The Grammy Awards is a marketing scheme above all else, anyway, so they will seek the biggest names they can come up with to nominate for an award. The category is really irrelevant. If Springsteen went up against most of the real folkies out there for an award, he would have a huge advantage meerly because his name can generate sales in the millions, instead of the thousands that most of the folkies could garner.

Isn't promo part of the Grammy criteria? How effectively the music was marketed? I know it weighs heavily in the Oscars.

Rework this into a folk tribute to our great country in spite of the problems! It only makes the common man stronger as he is the backbone to our culture. The women’s rights and black’s history are our truth while the Indian’s struggle makes our heart hurt. Our soul is not lost in the corporate struggle to keep corporate taxes and individual taxes proportional. When a disparity exists the issue must be addressed. The indirect tax is found in the credit industry’s increased targeting of groups who have no control nor associations. No money means no representation, no lobby and no warmth. Electricity is good . . . a blanket’s better . . . and a warm cup of soup is nourishing freedom. Without one there is none. Our weakest link is the strength of our fabric. We must protect our working class to keep them working. Without work there is no soup. We trust our leaders to make wise decisions from the gainful heart, not a pocketbook focused on gainful shareholders. I trust in a better tomorrow. I trust in the folk’s who honor our country. Come on down to folk-alley for some slow sippin’ good times.

I don't know who votes for Grammys. Members of the Recording Academy, I suppose. How many performers are actually Academy members? With the Oscars, members nominate in their own category (except for best picture) and then everyone votes for the winners. It could be that the Academy is stacked with mainline musicians. I wonder how much dues are to be an Academy member? It's pretty artibrary. By the same token, the Junos seem to nominate folks that are actually working in the field (last year Jenny Whitely won for something and when I went to link up to her album, it took me 10 minutes to even find it anywhere).

It's easy to slam the Grammys, but the question Ann asked is which albums really deserve to win. One 2005 record that was completely ignored by the Grammys really deserves some recognition - that's Jamie Hartford's "Part Of Your History" - a tribute to the songs of his father, John Hartford. I'm truly disappointed that the Grammys didn't give this one a nomination. It's a lovely and truly respectful album that really captures the spirit of the wonderful songs that John Hartford left us. It's beautifully performed and recorded. This one deserves an award.

With respect to the Grammys, it's really the nomination that represents the honor. The award itself tends just to be a popularity contest. Since every academy member gets to vote in every category, people tend to vote for the artists they know - even when they are completely unfamiliar with the category. But the nominations tend to come from those who really know the category well. So I consider the nomination to be the real honor. Winning the award says a lot less.

Incidentally, one marginally "folk" album got nominated for a Grammy in a category that many people may not have noticed. Chris Thile, the incredible mandolist of Nickel Creek, was nominated in the "Best Engineered Album" category for his solo album, Deceiver. As anyone who knows Thile's music would expect, the album is quite varied - ranging from gentle folk to aggressive rock, and showing influences from baroque and jazz and more. But the interesting thing about it is that Chris played and sang EVERY single part on the record - it is truly a "solo" album! Because of the incredible work necessary to produce a record this way, co-producers Chris Thile and Gary Paczosa were nominated for the Grammy.

I loved Bono's comment on the Grammys that U2 is "the world's loudest folk group."

Say what you want about the Grammy voting, but I have to hand it to them for giving Allison Krauss and Union Station 3 awards over more commercially successful country artists. Every musician in that band is a virtuoso.

OMG ...I had to watch the Grammys. I must be getting old!!

Hello Mr. Wilson! My name is Patti and I work with Jamie Hartford. I have shared your wonderful comments about the CD with Jamie and the producer. You are most kind. Thank you.

"Part of Your History" wasn't eligible for a Grammy this year. The CD was released on a limited basis to only a handfull of longtime supporters of the Hartford's music, like Folk Alley, last summer. However, we did not have national release and distribution until Nov.8. To be in the running for this year's Grammys we would have to have had national distribution before Sept. 30.
Since this year marks the 5th anniversary of John's passing it somehow seems appropriate that we are eligible this year. Personally, I think the CD deserves a Grammy, but I may be just a little biased...

Keep your fingers crossed for us, maybe we'll make the cut this year!

Patti

Patti, thank you very much for responding and for clarifying the timing of the release of Part Of Your History. I didn't realize that the official release came along so late in the year. I sincerely hope that NARAS recognizes Jamie's CD in the next Grammy cycle. And if any FolkAlley members haven't heard it, I encourage you to listen to it. You can learn about it and hear some of it at:

http://partofyourhistory.com/