You might be surprised to hear it, but the first time a rock artist or rock band was honored formally in a rock category at the Grammy Awards was in 1980. Previously, in the 1960s and 1970s, rock artists had to find their limelight in pop or R&B categories. But as of 1980? Things were set right.
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Here below, we wanted to highlight three rock acts that the vaunted awards show honored in 1982, just a couple of years after they brought in the new rock trophies. Indeed, these are three classic rock Grammy Award winners from 1982 we still stan.
John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Just a month before the former Beatle John Lennon was murdered, he and his wife Yoko Ono released the album Double Fantasy. Fast-forward about a year and a half to the 1982 Grammy Awards show and Lennon (posthumously) and Ono were being honored for their work. In fact, the married couple received the coveted trophy for Album of the Year for it. The release of the record indicated Lennon’s return to music after a five-year break to embrace fatherhood and raise his son Sean. But that was all cut short, sadly.
Bill Withers
Some songs you hear out in the world are wild and full of texture, layers, tracks, and instruments. Others, though, are simpler. They cut to essential matter more easily. Bill Withers was one of those songwriters who wrote simple, essential songs. And he was honored in 1982, along with performer Grover Washington, Jr., for their song, “Just The Two Of Us”. The song is a classic that has since been sampled and covered by many. But when it’s sung by Withers, it’s just sublime.
Pat Benatar
With a voice like thunder and lightning coming from the mountain, Pat Benatar knew how to drive an audience mad with emotion. She could build and rise like a tidal wave. She could crash like an avalanche. But more than anything, she knew how to inspire music fans. And she earned accolades for her work, including the Grammy Award in 1982 for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, for her lively tune, “Fire And Ice”.
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