Grammy Award Fun Facts

Gold digger Kanye West scored 8 nods for the 2006 Grammy Awards.

Courtesy of Def Jam Records

The 48th annual Grammy Awards are coming in February 2006 so we wanted to bring you some facts and figures from the years past. Find out who's won the most Grammys, where the first Grammys were held and a lot more fun facts. Read on!

The Grammy Awards - The History

The first Grammy awards were held on May 4, 1959 in the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The Grammys were originally launched to ward off the threat of the rock 'n roll explosion. The Best Rock and Roll Recording category wasn't added until 1962.

The Ultimate Grammy Box, a four-disc box set, was released in 1999 and chronicles the past four decades of Grammy winners. It includes tracks from artists like Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, John Lennon, The Bee Gees and many more.

The Grammy Awards - Firsts

The first annual Latin Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles' Staple Center in September 2000.

The first Grammy given out for a rap performance was awarded to The Fresh Prince (AKA Will Smith) and DJ Jazzy Jeff in 1989.

In 1989, Milli Vanilli became the first artist to be stripped of their Grammy award for Best New Artist when it was discovered that it was not actually them singing on their album.

Leann Rimes became the youngest person to win a top Grammy in 1997 when she walked away with the Best New Artist award.

The Grammy Awards - Records

Stevie Wonder holds the record for most Grammys won by a solo artist, with 19 Grammy awards.

Sir George Solti holds the record for most Grammys with a whopping 30 awards to his name. Solti was the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic.

Lauryn Hill broke Carole King's record for most wins by a female artist in one year by scoring five Grammys in 1999. Alicia Keys tied Lauryn's record in 2002 and Norah Jones also tied that record in 2004.

The Grammy Awards - 48th Annual Awards

The 2006 Grammy Awards will be held on February 8, 2006 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

In 2006, Mariah Carey, John Legend and Kanye West lead the pack with 8 Grammy nods each. The record for the most nominations in one year is held by two artists - Michael Jackson was nominated 12 times in 1983 and Babyface was nominated 12 times in 1992.

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