Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
Awarded forQuality performances in the hard rock genre
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded1990
Last awarded2011
Websitegrammy.com

The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards until 2011.

The academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time at the 31st Grammy Awards (1989). The category was originally presented as Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental, combining two of the most popular music genres of the 1980s.[1] Jethro Tull won that award for the album Crest of a Knave, beating Metallica, who were expected to win with the album ...And Justice for All. This choice led to widespread criticism of the academy, as journalists suggested that the music of Jethro Tull did not belong in the hard rock or heavy metal genres.[2][3] In response, the academy created the categories Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance, separating the genres.

The band Living Colour was presented the first award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. From 1992 to 1994 the award was presented as the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal. As of 2011, the bands Foo Fighters, Living Colour, and the Smashing Pumpkins share the record for the most wins, with two each. American artists have been presented with the award more than any other nationality, though it has been presented to musicians or groups originating from Australia twice and from the United Kingdom once. Alice in Chains holds the record for the most nominations without a win, with eight.

The award was discontinued in 2012 due to a major overhaul of Grammy categories. After 2012, quality hard rock performances were shifted to the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category. However, in 2014, the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category was split, returning the stand-alone Best Metal Performance category and recognizing quality hard rock performances in the Best Rock Performance category.[4] According to the Recording Academy, "It was determined that metal has a very distinctive sound, and hard rock more closely aligns with rock and can exist comfortably as one end of the rock spectrum."[4]

Recipients

A man wearing a white T-shirt, playing a guitar with his eyes closed while standing behind a microphone stand.
Chris Cornell, lead singer of the 1995 award-winning band Soundgarden, performing in 2005
A man with a shaved head, singing into a microphone with his eyes closed. He is wearing a black shirt with the text "Zero" across the front.
Billy Corgan of the two-time award-winning band The Smashing Pumpkins
A man with long, curly hair wearing a red dress shirt and singing into a microphone on a stand.
1999 award winner, Robert Plant, performing in 2007
Four men in dark clothing on a stage; the man on the left has his arm raised in the air, while the third man from the left has his arms around the second and fourth.
Metallica, the 2000 award-winning band, performing in 2008
Linkin Park, the 2002 award-winning band
A crowd of people standing before a stage lit by four lights from above. On the stage, from left to right, is a man with a guitar, a man dressed in black holding a guitar, and a man sitting behind a drum set.
The two-time award-winning band Foo Fighters
Three men on a stage in front of a crowd; two are holding guitars while the one of the center is sitting behind a drum set. Audio equipment, a drum set, lighting, and other stage fixtures can also be seen in the background.
Wolfmother, the 2007 award-winning band, performing at the Beale Street Music Festival
Three men standing on a stage in front of a crowd; two are holding guitars while the one of the center is holding a microphone. Audio equipment, a drum set, lighting, and other stage props can also be seen in the background.
The 2009 award-winning band, The Mars Volta
Year[I] Performing artist(s) Work Nominees Ref.
1990 Living Colour "Cult of Personality" [5]
1991 Living Colour Time's Up [6]
1992 Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge [7]
1993 Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give It Away" [8]
1994 Stone Temple Pilots "Plush" [9][10]
1995 Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun" [11]
1996 Pearl Jam "Spin the Black Circle" [12]
1997 The Smashing Pumpkins "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" [13]
1998 The Smashing Pumpkins "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" [14]
1999 Page and Plant "Most High" [15]
2000 Metallica "Whiskey in the Jar" [16]
2001 Rage Against the Machine "Guerrilla Radio" [17]
2002 Linkin Park "Crawling" [18]
2003 Foo Fighters "All My Life" [19][20]
2004 Evanescence & Paul McCoy "Bring Me to Life" [21]
2005 Velvet Revolver "Slither" [22]
2006 System of a Down "B.Y.O.B." [23]
2007 Wolfmother "Woman" [24]
2008 Foo Fighters "The Pretender" [25]
2009 The Mars Volta "Wax Simulacra" [26]
2010 AC/DC "War Machine" [27]
2011 Them Crooked Vultures "New Fang" [28]

^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

Multiple wins

2 wins

Multiple nominations

References

General
  • "Past Winners Search". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Note: User must select the "Rock" category as the genre under the search feature.
Specific
  1. ^ Pareles, Jon (February 23, 1989). "Grammys to McFerrin and Chapman". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  2. ^ Hoffmann, Frank, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Vol. 1 (2 ed.). CRC Press. p. 542. ISBN 978-0-415-93835-8. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  3. ^ Holden, Stephen (February 14, 1990). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "The Recording Academy Elects New National Officer and Approves Continuing Evolution of Grammy Awards Categories at Spring Trustees Meeting". Recording Academy. June 4, 2013. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  5. ^ "Here's list of nominees from all 77 categories". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Publishing Company. January 12, 1990. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  6. ^ "List of Grammy nominations". Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina: The New York Times Company. January 11, 1991. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  7. ^ "Grammy nominations span Streisand, Seal, Seattle Symphony". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. January 8, 1992. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  8. ^ "Grammy nominees". The Baltimore Sun. Tribune Company. January 8, 1993. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  9. ^ Campbell, Mary (January 7, 1994). "Sting, Joel top Grammy nominations". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina: The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  10. ^ "36th Annual GRAMMY Awards (1993)". grammy.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  11. ^ "The 37th Grammy Nominations". Los Angeles Times. January 6, 1995. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  12. ^ "List of Grammy nominees". CNN. January 4, 1996. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  13. ^ Campbell, Mary (January 8, 1997). "Babyface is up for 12 Grammy awards". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Communications. p. 8B. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  14. ^ Campbell, Mary (January 7, 1998). "Grammys' dual Dylans". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Communications. p. 8B. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  15. ^ "1999 Grammy Nominees". NME. IPC Media. November 27, 1998. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  16. ^ "42nd Annual Grammy Awards nominations". CNN. January 4, 2000. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  17. ^ "43rd Grammy Awards". CNN. February 21, 2001. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  18. ^ "Complete List Of Grammy Nominees". CBS News. January 4, 2002. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  19. ^ "Complete list of Grammy nominees; ceremony set for Feb. 23". San Francisco Chronicle. January 8, 2003. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  20. ^ "Foo Fighters". grammy.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  21. ^ "They're All Contenders". The New York Times. December 5, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  22. ^ "Grammy Award nominees in top categories". USA Today. Gannett Company. February 7, 2005. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  23. ^ "The Complete List of Grammy Nominations". The New York Times. December 8, 2005. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  24. ^ "49th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  25. ^ "Grammy 2008 Winners List". MTV. February 10, 2008. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  26. ^ "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. February 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  27. ^ "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  28. ^ "53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominees list". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2010.

External links

Grammy Award categories
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