Pick a Day

Music History Events: Awards and Honors

February 26, 1985 The Judds win their first Grammy Award when "Mama He's Crazy" (their first #1 single) is named Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

January 28, 1985 Lionel Richie hosts the American Music Awards, where he wins five of the eight awards he's nominated for, including Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. He can't slow down: After the show, he heads to A&M Recording Studios to record "We Are The World," which he wrote with Michael Jackson.

September 17, 1983 Vanessa Williams, who later becomes a popular actress and lands a #1 hit with "Save The Best For Last," becomes the first Black woman crowned Miss America. She gives up the title the next year after naked photos of her appear in Penthouse.

February 23, 1983 Alabama wins a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Mountain Music."

July 30, 1982 The Ron Howard comedy Night Shift, starring Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton, debuts in theaters. The soundtrack features the song "That's What Friends Are For," performed by Rod Stewart. Written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, it becomes a huge hit four years later when Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder (aka Dionne & Friends) cover it for AIDS awareness, winning Grammys for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year.

April 29, 1982 Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni are named Songwriters of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards, while their "Stand And Deliver" is named the best selling single.

March 29, 1982 "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)," sung by Christopher Cross, wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Cross wrote the song with Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager (along with Peter Allen, who came up with the line "When you get caught between the moon and New York City") for the film Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli.

February 15, 1982 The Tennessee General Assembly votes the bluegrass tune "Rocky Top," originally recorded by The Osborne Brothers and made popular by Lynn Anderson, the fifth official state song. It was written by celebrated husband-and-wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.

July 17, 1981 Universal Pictures releases the romantic drama Endless Love, starring Brooke Shields. The film is quickly forgotten, but the theme song, a duet by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, spends nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earns Richie an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.

March 31, 1981 At the first ever Golden Raspberry Awards (aka The Razzies), Neil Diamond takes home the prize for Worst Actor for his performance as Yussel Rabinovitch in The Jazz Singer. Laurence Olivier, who played Cantor Rabinovitch in the film, also scores a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor, an honor he shares with John Adames for Gloria.

October 13, 1980 George Jones wins Single of the Year at the Country Music Association awards for "He Stopped Loving Her Today," starting a career resurgence for the country legend.

January 16, 1979 Roger Miller sings a medley of songs on The Muppet Show. He also sings "In the Summertime" in a patch of musically skilled watermelons and drops the bombshell news that he, like the all-chicken cast of Vet's Hospital, once suffered from "Cluckitis."

January 8, 1979 Rush are named Canada's Official Ambassadors Of Music by the Canadian government.

April 15, 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd are celebrated before the Atlanta Braves home opener in a ceremony to honor the band for their live album One More For The Road, which was recorded at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

March 24, 1975 Rush are named Most Promising Group at the Juno Awards. They fulfill that promise, winning Group Of The Year in 1978 and 1979.

March 1, 1975 Elvis Presley wins a Grammy for Best Inspirational Performance for his live version of "How Great Thou Art."

April 15, 1970 Michael Wadleigh's Woodstock, a film chronicle of the famed 1969 counterculture festival, wins the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

April 7, 1970 Popular songwriting team Hal David and Burt Bacharach win the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Performed by B.J. Thomas, it hit #1 on the US charts. Bacharach also takes the prize for Best Original Score for his work on the film.

January 3, 1970 Melody Maker names Al Stewart's Love Chronicles its folk album of the year.

October 21, 1968 Johnny Cash wins best album at the Country Music Awards for his live release Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison.

April 5, 1965 "Chim Chim Cher-ee," composed by The Sherman Brothers for the Disney musical Mary Poppins, wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

April 13, 1963 At the 36th Academy Awards, Bobby Darin is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a traumatized war hero in the drama Captain Newman, M.D. He loses to Melvyn Douglas in the Western Hud.

April 8, 1963 Frank Sinatra hosts the 35th Academy Awards, held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Lawrence of Arabia wins Best Picture, with composer Maurice Jarre taking home Best Original Score. Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer land Best Original Song for "Days Of Wine And Roses" from the film of the same name.

March 4, 1943 At the Academy Awards, Irving Berlin presents the Oscar for Best Original Song, which he wins for "White Christmas." He is the only presenter to ever win the award he presented.