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2007 Grammys: Fact-of-the-Day Archive

Here we collect all of our Grammy facts -- the fun, the foolish and ... the factual. Enjoy!

Mary J. Blige thanked 55 people -- including God, Jesus, her three children, countless record-company executives and the tape-delivery guy -- and spoke for nearly two minutes in accepting the 2007 Grammy for R&B album of the year

Grammy awards are determined by approximately 10,000 members of the Recording Academy.

President Bill Clinton and Senator Hilary Clinton have won Grammys for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical album. His was in 2004 for "My Life;" hers was in 1996 for "It Takes a Village."

The first Grammy awarded to a hip-hop artist was in 1992. The award went to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

In 1975, Natalie Cole became the first African-American to win the Best New Artist Grammy.

At the lowest-rated Grammy Award ceremony (1994), the Album of the Year was awarded to Tony Bennett's "MTV Unplugged."

Stevie Wonder won Album of the Year for three albums in a row: "Innervisions" (1973), "Fulfillingness' First Finale" (1974) and "Songs in the Key of Life" (1976)

In his acceptance speech for 1975 Album of the Year Grammy for "Still Crazy After All These Years," Paul Simon thanked Stevie Wonder "for not releasing an album this year."

Paul McCartney has never performed at a Grammys ceremony until this year. He has won 13 Grammys.

 The youngest person ever to win a major Grammy was Leann Rimes, who was 14 when she won Best New Artist in 1997.

Paul Simon (1970), Carol King (1971), Christopher Cross (1980) and Eric Clapton (1992) are the only four artists to have won Grammys for Record, Album and Song of the Year in the same year.

Elvis Presley never won a Grammy in a nonreligious music category.

The Beatles never won a Record of the Year Grammy.

Ella Fitzgerald won 13 Grammys.

In 1988 the first Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance (Vocal or Instrumental) was infamously awarded to Jethro Tull, a band that is neither hard rock nor metal.

The Album of the Year award for 1960 went to "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart."

Aretha Franklin won Grammys every year between 1967 and 1974.

Michael Jackson was nominated for 12 Grammys in 1984, setting a record that stood until Babyface tied it in 1992.

Two versions of the song "Up, Up and Away" won three Grammys in 1967: Song of the Year and Record of the Year (The Fifth Dimension) and Best Choral Performance (The Johnny Mann Singers).

CBS pays $20 million a year to the Recording Academy for the exclusive Grammy awards broadcast rights. This payment is the largest source of subsidy to the academy.

The only artist to have a Grammy revoked was Milli Vanilli for Best New Artist in 1989. They beat out Soul II Soul, Neneh Cherry, Indigo Girls and Tone Loc.

The Record of the Year and Song of the Year Grammys are awarded to individual songs, whereas the Album of the Year award recognizes a complete long-form work.

In 1990, Mariah Carey beat out the Black Crowes, Lisa Stansfield, Kentucky Headhunters and Wilson Phillips for the Best New Artist Grammy.

In 1962 the first Lifetime Achievement Grammy was awarded to Bing Crosby.

Sir Georg Solti has won the most Grammy awards (31 awards).

The only artist to refuse a Grammy was Sinead O'Connor, who won the Best Alternative Music Performance for "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," in 1990.

The first Album of the Year Grammy was awarded to "Peter Gunn" by Henry Mancini.

Grammy is short for Gramophone, which was a trademarked name for a phonograph, or record player, dating from 1887.

The first Grammy awards ceremony was held in 1958.

The first Record of the Year Grammy was awarded to "Nel Blue Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" performed by Domenico Modungo.

This year's Grammys, which will be broadcast on CBS on Feb. 11, 2007, are awarded to albums and singles released between Oct. 1, 2005, and Sept. 30, 2006.

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