Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, George Strait Among Leading Grammy Nominees
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss earned five Grammy nominations on Wednesday night (Dec. 3), including record of the year ("Please Read the Letter") and album of the year (Raising Sand) in the all-genre categories. The unlikely duo also secured nominations for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals ("Rich Woman"), best country collaboration with vocals ("Killing the Blues") and best contemporary folk/Americana album. Some of the nominations were announced during a prime-time Grammy concert on CBS.
Last year, Plant and Krauss won a Grammy for best pop collaboration with vocals for "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)." Krauss has won more Grammy Awards than any woman in history, with 21. Plant's only other Grammy win was in 1998 for best hard rock performance with Jimmy Page.
George Strait landed four nominations -- best male country vocal performance ("Troubadour") and best country album (Troubadour), as well as two nods for best country collaboration with vocals ("Shiftwork" with Kenny Chesney and "House of Cash" with Patty Loveless). In a career stretching back to 1981, Strait has never won a Grammy.
Jamey Johnson, Jennifer Nettles and Trisha Yearwood each received three nominations. Johnson is up for best male country vocal performance ("In Color"), as a songwriter for best country song ("In Color") and as best country album (That Lonesome Song). As a songwriter, Nettles earned a best country song nomination for "Stay." As a member of Sugarland, she's nominated for best country performance by a duo or group with vocals for "Stay" and for best country collaboration with vocals for "Life in a Northern Town" with Little Big Town and Jake Owen. Yearwood is vying for best female country vocal performance ("This Is Me You're Talking To"), best country collaboration with vocals ("Let the Wind Chase You" with Keith Urban) and best country album (Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love).
Lady Antebellum earned a Grammy nomination for best new artist. They will compete against Adele, Duffy, Jonas Brothers and Jazmine Sullivan. They will also compete in the category of best country performance by a duo or group with vocals. Other double nominees in the country categories were bluegrass band Cherryholmes, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Patty Loveless, James Otto (as a singer and a songwriter) and Brad Paisley, as well as Nashville songwriters Ashley Gorley and Lee Thomas Miller.
Additional nominees include Trace Adkins, Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Louvin, Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, Del McCoury Band, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, the SteelDrivers, Randy Travis, Dan Tyminski, Carrie Underwood and Lee Ann Womack.
In addition, the best country instrumental category includes nominees James Burton, Vince Gill, Lloyd Green, Charlie Haden, Bruce Hornsby, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Pat Metheny, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner. Songwriters Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell, Wade Kirby and Bob Regan also earned nominations.
Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus was nominated for best rock album. His hit, "All Summer Long," is up for best male pop vocal performance, along with James Taylor's cover of the country classic, "Wichita Lineman." The Eagles earned nominations for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals ("Waiting in the Weeds"), best rock performance by a duo or group with vocals ("Long Road Out of Eden") and best pop vocal album (Long Road Out of Eden).
The Grammys will take place on Feb. 8, 2009.
Grammy Nominations in Country Categories
Best Female Country Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or tracks only.)
• "For These Times"
Martina McBride
Track from: Waking Up Laughing
• "What I Cannot Change"
LeAnn Rimes
Track from: Family
• "Last Name"
Carrie Underwood
Track from: Carnival Ride
• "Last Call"
Lee Ann Womack
• "This Is Me You're Talking To"
Trisha Yearwood
Track from: Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love
Best Male Country Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or tracks only.)
• "You're Gonna Miss This"
Trace Adkins
Track from: American Man, Greatest Hits Volume II
• "In Color"
Jamey Johnson
• "Just Got Started Lovin' You"
James Otto
Track from: Sunset Man
• "Letter to Me"
Brad Paisley
Track from: 5th Gear
• "Troubadour"
George Strait
Track from: Troubadour
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups with vocals. Singles or tracks only.)
• "God Must Be Busy"
Brooks & Dunn
Track from: Cowboy Town
• "Love Don't Live Here"
Lady Antebellum
Track from: Lady Antebellum
• "Every Day"
Rascal Flatts
Track from: Still Feels Good
• "Blue Side of the Mountain"
SteelDrivers
Track from: The SteelDrivers
• "Stay"
Sugarland
Track from: Enjoy the Ride
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
(For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or tracks only.)
• "Shiftwork"
Kenny Chesney & George Strait
Track from: Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates
• "Killing the Blues"
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Track from: Raising Sand
• "House of Cash"
George Strait & Patty Loveless
Track from: Troubadour
• "Life in a Northern Town"
Sugarland, Jake Owen & Little Big Town
Track from: Love on the Inside [Deluxe Fan Edition]
• "Let the Wind Chase You"
Trisha Yearwood & Keith Urban
Track from: Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love
Best Country Instrumental Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, without vocals. Singles or tracks only.)
• "Sumatra"
Cherryholmes
Track from: Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe
• "Two Small Cars in Rome"
Jerry Douglas & Lloyd Green
Track from: Glide
• "Sleigh Ride"
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
Track from: Jingle All the Way
• "Is This America? (Katrina 2005)"
Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny, Jerry Douglas & Bruce Hornsby
Track from: Family & Friends -- Rambling Boy
• "Cluster Pluck"
Brad Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert & Steve Wariner
Best Country Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or tracks only.)
• "Dig Two Graves"
Ashley Gorley & Bob Regan, songwriters (Randy Travis)
Track from: Around the Bend
• "I Saw God Today"
Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell & Wade Kirby, songwriters (George Strait)
Track from: Troubadour
• "In Color"
Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller & James Otto, songwriters (Jamey Johnson)
Track from: That Lonesome Song
• "Stay"
Jennifer Nettles, songwriter (Sugarland)
Track from: Enjoy the Ride
• "You're Gonna Miss This"
Ashley Gorley & Lee Thomas Miller, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
Track from: American Man, Greatest Hits Volume II
Best Country Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
• That Lonesome Song
Jamey Johnson
• Sleepless Nights
Patty Loveless
• Troubadour
George Strait
• Around the Bend
Randy Travis
• Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love
Trisha Yearwood
Best Bluegrass Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
• Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe
Cherryholmes
• Del McCoury Band -- Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Del McCoury Band
• The Ultimate Collection/Live at the Ryman
Earl Scruggs With Family & Friends
• Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
• Wheels
Dan Tyminski
Best Traditional Folk Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
• Coal
Kathy Mattea
• Comedians & Angels
Tom Paxton
• Bring Me Home
Peggy Seeger
• At 89
Pete Seeger
• Strangers in Another Country
Rosalie Sorrels
Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
• Day After Tomorrow
Joan Baez
• I, Flathead
Ry Cooder
• Sex & Gasoline
Rodney Crowell
• All I Intended to Be
Emmylou Harris
• Raising Sand
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss