The 57th annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last night.
As always, there were some odd surprises—not to mention some halfway respectable results. Here are a few examples of both.
Tenacious D took home the Best Metal Performance award for "The Last In Line." Jack White won Best Rock Performance for "Lazaretto" (the song). Beck won Best Rock Album and Album of the Year for Morning Phase (one of Guitar World's50 best albums of 2014).
St. Vincent won Best Alternative Rock Album for St. Vincent, and the late Johnny Winter won Best Blues Album for Step Back. (Both are on our top 50 list.)
The night also featured several live performances, some memorable, some not so much. AC/DC (with former drummer Chris Slade back behind the kit for the first time since 1994), were in extra-fine form with their show-opening performance of "Rock or Bust, the title track from their 2014 album.
You can check out that performance below (be sure to turn up the somewhat-muted volume). They also dipped into the past with "Highway to Hell," which you also can watch below. We'll upgrade that video when a better version becomes available on the YouTubes.
Paul McCartney (that fellow from the Beatles and Wings) performed "FourFiveSeconds" with Kanye West and Rihanna. Hozier and Annie Lennox performed Hozier's "Take Me to Church." Beck and Coldplay's Chris Martin did a fine job with Beck's "Heart Is a Drum." ELO's Jeff Lynne took the stage to perform "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Evil Woman," with Ed Sheeran on guitar and vocals. Prince also made a surprise appearance, which earned a standing ovation.
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Blues legend Buddy Guy, the Bee Gees and the late George Harrison (another one of those Beatles fellows) received Lifetime Achievement Awards.
What are your thoughts on Tenacious D winning Best Metal Performance? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook.
Anyway, here are some other arguably guitar-centric winners of 2015 Grammy awards. To see the official (and complete) list of nominees and winners, visit grammy.com.
Best Reggae Album Ziggy Marley, Fly Rasta
Best Folk Album Old Crow Medicine Show, Remedy
Best Bluegrass Album The Earls Of Leicester, The Earls Of Leicester
Best Country Song "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond, songwriters (Glen Campbell)
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
