Alison Krauss Forgotten in Discussion of “Grammy Queen”
A few days ago, Billboard decided to broach the subject of who should be considered “The Real Queen of the Grammys“? Adele, Taylor Swift, or Beyoncé? No offense to these three women of music, all of whom are quite commercially accomplished and critically-acclaimed. But it appears that Billboard is missing a name in their discussion, and it is a big one from the bluegrass and country world.
Of course nobody would proclaim Alison Krauss as big of a superstar as Adele, Taylor Swift, or Beyoncé. But if we’re talking about Grammy Awards, she absolutely has to be in the discussion, and Alison wasn’t even mentioned in the Billboard piece. It’s underscores how often country and roots artists get diminished in these kinds of deliberations.
Until 2021, Alison Krauss was the most-awarded woman in Grammy Awards history, one of the most awarded regardless of gender, and one of the most nominated too. And this was not just in bluegrass-centric categories, though these make up the majority of her wins. Krauss also has been nominated and won in country and Americana categories, as well as walking away with all-genre Album of the Year wins via the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack in 2002, and her collaboration with Robert Plant called Raising Sand in 2009.
Let’s take a deeper look.
Most Overall Grammy Wins:
In the categories of categories, Alison Krauss comes in at #2, and up until 2021, she was beating Beyoncé. That’s a pretty big deal for an artist whose discipline is bluegrass.
Beyoncé: 32
Alison Krauss: 27
Adele: 16
Taylor Swift: 12
Most Overall Grammy Nominations:
Obviously, Beyoncé has doubled up Krauss in this category, but Alison is right there in the mix with nearly as many as Taylor Swift.
Beyoncé: 88
Taylor Swift: 46
Alison Krauss: 44
Adele: 25
Most Album of the Year Wins
Okay, in fairness, both of Krauss’s Album of the Year wins came as collaborations (O Brother Where Art Thou and Raising Sand with Robert Plant). But a win is a win, and most anyone would tell you it was Alison’s participation in these albums that put them over the top. When it comes to the Grammy’s biggest award, Alison Krauss has been there on the stage at the end of the night. Twice. And two times more than Beyoncé.
Taylor Swift: 3
Alison Krauss: 2
Adele: 2
Beyoncé: 0
Most Wins in “Big Four” Categories
This includes New Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and (the always confusing) Record of the Year. Again, Alison has been right there in the mix with her big Album of the Year wins, along with Record of the Year win for the song “Please Read The Letter” with Robert Plant.
Adele: 7
Taylor Swift: 3
Alison Krauss: 3
Beyoncé: 1
Most Wins on a Single Night (by a woman)
Just like all the other big names throughout music, Alison Krauss enjoyed that dominating night when she walked away with five awards including in all-genre categories in 2009.
Adele: 6
Beyoncé: 6
Alison Krauss: 5
Taylor Swift: 4
In conclusion, is Alison Krauss the “Queen of the Grammy Awards”? No. It’s probably Beyoncé, and perhaps it should be. Though part of the reason for the incredible amount of Beyoncé nominations and wins in secondary categories is due to the constant criticism the Grammy Awards somehow receive for not nominating and awarding her enough, especially in the “Big Four” categories.
But when we’re having these kinds of discussions, let’s not overlook country and roots contributors. There is a reason Taylor Swift jumped ship to pop, even after winning six Grammy Awards as a country artist first. It’s because there is a ceiling over these artists that is erected by the stereotype that you can only be so big in country.
The Grammy Awards have always been more about quality than commercial appeal compared to other awards, especially country music’s CMA and ACM Awards. Alison Krauss had an incredible run in the ’90s and into the 2000s, riding the wave of interest in bluegrass that took the discipline to the very top of popularity. It’s one of the reasons she should be considered for the Country Music Hall of Fame. A great singer and fiddle player who also found commercial appeal, her contributions should not be overshadowed by anyone.
July 6, 2023 @ 10:41 am
The comparisons are not really apt.
The other women artists shown won truckloads of Grammys because they’re music “superstars.”
Alison Kraus won truckloads of Grammys because the Grammy voters don’t like mainstream or Nashville-oriented country and in the country categories, prefer to vote for artists who appeal to urban, intellectual, non-country fans.
July 6, 2023 @ 11:33 am
There is always the possibility that she is transcendently talented and deserved the awards.
July 6, 2023 @ 11:52 am
That feels a little overly cynical. I agree that some use the Grammys to project what they want “country” to be as opposed to what it is. But the Krauss wins have come in so many different categories, including all-genre categories and bluegrass, it seems like there is a lot of universal acclaim that she legitimately earned.
One thing I will say is that the Grammy Awards tend to favor certain individuals, and then award them over and over, not looking deeper into what’s going on in music. If Alison benefited from anything, it might have been that.
July 6, 2023 @ 12:43 pm
I took a look and looks like six of them are associated with the Raising Sand album (album and song awards) she did with Robert Plant. In retrospect, it’s amazing that album resulted in so many Grammys. I mean, it’s good and all, but not out of this world. And then seven more in non-mainstream genres (folk, bluegrass, Americana, American roots).
July 6, 2023 @ 12:51 pm
The Grammy awards desire to terraform bluegrass and country.
July 6, 2023 @ 4:19 pm
that’s a great point trig. let’s hope the same happens to billy strings. and wouldn’t i love to hear those two together? i know it sounds a little, shall we say, awkward at first, but it worked with plant didn’t it?
July 6, 2023 @ 12:25 pm
Krauss is legit. The fact she wasn’t even mentioned in that writeup about Grammy queen is glaring. The Grammy organization used to be obsessed with her. In the late 90s to mid 00s she was as big a name as you could get in roots music. I’ve seen her live numerous times. She’s terrific and has a killer tight band. Tyminski and Douglass are superb.
All that said, her obsession with morose and overly sad songs is kind of a turn-off to me these days. I’m looking for more grit and spanking in my music.
July 6, 2023 @ 5:32 pm
They left out the real winner of most wins in one night. Norah Jones.
July 8, 2023 @ 5:28 pm
She collaborated with High Valley on a song called “Do This Life” earlier this year. Pretty cheery.
July 6, 2023 @ 12:27 pm
Haha, it autocorrected spunk to spanking! But I guess that works too.
July 6, 2023 @ 12:29 pm
Speaking of Billboard… I keep seeing it pop up in a few places that this is the first time in 40 years that the #1 and #2 are “country.” Super exciting.
July 6, 2023 @ 1:02 pm
Since Eddie Rabbitt reached #1 with “Drivin’ My Life Away” I believe.
July 6, 2023 @ 5:07 pm
Actually I think it was in early 1981, when “I Love A Rainy Night” (Eddie Rabbitt) and “9 To 5” (Dolly Parton) were both #1 and #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
July 6, 2023 @ 5:55 pm
My mistake, it was “I Love a Rainy Night”. I just knew that both were major crossover hits around that time.
July 6, 2023 @ 12:37 pm
Wait?! Hold up?! You mean, Billboard didn’t do their research before writing an article?! What?! Colour me SHOCKED!!!
July 6, 2023 @ 5:32 pm
They must have hired the Rolling Stone staff.
July 6, 2023 @ 12:49 pm
Sad state of affairs
July 6, 2023 @ 12:51 pm
They didn’t “forget.”
July 6, 2023 @ 1:08 pm
They knew the average IQ of their audience.
July 6, 2023 @ 3:11 pm
They wanted to sit back and grab some popcorn while the Swifties and the Beyhive maul each other in a comments war. The stan armies don’t know or care who Alison Krauss is.
July 6, 2023 @ 5:26 pm
Just like Chuck Berry is the true king of rock n roll, so Is Allison Krauss the true queen of the Grammys
July 6, 2023 @ 7:19 pm
I’m not sure how Chuck Berry was the true king of rock n roll. Elvis hated the title, but it was appropriate in his case. He was by far the most popular of the rock n roll singers of that era. Fats Domino was a distant second. You’ve put me in an uncomfortable position here, because I love Chuck Berry. He is my second favorite of The Founders. However, there is a great deal of “sameness” when it comes to listening to a lot of his songs one after another. This is a complaint I hear from many people, whereas Elvis’s music was much more varied. Chuck could easily outplay Elvis on the guitar. It’s not even close. And Chuck wrote a good chunk of his own songs. Elvis co-wrote one of his songs, and it wasn’t a hit. But, in all other aspects, Elvis was The King.
July 6, 2023 @ 7:54 pm
Can’t disagree with you on any of that. Little Richard might disagree with both of us.
Elvis might of been the OG King of Pop, but Chuck f’in Berry was and always will be the king of Rock n Roll
July 6, 2023 @ 5:31 pm
I got friends in Nashville, or at least they’re folks I know
Nashville is where you go to see if what they said is so
Carl drove his brand new Cadillac to Nashville and he went downtown
This time they promised him a Grammy
He turned his Cadillac around
‘Cause Mr. Phillips never blew enough hot air to need a little gold plated paperweight
He promised him a Cadillac and put the wind in Carl’s face
He did just what he said he was gonna do and the money came in sacks
New contracts and Carl Perkins’ Cadillac
Drive By Truckers – Carl Perkins Cadillac
July 6, 2023 @ 7:22 pm
Beyonce wins so many Grammys because she’s Beyonce. Grammy voters see her name and just vote for her and her over-produced stuff. Same for Taylor Swift. How the hell has she won 3 best album Grammys???
July 8, 2023 @ 6:22 pm
Taylor Swift could fart into a microphone and win a Grammy. She could release a whole album of it, and it would sell and stream unreal numbers. Other than her song “Carolina” from Where The Crawdad’s Sing, I can’t say much of her music has moved me in anyway. It’s good for soccer moms, tweens and people with the depth of a mud puddle. That being said, I applaud her success and drive.
July 6, 2023 @ 7:27 pm
According to Wikipedia, Aretha Franklin has won 18 Grammy Awards, how could Bilboard not mention her?
July 8, 2023 @ 11:04 am
Dissing Queen Aretha like that. Wtf!?
July 6, 2023 @ 8:19 pm
I hate to bring this up but here goes. Why in the hell is Taylor Swift or Adele even on this list? Beyoncé has 32 Grammy Awards. Adele has 16 uhmmm huh? Let’s not even bring up this spoiled over privileged brat Taylor Swift who has 12! 12 I say! The Grammy Queen is Beyoncé & still at the top of her game! PERIOD! So please just stop the hate! Just stop it! Beyoncé is the queen! She is the artist of our generation! PERIOD! She is the standard bearer of our time! PERIOD! Get over it! Beyoncé is only behind Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston in terms of total music awards won including Grammys, MTV VMA, Soul Train Awards, BET Awards, Country Music Awards, etc etc. Adele fans need to take a seat! TayTay fans need to do the same! Let’s revisit this topic when Beyoncé has 40 Grammy wins & Adele has 40 Grammy wins & Taylor Swift has 40 Grammy wins but NOT before! Are we clear? Taylor Swift wishes that she could walk or dance like Beyoncé. Adele wishes she could have the presence of Beyoncé on stage! What did Beyoncé say? “Bow down bitches!” Let me say the same!
July 7, 2023 @ 12:27 pm
Beyoncé is the ghetto queen
July 7, 2023 @ 6:53 pm
Beyoncé is the Grammys Queen & has more than twice as many Grammys as serial boyfriend-having TayTay & Adele combined, now if that makes her the Ghetto Queen, too, I can imagine that she would take that honorific as well! You make “Ghetto Queen” sound like it is a bad thing! Your racism is showing and what a dreary color it is on you! People like you make me laugh because you are stuck in your little limited world of racism! The reality is that the most prolific Grammy award-winner is the standard bearer of her generation, a positive, hard working Black woman! Why would you want to belittle that? For people like you, I can offer nothing but pity! But I am laughing AT your bitterness too! Silly little close-minded racist rabbit! Beyoncé is projected to achieve $$ billionaire $$ status after her tour is complete & I cannot wait to go to see it myself! I already got my tix! #GoBeyoncé
July 8, 2023 @ 5:04 am
The racist is you who are praising Beyoncé and Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson whose lack of ability to handle their fame in a responsible manner, led to their drug induced deaths.
Then you discount the achievements of Taylor and Adele due to your inherent hatred of their skin color. You do know that Swift is a global phenomenon breaking records worldwide and playing multiple dates in every city in which she performs. So you downplay their success to somehow elevate yourself and your queen.
What I don’t understand is why you’re on a country music site ranting about non country artists? Yes, it can be tough being an unfocused adolescent.
July 8, 2023 @ 9:29 am
Frank called her “ghetto queen,” which is arguably a veiled slur and shouldn’t be tolerated if it is. But MM, are you interested in country western music? If not, why are you here? Are you actually a Beyonce fan, or trolling as one?
July 7, 2023 @ 6:25 pm
Is that you, Kanye?
July 7, 2023 @ 7:18 pm
Love it ????
July 7, 2023 @ 8:00 pm
Beyonce is fine, but incredibly overrated. I straight up don’t get the acclaim for her last two albums. Renaissance sounds like you could play it at a party in 1995 and noone would bat an eye. I think she sounded bored on lemonade, probably because it was kinda dull. I don’t understand why her fan base is so devoted to her, she sounds very ordinary.
July 7, 2023 @ 9:34 pm
I get it that Beyoncé is not everyone’s cup o tea. It is perfectly reasonable to think that she is overrated. Her Beyhive though is a committed, dedicated group of folx. The point of the album Renaissance was to honor House music so that is why it has that energy. Beyoncé is truly extraordinary. How many self-made Black female musicians have you heard of who are reaching billionaire status with the catalog of music that she has amassed & created in her early 40s?! If you put her body of work in its context it is phenomenal. So many hits that boggle the mind really. Her philanthropy is well documented as well, etc. What is there not to like? She is an icon. Full disclosure: I have seen her 4x in person & it may be hard to believe but the experience gets better each time. You will be amazed. I guarantee it. I have seen everybody in concert from Michael Jackson (2wice), Prince, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Cher, Pink, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Elton John, & many others & she beats them all. My best advice is to go to see her live and only then will you understand her & why the Beyhive loves her so!
July 7, 2023 @ 10:11 pm
I get it that Beyoncé is not everyone’s cup o tea. It is perfectly reasonable to think that she is overrated. Her Beyhive though is a committed, dedicated group of folx. The point of the album Renaissance was to honor House music so that is why it has that energy. Beyoncé is truly extraordinary. How many self-made Black female musicians have you heard of who are reaching billionaire status with the catalog of music that she has amassed & created in her early 40s?! If you put her body of work in its context it is phenomenal. So many hits that boggle the mind really. Her philanthropy is well documented as well, etc. What is there not to like? She is an icon. Full disclosure: I have seen her 4x in person & it may be hard to believe but she gets better each time. I have seen everybody in concert from Michael Jackson (2wice), Prince, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Cher, Pink, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Elton John, & many others & she beats them all. My best advice is to go to see her live and only then will you understand her & why the Beyhive loves her so!
July 8, 2023 @ 7:37 am
I don’t judge musicians on their extracurricular activities or stats, just the music. And that’s where I get nothing from her. Renaissance didn’t sound any different to me than the house music it was copying. But she still sounds bored on it just like lemonade, only with different music. It’s like “okay, it’s a dance record.” There have been better and worse dance records. I don’t think she’s bad, I just find her extremely average.
July 8, 2023 @ 2:54 am
…kinda like your “please, stop the hate!” in your first rant, mm.
July 7, 2023 @ 2:26 am
I’m surprised she won anything at all, considering the FCC’s prime directive, “Thou Shalt Not Play Bluegrass Or Classic Country On America’s Airwaves!” And stations around the country have been adhering to this rule for decades.
July 7, 2023 @ 3:03 pm
Her only mainstream appeal is a movie soundtrack and someone else’s album? Hardly an apt comparison.
July 7, 2023 @ 7:03 pm
Wasn’t there a rumor a couple years ago that Beyoncé was upset that she didn’t get nominated for a CMA Award for the song she did with the Dixi…The Chicks?
July 7, 2023 @ 7:12 pm
1st grade math question:
A. Beyoncé has 32 Grammys
B. Adele has 16 Grammys
C. TayTay has 12 Grammys
Who is the Grammy Queen?
Answer: The person who has the most Grammys is the Grammy Queen!
1st grader raises her hand
Teacher: Amy, what is the answer?
Amy: The answer is Beyoncé with 32 Grammys
Teacher: Not so fast Amy. We like TayTay & Adele more than Beyoncé so that is not the right answer.
Amy: But this is an objective math question not a distorted socially engineered subjective question.
Teacher: Oh Amy, let’s give someone else a chance to speak!
Amy: Wait, but…..
July 8, 2023 @ 1:29 am
let me see if i’ve got this right:
beyonce is the best because (according to you)-
1) “Taylor Swift wishes that she could walk or dance like Beyoncé. Adele wishes she could have the presence of Beyoncé on stage! What did Beyoncé say? “Bow down bitches!”
translation: beyonce can walk. and dance. and if she actually said that, well..that’s a shame.
be aware, i’m not a fan of taylor or adele. but adele is technically the better vocalist, and she doesn’t need to wear ridiculous outfits that she changes every song. and man do i hate “backup dancers”, whatever the hell that means. i guess that’s part of the “presence”. ok…
2) i thought this was about music?:
“Beyoncé is the Grammys Queen & has more than twice as many Grammys as serial boyfriend-having TayTay & Adele combined, now if that makes her the Ghetto Queen, too, I can imagine that she would take that honorific as well!”
the rant continues…
“Beyoncé is projected to achieve $$ billionaire $$ status after her tour is complete & I cannot wait to go to see it myself! ”
ok…but there’s this:
https://africa.businessinsider.com/celebrity/jimmy-buffett-is-officially-a-billionaire-heres-how-he-makes-and-spends-his-fortune/j5psxg2
i’m not friends with bubba, but i travel in that orbit once in a while. he’s a very happy guy. and his fans are nice and respectful…and happy drunks!! they don’t need to defend him. and he don’t care.
3) “My best advice is to go to see her live and only then will you understand her & why the Beyhive loves her so!”
my advice is that everyone, not just you, go see:
billy strings (MM, you’ll leave)
snarky puppy (ditto)
the aristocrats (again)
toto (again with the leaving?)
pearl jam (never mind)…
it’s awesome that she has “rabid” fans like yourself. but it’s a little over the top.
i know this is a country site, but i’m just making a point about various genres.
in conclusion, i give you this (although i can’t imagine why- you’ve never heard of this dude. no backup dancers!!):
“Sir Georg Solti KBE (/dʒɔːrdʒ ˈʃɒlti/ JORJ SHOL-tee,[1] Hungarian: [ˈʃolti]; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997)[2] was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra… The best-known of his recordings is probably Decca’s complete set of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, made between 1958 and 1965. Solti’s Ring has twice been voted the greatest recording ever made, in polls for Gramophone magazine in 1999 and the BBC’s Music Magazine in 2012. Solti was repeatedly honoured by the recording industry with awards throughout his career. From 1963 to 1998, he won 31 Grammy Awards as a recording artist, making him the Grammy Awards’ most-awarded artist until Beyoncé surpassed his record in 2023.”
did you see the part about “the greatest recording ever made”?
not to mention he’s been dead for 26 years. and he was “only” a conductor. what took her so long? slacker…
so i guess you’re right. poor georg. he never saw it comin…
talent is subjective. numbers aren’t.
while i respect your opinion, i respectfully disagree. i would rather let alison krauss mow my eyebrows off with a rusty electric razor than spend two seconds listening to beyonce. but that’s just me.
and by the way, everyone i mentioned writes their own shit. maybe they have one or two co-writers. every time they read the credits for a beyonce song at the grammys, i know it’s time to pee. they might have listed half of the people it took to create that one piece of music by the time i get back.
if anyone has read this entire thing, please reply. i would love it.
and kids, listen, it’s ringo’s birthday. he’s 83. so let’s have some “peace and love”…for a true musical icon.
murf out!!
July 8, 2023 @ 1:54 am
Dear Murf, you missed the entire point of any of my threads on this post and you sound like you are from the 1950s. All of the threads of my post have to do with angry out of touch people who prefer to live in yesteryear.
Ok you are mad about a young Black woman (she is 41) coming along and disrupting your Sir Georg Solti Apple cart (I get it!, I do but I suggest that you get over it bc you are dating yourself because the beauty of records is that they are made to be broken & someone will undoubtedly break Beyoncé’s although the way that it looks it might be a decade or two as she is still in her prime racking them up!) and you are not the first to nor like her music. Boo hoo! There is a corner right there where you can take an adult time out!
Times have changed from your times of yesterday & yesteryear! New music, musical generations! Keep up old man! Beyoncé is also the most nominated Grammy artist in history with 88 nods, winning 32 awards, showing that she is the real deal…anywho. My suggestion is that you stay disgruntled & mad in a time gone bye bye as that seems to be your default!
Let’s enjoy the new Grammys standard- bearer! Beyoncé! Cheers!!!!!!
July 8, 2023 @ 3:10 am
You to me: Beyoncé is the best because according to you:
Me to you: No, Beyoncé is the best because she has achieved more Grammys than any other human being. Those are simply facts my dude & no matter how hard you try to parse my words to fit your yesterday’s view of the world (isn’t that really what is going on here? You being stuck in yesterday? Mr. Sir Georg Solti & Ringo?) The world has moved on! Keep up, geez! A Black woman has surpassed your stalwarts keepers of that flame which is dwindling!
Alas, this conversation has run its course! I will not be responding anymore bc you have proved my point!
Enjoy watching the new Grammy Queen rule! Bow down bitches!
MM out and has left the building!! I have turned off my notifications!! Peace, good people ✌????
August 10, 2023 @ 4:17 pm
Oh hey. It takes all kinds. Solti is amazing and does my favorite version of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. It’s old but it won’t be going away anytime soon. Beyonce is uninteresting to me but lots of people love her so I know she will be fine. 🙂 But where is the country? I love me some Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless. 🙂
July 8, 2023 @ 4:24 am
The album Rising Sand is mentioned a couple of times. It’s Raising Sand.
July 8, 2023 @ 11:43 am
Just what I was looking for on a country music site…. fawning Beyhive ranting/boasting and arguing who’s the best. This has nothing to do with Beyonce, her status or artistry. This has to do with the recognition of other artists who have not been mentioned and should have been included in those rankings, period. Secondly, artistryb is in the eye of the beholder, not the amount of awards one has. Sheesh…
July 8, 2023 @ 2:45 pm
i’m sorry. but i had to shoot that shit down. how ridiculous.
as i said, i know it’s a country MUSIC site, and i apologize for MY rant.(sorry trigger).
but, i mean, really? wtf was that?
and if i’m “out of touch”, why am i diggin’ on billy and the other artists i mentioned? no respect for ringo?
i’m not a beatles fan (not after beatles ’65, anyway), but i guess MM’s mama missed the whole respect thing.
i found the whole thing to be rude and disrespectful. again, my apologies.
now let’s put some twang in that thang!!
July 8, 2023 @ 6:35 pm
What I did say I’d that there were artists that were noteworthy who weren’t mentioned, nothing more, nothing less…not about who’s the “best”, bloviating about their favorite being “disrespected”, ranting on type of music they love or any other “personal stuff” like that….
July 9, 2023 @ 12:48 am
agreed. again, it’s subjective. if it was just about sheer numbers (grammys, awards, etc.), the beatles would be known as the shittiest band of all time.
MM has left the building…i think.
July 10, 2023 @ 4:00 pm
As well she should be,Ms. Krauss being an inordinately gifted musician/songwriter/instrumentalist. (The ol’ buckaroo was 70 last Thursday, July 6.)