When the Grammys Left Us Stunned

Sure, everyone has an opinion. But in the case of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the folks who’ve been handing out Grammys for the past 57 years, those opinions have provided some truly inexplicable wins. These announcements often lead to stunned silence. Then, usually, there’s some anger, a bit of outrage, followed by a few chuckles, which mellow into wry smiles and finally, a defeated, resigned shrug. Hey, it’s the Grammys — these are our 10 favorite out-of-touch moments.

Read more Complete coverage of the 2015 Grammy Awards

Jethro Tull, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance (1989)

Let’s start at the bottom. When critics claim the Grammys are out of touch with, oh, reality, this is the example of just how far out of touch. Best hard rock/metal was a new category in 1989 (considering the metal boom in the ‘80s, notice the Grammys were late to the party). Metallica’s …And Justice for All was a no-brainer to win the award. Instead, it went to Jethro Tull. Yes, the ‘70s prog rock giants who hadn’t hard rocked much of anything since Metallica was in diapers. And Metal? Well, Tull leader Ian Anderson did play a metal flute. Metallica eventually won six metal Grammys, a record for the category, but are best remembered for this loss.

Milli Vanilli, Best New Artist (1990)

Riding the chart-smashing success of their album Girl You Know It's True, the dance act duo Milli Vanilli (Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus) defeated Neneh Cherry, Indigo Girls, Soul II Soul and Tone Loc for best new artist. Seems simple, right? The album had produced five top five singles, the Grammys like success, they had that hair … All would have been fine — except for the fact that Morvan and Pilatus didn’t sing a word on the album. Scandal ensued and nine months after the duo won their Grammy, the album’s producer Frank Farian finally admitted the fraud. Not amused, NARAS revoked the duo’s Grammy — the only time this has happened.

Steely Dan, Album on the Year (2001)

We have no issue with Steely Dan winning album of the year — if that year was 1977 and the album was Aja. But the Grammys have a way of acting, oh, nostalgic from time to time, as was the case in 2001. The Dan had returned with their first album in 20 years, Two Against Nature. It’s a nice effort. It is not, however, as iconic as Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP, as ambitious as Radiohead’s Kid A or, heck, as fun as Beck’s Midnite Vultures. All three lost to Steely Dan that evening. Instead of taking a giant leap forward into a new century, the Academy comfortably retreated into the past. Look at Donald Fagen’s face. Even he knows he pulled off a royal scam.

A Taste of Honey, Best New Artist (1979)

We could do a separate story on strangest best new artist wins in Grammy history. In theory, the award should honor original artists with promising futures. People like, say, Elvis Costello or The Cars in 1979. Instead, the Grammys decided to play it hip, do the electric slide over to Disco town and went with one-hit-wonder A Taste of Honey. The L.A. outfit had been around seven years before their hit “Boogie Oogie Oogie” wormed its way into American ear holes. That was enough for the academy to see great promise and hand over the gold. Now, it seems like a bitter piece of history.

Shelby Lynne, Best New Artist (2001)

Another “new” artist, another odd award. The Grammys often have their own definitions of words (again, see “heavy metal”). To you or me, “new” refers to something that has just recently come into existence. To the Grammys, it often means, “We haven’t heard of this before, so therefore it’s new!” Our favorite case in point is singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne, who in 2001 … well, we’ll let Shelby tell you in her own words: "Thirteen years and six albums to get here," said Lynne during her acceptance speech. She won for I Am Shelby Lynne, which is a haunting confessional … but not the work of a brand-new artist.

Lionel Richie, Album of the Year (1985)

No disrespect to Lionel Richie. Who doesn’t love dancing on the ceiling? But in 1985, Richie’s Can’t Slow Down beat Prince’s Purple Rain and Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. for album of the year. It seemed wrong at the time and in retrospect it just seems silly (Prince and the Boss have never won album of the year, by the way. Yikes) Yes, five of the album’s eight tracks made the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, so in terms of dollars, did Richie deserve the honor? Sure. But if you try to argue that “Hello” is artistically superior to, say, “When Doves Cry” or "Darlington County,” we just need to walk away.

Eric Clapton, Best Rock Song (1992)

In 1992, Nirvana released Nevermind, which contained a generational anthem and one of rock’s greatest songs, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Everything in popular music changed. There was angry, angsty hope blaring from the radio. “Teen Spirit” was nominated for best rock song, but again, instead of taking a step into the future, the Grammys recoiled. Who beat Nirvana for best rock Song? Eric Clapton. Now, OK, had Slowhand won for some new, rippin’ bluesy number, we could maybe understand. Maybe. But he didn’t. He won for a sleepy, acoustic reworking of “Layla,” his hit from 21 years previous rearranged for a MTV Unplugged performance. Outrageous.

Frank Sinatra, Album of the Year (1967)

How can you criticize Frank Sinatra winning any Grammy, you ask? Well, we can when the album is a greatest hits collection, when the year is 1967 and when his competition included The Beatles. Yes, Old Blue Eyes took home the most prestigious award for A Man and His Music, a double album retrospective. It beat The Beatles’ Revolver. On the flip side, the Fab Four would win the award the following year for Sgt. Pepper, and Sinatra did prevent album of the year from going to the Dr. Zhivago Soundtrack. That’s a small win, right?

Sinead O’Connor, Best Alternative Music Album (1991)

We’re not here to debate the meaning of “alternative music.” Suffice to say, the Grammys, by their own definition, created the category for artists “outside of the mainstream music consciousness.” How edgy! They unveiled this new category in 1991 and proceeded to hand it to … an album that sold 7 million copies worldwide. In 1991, Sinéad O’Connor wasn’t outside the mainstream; she was the mainstream. Who did she beat? The Replacements (their final bow), Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson, and World Party, four artists very much outside of the mainstream. Grammys, sometimes we just don’t understand you.

Toto, Album of the Year (1983)

The competition wasn’t stiff in 1983: John Mellencamp's American Fool, Donald Fagen's The Nightfly, Billy Joel's The Nylon Curtain and Paul McCartney's Tug of War. Regardless, we argue any of those would have been better than a record containing “Africa.” We do, however, credit Toto for finding a rhyme for “Serengeti.”

See more 12 Artists That Shockingly Haven't Won a Grammy