Audio Adrenaline. Michael W. Smith. Donnie McClurkin. Blind Boys of Alabama.T.D. Jakes. Ever heard of any of ’em? Chances are you said no, despite the fact that all of them are Grammy winners. You’ve probably never heard of these bands because all won awards in Christian music categories. 

Grammys are considered the recording industry’s most prestigious award, and are awarded annually by the Recording Academy’s voting membership to honor excellence in the recording business. Currently, there are 107 categories of Grammys. This includes, by the way, a new award for 2004 recognizing the best "Surround Sound Releases."Wondering what exactly a "surround sound release" is? You are not alone. Furthermore, last year, the Recording Academy awarded six different Grammys for gospel music, including "Best Rock Gospel album" and "Best Contemporary Gospel album."Now, I have no problem with the Recording Academy presenting (at least) six awards a year to Christian artists. More power to them! I think the time has come for the academy to create a Grammy for Jewish music. 

One might argue that because Gospel and Christian albums belong to a musical category that traditionally sells more than Jewish music, they deserve to be recognized with several Grammys. For instance, last year’s winner of the Best Country Gospel album "Rise and Shine" by Randy Travis went gold, selling over 500,000 copies — a heady figure indeed. But even a cursory glance at the Recording Academy’s website (Grammy.com) would discredit this success-based argument. "A Grammy is awarded by and to artists and technical professionals for artistic or technical achievement, not sales or chart positions," states the site. So, if we’re talking about artistic achievement, I can think of Jewish artists deserving of Grammy recognition. 

If we were to start with "Best Jewish Rap Album," several outstanding albums come to mind. Among them, Subliminal and the Shadow’s "The Light and the Shadow," is jampacked with head-nodding beats as well as an important political message. Subliminal has been dubbed everything from the "Godfather of Zionist rap" to "Israel’s Eminem"for good reason.The man has skills and his albums are selling by the thousands. The duo is starting to become a global phenomenon, with reviews of their work appearing in everything from the Associated Press to USA Today. 

Any discussion of a "Best Jewish Pop Group"would have to include mention of Blue Fringe.The four Orthodox 20-somethings have been crisscrossing the country for the last year plus,wowing crowds with their Oasis-like sound.What began in 1999 with "Flippin’ Out" (a spoof of young Jews who move to Israel and become hyper-religious) distributed mostly through online musicsharing programs is now a band that has sold over 10,000 copies of their debut album, My Awakening. Seems Grammy-worthy to me. 

Anyone who’s ever spent a few weeks at summer camp is probably familiar with David Broza. Drawing comparisons to rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan "for his slashing acoustic guitar playing" (San Antonio Express News), singing about Jewish and secular themes, Broza performs in English, Hebrew, and Spanish. He has gone multi-platinum (selling over 1,000,000 copies) with several albums, and while we already acknowledged that big sales figures alone don’t warrant a Grammy, surely the guy must be doing something right. 

It’s Up to Us 
 What will it take to get us a Jewish Grammy? A serious and organized lobbying effort. In the case of the newly-added Hawaiian Music award, The Honolulu Star Bulletin reported that it took over 15 years of appeals from local music labels, musicians, and politicians to the Recording Academy before the award was created. 

Every grassroots effort must get its start somewhere. So, for now, if you want to make your voice heard, e-mail or write the Recording Academy at its home office (losangeles@ grammy.com, or 3402 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica,CA 90405). Tell them respectfully, you think the time has come for a Jewish Grammy! 

Reprinted with permission from JVibe magazine, December 2004- January 2005. Log on to www.petitiononline.com/jvibegrm/petition.html to sign JVibe’s petition for a Jewish Grammy.