Grammy Awards History: 11 Facts And Trivia Before the 2017 Award Show

The biggest night in music is almost here. The 2017 Grammy Awards kick off at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday at 8 p.m. EST and it’s sure to be an epic show.

The 59th annual award show will be hosted by James Corden, who promises to deliver lots of laughs throughout the night. Drake, Justin Bieber, The Chainsmokers, David Bowie and more are among dozens of artists across various genres slated to be honored for their accomplishments in the music industry.

While a list of presenters has yet to be released, it’s sure to be as star-studded as the nominees, performers and attendees. Additionally, Adele, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and more are expected to perform at the Grammys, which should delight fans.

The Grammys will be broadcast live on CBS. Before the big show, here are a few fast facts to know about the award show’s lengthy history:

• The first ever Grammy Awards took place in 1959 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)” by Domenico Modugno was the first song ever to be awarded record of the year. At the time, the awards show was called the Gramophone Awards.
• Rap was first introduced to the list of Grammy Award categories in 1989. That portion of the show wasn’t televised, which lead to boycotts from all the artists nominated. The 2015 Grammy Awards were the first since 1990 not to feature rap category winners on the live broadcast.
• Sir Georg Solti, a Hungarian-British conductor, has the most Grammy Awards in history with 31. Modern musicians U2 and Stevie Wonder are not far behind with 22 awards each. Kanye West and Jay Z both have 21 awards, putting them tenth on the list of most awarded artists. As for female Grammy winners, Alison Krauss has the most Grammys at 27. Beyoncé is not far behind with 20 awards.
• Beyoncé became the first female artist to take home six Grammy awards in one night in 2010. She won song of the year, best R&B song, best female pop vocal performance, best traditional R&B performance, best female R&B vocal performance, best contemporary R&B album, album of the year, and record of the year.
• Beyoncé, who is performing at the 2017 show, has been taking the stage during the popular award show since her days as a member of Destiny’s Child in the early 2000s. She performed in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2015.
• The first artist ever to win record, album and song of the year in one show was Paul Simon.
• Michael Jackson’s hit single “Thriller” set a record for most nominations in one night in 1986 with nine. Jackson is also tied with Santana for having taken home the most Grammys in one night with eight.
• In 1990, the Grammys revoked Milli Vanilli’s best new artist award after it was revealed that the duo hadn’t actually sung on their album “All or Nothing.”
• Adele and Christopher Cross are the only two artists in Grammy history to win awards in all four general categories, including best new artist, album of the year, record of the year and song of the year. Cross won all four in 1981. Adele won best new artist in 2009 and returned to sweep in the album, record and song of the year categories three years later.
• The location of the Grammys varies year by year. Los Angeles has played host to the most Grammy Award ceremonies in history with 42. New York is not far behind with 20. The show has also taken place in Chicago eight times.
• The Grammy Awards are now the highest-rated telecast of all award shows. The show has been airing on television since 1971, when it first premiered on ABC.

Tune in to the Grammys this Sunday, Feb. 12, at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.