3 Classic Rock AMA Winners From 1999 We Still Love

At the end of the 20th century, there was a great fear about the unknown. Not only was a new century on the way but so was a new millennium. What would it look like? Better yet, what would it sound like? Thankfully, at the end of the 1990s, there were still many songs for people to cling to for solace.

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That’s just what we wanted to dive into here. We wanted to highlight three great rock tracks from the end of the decade we still love. Indeed, these are three classic rock American Music Award winners from 1999 we still stan today.

Pearl Jam

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new genre of rock music was beginning to take over the planet. Soon, so-called grunge was growing to become perhaps the most popular form of music around the globe, if not one of the most dominant forms of culture. While it was short-lived, sadly like many of its stars, some bands from grunge’s heyday subsisted. And in 1999, the Seattle-born rock band Pearl Jam proved that their talent transcended any moniker or box. They were simply great. Pearl Jam, which released its LP Yield in 1998, took home the American Music Award trophy for Favorite Alternative Artist at the 1999 show, beating out Green Day and Third Eye Blind.

Aerosmith

While Pearl Jam won the award for Favorite Alternative Artist, it was the Boston-born rock band Aerosmith that won the trophy for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, beating out Matchbox 20 and The Backstreet Boys. Even though Aerosmith rose to fame in the 1970s, perhaps their biggest era was in the 1990s. In 1998, the rock group released perhaps its best-known song today, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, which came on the soundtrack for the blockbuster movie Armageddon. For that, along with a career of great success, Aerosmith took home the 1999 AMA.

Billy Joel

Every American Music Awards features a number of categories featuring artists who released important works of the day. But in 1999, the show gave out a treasure to Billy Joel, celebrating The Piano Man’s distinguished career. Indeed, at the end of the 20th century, Joel took home the trophy for Merit, which the AMAs hands out for “truly exceptional contributions” to the music industry. Joel was then and remains now very deserving of such an honor.

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