Iver
"Norman Fucking Rockwell!" — Lana Del Rey
"When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" — Billie Eilish
"Thank U, Next" — Ariana Grande
"I Used to Know Her" — H.E.R.
"7" — Lil Nas X
"Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)" — Lizzo
"Father of the Bride" — Vampire Weekend

Record of The Year:

"Hey, Ma" — Bon Iver
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish
"7 Rings" — Ariana Grande
"Hard Place" — H.E.R.
"Talk" — Khalid
"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
"Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
"Sunflower" — Post Malone & Swae Lee

Song of The Year:

"Always Remember Us This Way" — Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
"Bring My Flowers Now" — Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
"Hard Place" — Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris. H.E.R. and Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
"Lover" — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
"Norman Fucking Rockwell" — Jack Antonoff and Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
"Someone You Loved" — Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn and Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi)
"Truth Hurts" — Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson and Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo)

Best New Artist:

Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosalía
Tank and the Bangas
Yola

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Spirit" — Beyoncé
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish
"7 Rings" — Ariana Grande
"Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
"You Need to Calm Down" — Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Boyfriend" — Ariana Grande and Social House
"Sucker" — Jonas Brothers
"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
"Sunflower" — Post Malone and Swae Lee
"Señorita" — Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"The Lion King: The Gift" — Beyoncé
"When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" — Billie Eilish
"Thank U, Next" — Ariana Grande
"No. 6 Collaborations Project" — Ed Sheeran
"Lover" — Taylor Swift

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"Sì" — Andrea Bocelli
"Love (Deluxe Edition)" — Michael Bublé
"Look Now" — Elvis Costello and The Imposters
"A Legendary Christmas" — John Legend
"Walls" — Barbra Streisand

Best Dance Recording:

"Linked" — Bonobo
"Got to Keep On" — The Chemical Brothers
"Piece of Your Heart" — Meduza featuring Goodboys
"Underwater" — RÜFÜS DU SOL
"Midnight Hour" — Skrillex & Boys Noize featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

"LP5" — Apparat
"No Geography" — The Chemical Brothers
"Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape)" — Flume
"SOLACE" — RÜFÜS DU SOL
"Weather" — Tycho

Best Rock Performance:

"Pretty Waste" — Bones UK
"This Land" — Gary Clark, Jr.
"History Repeats" — Brittany Howard
"Woman" — Karen O and Danger Mouse
"Too Bad" — Rival Sons

Best Rock Album:

"Amo" — Bring Me The Horizon
"Social Cues" — Cage The Elephant
"In The End" — The Cranberries
"Trauma" — I Prevail
"Feral Roots" — Rival Sons

Best Alternative Music Album:

"U.F.O.F." — Big Thief
"Assume Form" — James Blake
"I,I" — Bon Iver
"Father Of The Bride" — Vampire Weekend
"Anima" — Thom Yorke

Best R&B Performance:

"Love Again" — Daniel Caesar and Brandy
"Could've Been" — H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller
"Exactly How I Feel" — Lizzo featuring Gucci Mane
"Roll Some Mo" — Lucky Daye
"Come Home" — Anderson .Paak featuring André 3000

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

"Time Today" — BJ The Chicago Kid
"Steady Love" — India.Arie
"Jerome" — Lizzo
"Real Games" — Lucky Daye
"Built For Love" — PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan

Best R&B Album:

"1123" — BJ The Chicago Kid
"Painted" — Lucky Daye
"Ella Mai" — Ella Mai
"Paul" — PJ Morton
"Ventura" — Anderson .Paak

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

"Apollo XXI" — Steve Lacy
"Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)" — Lizzo
"Overload" — Georgia Anne Muldrow
"Saturn" — NAO
"Being Human In Public" — Jessie Reyez

Best Rap Performance:

"Middle Child" — J. Cole
"Suge" — DaBaby
"Down Bad" — Dreamville featuring J.I.D, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG and Young Nudy
"Racks In The Middle" — Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy
"Clout" — Offset featuring Cardi B

Best Rap/Sung Performance:

"Higher" — DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend
"Drip Too Hard" — Lil Baby and Gunna
"Panini" — Lil Nas X
"Ballin" — Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch
"The London" — Young Thug featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott

Best Rap Album:

"Revenge of the Dreamers III" — Dreamville
"Championships" — Meek Mill
"I Am > I Was" — 21 Savage
"Igor" — Tyler, The Creator
"The Lost Boy" — YBN Cordae

Best Country Solo Performance:

"All Your'n" — Tyler Childers
"Girl Goin' Nowhere" — Ashley McBryde
"Ride Me Back Home" — Willie Nelson
"God's Country" — Blake Shelton
"Bring My Flowers Now" — Tanya Tucker

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"Brand New Man" — Brooks and Dunn with Luke Combs
"I Don't Remember Me (Before You)" — Brothers Osborne
"Speechless" — Dan + Shay
"The Daughters" — Little Big Town
"Common" — Maren Morris featuring Brandi Carlile

Best Country Album:

"Desperate Man" — Eric Church
"Stronger Than The Truth" — Reba McEntire
"Interstate Gospel" — Pistol Annies
"Center Point Road" — Thomas Rhett
"While I'm Livin'" — Tanya Tucker

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Thirsty Ghost" — Sara Gazarek
"Love & Liberation" — Jazzmeia Horn
"Alone Together" — Catherine Russell
"12 Little Spells" — Esperanza Spalding
"Screenplay" — The Tierney Sutton Band

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:

"In The Key Of The Universe" — Joey DeFrancesco
"The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul" — Branford Marsalis Quartet
"Christian McBride's New Jawn" — Christian McBride
"Finding Gabriel" — Brad Mehldau
"Come What May" — Joshua Redman Quartet

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album:

"X 100PRE" — Bad Bunny
"Oasis" — J Balvin & Bad Bunny
"Indestructible" — Flor De Toloache
"Almadura" — iLe
"El Mal Querer" — Rosalía

Best Americana Album:

"Years to Burn" — Calexico And Iron & Wine
"Who Are You Now" — Madison Cunningham
"Oklahoma" — Keb' Mo'
"Tales of America" — J.S. Ondara
"Walk Through Fire" — Yola

Best Bluegrass Album:

"Tall Fiddler" — Michael Cleveland
"Live In Prague, Czech Republic" — Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
"Toil, Tears & Trouble" — The Po' Ramblin' Boys
"Royal Traveller" — Missy Raines
"If You Can't Stand The Heat" — Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen

Best Traditional Blues Album:

"Kingfish" — Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
"Tall, Dark & Handsome" — Delbert McClinton and Self-Made Men
"Sitting On Top Of The Blues" — Bobby Rush
"Baby, Please Come Home" — Jimmie Vaughan
"Spectacular Class" — Jontavious Willis

Best Gospel Album:

"Long Live Love" — Kirk Franklin
"Goshen" — Donald Lawrence Presents The Tri-City Singers
"Tunnel Vision" — Gene Moore
"Settle Here" — William Murphy
"Something's Happening! A Christmas Album" — CeCe Winans

Best World Music Album:

"Gece" — Altin Gün
"What Heat" — Bokanté and Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley
"African Giant" — Burna Boy
"Fanm D'ayiti" — Nathalie Joachim with Spektral Quartet
"Celia" — Angelique Kidjo

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media:

"The Lion King: The Songs" — Various artists
"Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" — Various artists
"Rocketman" — Taron Egerton
"Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" — Various artists
"A Star Is Born" — Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media:

"Avengers: Endgame" — Alan Silvestri
"Chernobyl" — Hildur Guðnadóttir
"Game Of Thrones: Season 8" — Ramin Djawadi
"The Lion King" — Hans Zimmer
"Mary Poppins Returns" — Marc Shaiman

Best Music Video:

"We've Got To Try" — The Chemical Brothers
"This Land" — Gary Clark, Jr.
"Cellophane" — FKA twigs
"Old Town Road (Official Movie)" — Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus
"Glad He's Gone" — Tove Lo

Producer of The Year (Non-Classical):

Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
John Hill
Finneas O'Connell
Ricky Reed

TAKE TWO: ASHFORD & SIMPSON

It's hard to say what Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson are really best known for. The duo first started their careers separately as songwriters before coming together and eventually joining the Motown staff to help create such classics as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "California Soul", "You're All I Need To Get By","Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". But Ashford & Simpson also wanted to perform their own music and began a recording career. They would achieve some success as performers with one of their biggest hits was "Solid" in 1984.

Ashford was born in Fairfield, SC and Simpson in the Bronx, NY. Their paths would cross in Harlem at a church in 1964 with them later deciding to team up to write songs and perform. While they didn't have much initial luck as a singing act, some of the songs they wrote with former Ikette,  Jo "Joshie" Armstead became popular. One of this team's biggest songs was for Ray Charles with "Let's Go Get Stoned" which went to number one on the U.S. R&B chart in 1966. That year, Ashford and Simpson were invited to join Motown as writers and producers, leaving their mark with several charting hits for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, the Marvelettes, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas and Diana Ross.

Ashford & Simpson still wanted to become known as performers. Simpson recorded two solo albums with Motown who failed to give them much of a promotional push. The couple decided it was finally time to leave the label after they had recorded an album singing their versions of the many songs they wrote for Motown yet the company refused to release it.

After getting married in 1974, Ashford & Simpson signed with Warner Bros. Records as recording artists. The duo found modest success with their albums and charted on the r&b chart with the singles, "Send It","Don't Cost You Nothing", "It Seems to Hang On", "Is It Still Good to Ya", "Found a Cure" and a collaboration with Quincy Jones on his album, "Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!" with the single, "Stuff Like That" which reached number one in 1978.

They signed with Capitol Records in 1982 and it was during this period where the couple would achieve their greatest success. "Solid", which could perfectly describe the couple's relationship, would become an incredible hit, crossing over to the US pop chart and reaching the top-five in several countries. In 2009, Ashford & Simpson would do a fun rewrite of the song to honor President Barack Obama, calling it "Solid (As Barack)". The couple would continue to write and produce for other artists including Gladys Knight and the Pips, Roberta Flack, Stephanie Mills, Teddy Pendergrass and Chaka Khan's 1978 classic, "I'm Every Woman".

In 2011, Nickolas Ashford passed away from complications of throat cancer at the age of seventy. He is survived by Simpson, now seventy-two, and their two daughters, Nicole and Asia. In honor of this legendary musical duo, here are two of my favorite songs from Ashford & Simpson:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Mikaela Straus came out loud and proud last year with her first single, "1950" under her professional moniker, King Princess. This song, about imaging the time when people had to keep their sexuality a secret, brought the now twenty year old Bronx native plenty of attention. This lead to her meeting musician/producer, Mark Ronson who featured her on a track on his latest album, "Late Night Feelings" and signed her to his label, Zelig. Now King Princess has just released her debut studio album, "Cheap Queen". This self-described genderqueer singer-songwriter explores issues facing today's LGBTQ youth and creates pop anthems that will not only speak to them but anyone feeling alone and isolated.





Here is a selection of some new songs that perfectly merges together music and image:









During this year's "Black Girls Rock!" celebration, three of hottest female dance vocalists from the '90's came together to perform their big hits from the era. Check out Robin S. ("Show Me Love"), Crystal Waters ("Gypsy Woman") and CeCe Peniston ("Finally") who take us back and deliver glorious live renditions of their songs.



And we close with some thrilling duets by some great singers. We have Mamas & Papas vocalist, Cass Elliot teaming up with John Denver on a cover of the melancholy ballad, "Leaving On a Jet Plane". Cheryl Lynn and the very missed Luther Vandross delivering some vocal dynamics on their live version of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "If This World Was Mine" during an appearance on "Soul Train".

PONY

The latest artist to challenge traditional country music is Orville Peck. Self-identified as queer and performs with his face obscured with an elaborate mask, Peck delivers a modern twist to his classic country influenced sound on his debut album, "Pony". His mug is not the only thing the singer is keeping covered as he has not publicly revealed his background beyond that "Orville Peck" is a pseudonym, he is from Canada and that he's older than twenty and younger than forty. However, in this day and age, nothing can remain secret for long. It has been uncovered that he is Daniel Pitout who was once the drummer of the Canadian punk band, Nu Sensae.

But let's keep the focus on his music. The collection of songs on "Pony" were inspired through many of his life experiences and some of the interesting folks he met along the way. Peck wants to challenge heteronormative expectations while offering a bold, alternative voice to country music. And with that, I think he has fully succeeded. The visuals are just as important to Peck as his music, as you can tell by these stylish music videos from this exciting new artist:

HEY, I'M JUST LIKE YOU

The identical Canadian alt-rockers, Tegan and Sara have been making music together for almost twenty-five years since they were young girls. The now thirty-nine year old musicians have just released a memoir, “High School” which looks back on their childhood and early musical beginnings. Each twin wrote alternating chapters from their own point of view.

And Tegan and Sara have also released their ninth studio album called “Hey, I’m Just Like You”. This record came together as they were writing the book when they found old cassette demo recordings they had made between the ages of fifteen to seventeen. The sisters decided to bring these unreleased songs to life. While they did do a little rewriting, Tegan and Sara kept the essence of those raw teenage emotions and re-recorded these songs with a mature production. It’s a really interesting concept and returns the duo back to their indie-rock roots. Have a listen to a couple of track I really like:

NEW SOUNDS

BRITTANY HOWARD

Alabama Shakes, the blues rock band, broke out in 2012 with their critically acclaimed debut, "Boys & Girls". After an extensive tour to promote that album, the group's follow-up, "Sound & Color" helped make Alabama Shakes even bigger. The album debuted in the US at number one, reached the top ten in several countries and won the band four Grammy Awards.

Following all of this success, the band's dynamic guitarist and lead vocalist, Brittany Howard decided to take a step back and put the band on hiatus so she could explore her own musical pursuits. She and her wife, Jesse Lafser hit the road, traveling around the country to experience modern-day America. This road trip lead to the Southern-based singer's first solo album, "Jamie" with the title named after her sister who passed away from a rare form of cancer as a teenager. With this record, Howard was inspired to go deeper in to her personal history and viewpoints to create her music. She also incorporates a little jazz, funk and hip-hop in to her songs. This is an exciting and bold new work from Howard. Here are a couple of tracks including the funky single, "Stay High" with the music video featuring actor Terry Crews:





RAPHAEL SAADIQ

One artist who I think is vastly underrated is r&b singer, musician, writer and producer, Raphael Saadiq. I don't think this incredibly gifted performer has gotten nearly enough attention that I think he deserves. The Oakland-born Saadiq (birth name Charles Ray Wiggins) began his career as part of the '90's neo-soul group, Tony! Toni! Toné! with his brother, D'Wayne Wiggins and their cousin, Timothy Riley. After they disbanded in 1996, he continued to create music as part of the short-lived r&b super-group, Lucy Pearl while co-writing and producing tracks for such artists like D'Angelo, Jill Scott, The Roots, Q-Tip, Joss Stone, Mary J. Blige and John Legend. Saadiq released his first solo album in 2002 with "Instant Vintage", a classic work yet not fully appreciated at the time.

For his fifth solo project, "Jimmy Lee", Saadiq has created a concept album that is deeply personal. The record is named after his brother who had contracted H.I.V. and later died from a drug overdose. The songs, inspired by other family losses in his life from addiction and tragedy, features the inventive production you expect from Saadiq yet the lyrics have a deep emotional complexity that you don't usually find in his work. Here is the clip for the single, "Something Keeps Calling" featuring Rob Bacon and a mini-documentary with Saadiq discussing the creation of his art and latest album:

IN MEMORIAM

EDDIE MONEY (1949 - 2019)

Eddie Money, the working-class rocker who found chart success in the 1970's and '80's, passed away on September 13th due to complications from esophageal cancer.

He was born Edward Mahoney in Brooklyn, NY and raised on Long Island. As teenager, he performed with several rock bands but after graduating from high school, Mahoney decided to follow in the family tradition and become a police officer. He briefly worked as a trainee at the NYPD before realizing he needed to follow his true passion; music.

In 1968, Mahoney moved to Berkeley, CA., changed his name to "Eddie Money" and played the club scene in the Bay Area. He struggled for a number of years to get noticed until his first big break came when he met music promoter, Bill Graham who helped get the fledgling singer signed to Columbia Records. Money's self-titled debut album was released in 1977 and became an immediate success, selling over two million copies, thanks to the top-forty singles, "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets To Paradise".

He would continue to enjoy popularity until the early 1980's when Money's career began to decline due to the distraction of his increased drug abuse. The singer made a major comeback in 1986 with the single, "Take Me Home Tonight". With the label taking more creative control of his music, Money was given this demo to perform which he didn't really like. But he was intrigued by a line in the song taken from The Ronnettes' classic 1963 hit, "Be My Baby". Money managed to track down and convince the then-retired Ronnie Spector to sing on the track. That would help make this tune Money's highest charting single, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and revitalize Spector's music career.

Money made an appearance on an episode of the Netflix series, "The Kominsky Method" last year and on "Real Money", a reality show that featured him and his family on AXS TV. He had also recently recorded a new album called, "Brand New Day" which was scheduled to be released last July but it was put on hold following his stage four cancer diagnosis. Listen to two of my favorites songs from the dynamic Eddie Money:





RIC OCASEK (1944 - 2019)

The co-creator, writer, guitarist and voice behind the new-wave rock band, The Cars, Ric Ocasek passed away on September 15th. He died of natural causes at the apparent age of seventy-five since there has been some dispute over the actual year of Ocasek's birth. Ocasek and his band had been just inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year.

Ocasek was born and raised in Baltimore, MD but his family moved to Cleveland, OH when he was sixteen. He had begun college in the state but dropped out after deciding he wanted to seriously pursue music. He met Benjamin Orr, a bass player and vocalist, and they formed a rock band together. The duo relocated to Boston and became a folk-rock group called, Milkwood which featured future Cars member, keyboardist Greg Hawkes. They did record one album but it failed to chart. The three musicians would become a part of other bands where they would meet guitarist Elliot Easton and drummer, David Robinson with them all becoming The Cars in 1976.

After signing with Elektra Records in 1977, The Cars released their self-titled debut the following year. With their unique sound that combined punk, rockabilly and power-pop, The Cars became noticed almost instantaneously and found chart success with such songs like, "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go", "You Might Think", "Magic", "My Best Friend's Girl", "Tonight She Comes" and "Good Times Roll" before the band called it quits in 1988.  Each member went on to pursue individual musical endeavors with Ocasek recording seven solo albums with his most successful being his second in 1986, "This Side Of Paradise". The surviving members of The Cars (Orr passed away in 2000) would reunite in 2010 with an album, "Move Like This" and a tour.

Ocasek is survived by six sons, two from each of his three marriages and his third wife, model Paulina Porzikova who he met in 1984 during the shooting of the music video for The Cars' biggest hit single, "Drive" and they married in 1989. But after almost thirty years of marriage, the couple had separated in 2017.