GRAMMY WTF?  LED ZEPPELIN. More: tomorrow.

The Grammy Awards are one of music’s most prestigious trophies. Since the inaugural ceremony in 1959, winners have spanned a vast array of musical styles and winners as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Eminem and Lizzo. There have, however, been some instances where one can’t comprehend the outcomes and omissions. Caffè Lattè looks back on some of the most baffling moments and unsuccessful -yet influential- acts…

GRAMMY WTF?

LED ZEPPELIN

Led Zeppelin’s catalogue bears witness to the group’s significant influence on hard rock. Its sound helped usher in heavy metal.

For some reason, the lauded albums by Led Zeppelin found no favour with the Academy. The British band was first nominated in 1970 in the Best New Artist category; losing to the trio Crosby, Stills & Nash. That was it for Led Zep... until 2013! Despite delivering finely crafted albums throughout the 1970s, the group received no nominations.

Finally, in 2013 the oversight was corrected. The band received two new nominations. Album track “Kashmir” (originally from the 1975 album ‘Physical Graffiti’) was up for Best Rock Performance. It lost. Parent album ‘Celebration Day’ was a live recording. This disc finally gave Led Zeppelin its first and only Grammy Award.

 

NEVER WON A GRAMMY AWARD*:

*(excludes life achievement categories)

 

ROXETTE

Like compatriots ABBA before them, Swedish duo Roxette never won a Grammy. On the US chart, Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle achieved four number one singles: “The Look”, “Listen To Your Heart”, “It Must Have Been Love” and “Joyride”. The duo dominated charts around the world with these smash hits and others that reached the Top 10.

How the Academy could have ignored such a successful and innovative act is baffling. Even more bewildering than the lack of any wins, is the incomprehensible fact that Roxette never received a single nomination.