3 Classic Rock Grammy Award Winners From 1991 Who We Still Stan

Sometimes it takes a year or two for a decade to get going. Indeed, just because the calendar turned doesn’t mean culture is ready to. Take the 1990s, for example. While the first year of the decade indicated some real change, things got into full swing a year or two into the new era.

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That’s just what we wanted to explore below. We wanted to highlight three award-winning songwriters in the early part of the decade who went on to shape the latter part of it, too. These are three classic rock Grammy Award winners from 1991 we still stan.

Eric Clapton

The British-born songwriter and performer Eric Clapton helped create a—wait for it—buzz around rock music in the middle of the 20th century thanks to his bands like Cream and Derek And The Dominos. But later in his career, Clapton went solo, releasing work under his own name. At the 1991 Grammy Awards, the electric guitar player earned yet another accolade for his rollicking efforts, taking home the trophy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, for his track, “Bad Love”, from his 1990 LP, Journeyman.

Aerosmith

But Clapton wasn’t the only rocker with history that won an award in 1991. Indeed, the Boston-born band Aerosmith took home the trophy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song, “Janie’s Got A Gun”, from the 1989 LP, Pump. The eerie, slow-building track sticks in your veins like a drug. It boasts muted, almost industrial rhythms, and its subject matter is the stuff of a noir mystery story. When Steven Tyler’s voice crescendos, it’s like a wave of emotion washing over you.

Metallica

While Aerosmith and Clapton sure know how to rock, the heavy metal band Metallica said at the 1991 Grammy ceremony, “Hold my beer,” and brought the real heft. Indeed, the Los Angeles-born rock group took home the Grammy Award in 1991 for Best Metal Performance for their cover of the 1974 Queen song, “Stone Cold Crazy”. That track was released on the 1990 LP Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary. Yet again, Metallica proved they are essential listening.

Photo by Michel Linssen/Redferns