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The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the record industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the more prominent Grammy Awards are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony. The current President of the Academy is Neil Portnow. The Grammys are considered the highest music honor, the U.S. record industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for motion pictures.

The awards were established in 1958. Prior to the first live Grammys telecast in 1971 on ABC, a series of taped annual specials in the 1960s called The Best on Record were broadcast on NBC. The first Grammy Award telecast took place on the night of November 29, 1959, as an episode of the NBC anthology series Sunday Showcase, which was normally devoted to plays, original TV dramas, and variety shows. Until 1971, awards ceremonies were held in both New York and Los Angeles, with winners accepting at one of the two. Pierre Cossette bought the rights to broadcast the ceremony from NARAS, and organized the first live telecast. CBS bought the rights in 1973 after moving the ceremony to Nashville, Tennessee; the American Music Awards were created for ABC as a result.

The award show is normally held in February. The 50th Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, again at the Staples Center. The 51st Grammy Awards will be held on February 8, 2009 once again at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Gramophone trophy

The actual trophy is manufactured exclusively by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, CO. The trophies are all hand made and assembled. Years ago, the old smaller gramophone had to be revamped because the metals were too soft and there were many problems with the trophy breaking. The trophy was made bigger and grander. The Grammy is assembled in pieces and finally finished off in gold plating. The trophies used for the broadcast are called "stunt" Grammys.

As of 2007, 7,578 Grammy trophies have been awarded

Categories

main: List of Grammy Award categories main: Grammy Award records The "General Field" are four awards which are not restricted by genre, and are generally considered to be the most important.Fact: date=January 2008

• Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a single song.
• Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a full album.
• Song of the Year is awarded to the writer(s)/composer(s) of a single song.
• Best New Artist

Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other contributions such as artwork and video. Special awards are also given out for more long-lasting contributions to the music industry.