Grammy night brings visions of red carpets, lovely gowns, and the music industry’s hottest artists. However, the Grammys also give a nod of honor to the spoken word of authors and artist in genres that do not involve the art of voice or instrument. The 50th Grammy Awards Ceremony gave three awards to the gifted voices of the spoken word and comical collaboration.
The most noted vocal winner Sunday night (2008) was Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Obama won the ‘Spoken Word Album’ Grammy for his audio book version of his best selling book “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.” This is Obama’s second Grammy win; the first in 2006 was for his audio book “Dreams From My Father,” a memoir published in 1995. “The Audacity of Hope” is a book with many levels of discussion. Barack Obama deals with his absentee father. He speaks of his journey to find his families roots and talks about his youthful struggles. Obama is candid in his book about marijuana use, alcohol use, and his struggles to find his place in the culture of his time. His political views and disappointments become clearer in his writing. The book gained great recognition and endorsement from the media and his current supporter Oprah Winfrey. This New York Times Best Selling book became one of the key introductions of Barack Obama into the role of political “Golden Boy.” Many believe, the recognition and empowerment that began to rise after the circulation of this book, sprung Obama into his early run for President of the United States.
Obama now shares Grammy company with the another Democratic hopeful, Hillary
Clinton. Clinton won a ‘Spoken Word’ Grammy in 1997 for her New York Times Best Seller “It Takes A Village. He also shares the award with former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Clinton won in 2004 for a collaborative children’s story and in 2005 for his memoir “My Life.” Carter won in 2007 for his audio book “Our Endangered Valued: America’s Moral Crisis.”
The 2008 Grammy winner for the ‘Spoken Work Album for Children’ was Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows, audio Jim Dale, written by J.K. Rowling’s.
The Seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series drew as much attention and speculation as any other. With misguided gossip, this installment has more than earned its keep. Pre-dated implications of the death of Harry himself, and talk of voluptuous main character relationships, sold out the paper printing well before the final t’s had been crossed. Later, as introductions to homosexual characters emerged, the Harry Potter series found a way to even sale out to the few who had not already owned a copy. The seventh book, won for the audio reading, is the only part of the series that travels forward in time. Nine years later the reader gets to imagine characters with lives that include children, marriage, responsibilities, and the memories of death. Written by J.K. Rowling’s, The Harry Potter series has been the highest grossing and most sought after series of all time among children and teen readers.
The ‘Best Comedy Album’ of the 2008 Grammys went to “The Distant Future Flight of the Concords”, Sub Pop.
The original series, broadcast on HBO, describes as odd and bold. Though there is singing, the songs are not about music, but about comical “attacks” of various artist and music styles. Most of the nominations in the comical album Grammy category do not involve any musical voice or instrument. The duo, known for their outrageous ‘gags’ and are often quirky and surprising. These New Zealanders (Bret and Jermaine) hit New York City with a bang then with a bust in the current HBO series (with the same name) Classified as folk-comedy, the duo of comedians have a strong fan base that is sure to grow after the 2008 Grammy win. (Form EP – 1 disc, can receive music downloads, released August 2007)
You may listen to a sample of this Grammy Award winning album at Amazon.
