Diario

Is winning the "Best New Artist" Grammy award the kiss of death or nothing more than a popularity contest taken on the spur of the moment to define fifteen milliseconds of fame?

You be the judge - and remember, those great musicians, Milli Vanilli, won this award in 1989.

Starting in 1969, Crosby, Stills & Nash were deserving winners. Certainly a band that cannot be judged only by their nine hits, this band defined the late 60's and early 70's.

Love 'em or hate 'em, in 1970 the Carpenters were the winners. Of course the Carpenter's soft and soupy sound has fallen out of favor with today's listener, but you can't argue with success - 20 Top-40 hits, three songs at #1, and eight more that peaked in the top five positions.

1971's winner was Carly Simon. Her first few tunes were very mundane but she certainly went on to a respectable career, hitting #1 once in 1972 for 3 weeks.

Another good and deserving winner was the band America in 1972. America is another band that defines 1970's music. …