Knowledge is power. It’s an idea we’ve heard plenty of times but that doesn’t make it any less true. If you’re a music fan, it’s important not to just enjoy the songs and albums of your contemporary era. It’s also crucial for you to go back in time and check out the giants upon whose shoulders so many artists stand today.
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And that’s just what we wanted to do here today. We wanted to take a few minutes and dive back into history, more than 50 years ago. Why? Because knowledge is power. Indeed, these are three classic rock Grammy Award-winners from 1973 we still stan today.
George Harrison
Billed as George Harrison & Friends, the group of musicians who put on the live performance, The Concert for Bangladesh, took home the Grammy Award in 1973 for Album of the Year. Indeed, the prestigious accolade officially went to a slew of famous names, including Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Ravi Shankar, and Ringo Starr. What a lineup! All that star power amounted to a triple-album that featured songs recorded during August shows at Madison Square Garden in 1971. Dylan sang tracks like “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and Harrison sang “Here Comes the Sun”. What a time!
America
In 1973, the award for Best New Artist went to the British-born rock band America. Confused? Just keep reading… In 1972, the group released two albums, including its self-titled debut and Homecoming. In 1973, America released the record Hat Trick, and for all that work, they took home the rookie of the year trophy. The band’s most famous song “A Horse with No Name” remains essential 1970s rock listening today.
Aretha Franklin
While there were no official rock categories at the 1973 Grammy Awards, some of the biggest names in rock were honored during the evening. Those include Aretha Franklin, who took home awards for both Best Soul Gospel Performance for her live album Amazing Grace and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female, for her LP Young, Gifted And Black. She deserves all the awards, so these were two more to add to her collection. Indeed, not a bad time to be Aretha!
Photo by Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
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