One of Johnny Cash’s Grammy Awards

The 57th annual Grammy Awards are tonight.  There are several nominees with Arkansas connections.

The documentary Glen Campbell, I’ll Be Me spawned nominations in three different categories.  The Band Perry is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their take on Campbell’s hit “Gentle on My Mind” from the film’s soundtrack.  Campbell himself is nominated for co-writing the song “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” in the Best Country Song category.  The song is also nominated in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category.

Former Arkansan Smokie Norful is nominated for two Grammy Awards tonight.  For his song “No Greater Love” he is nominated for Best Gospel Performance/Song. His album Forever Yours is nominated for Best Gospel Album.

John Waters, who will be headlining at the 2015 Arkansas Literary Festival, is nominated for Best Spoken Word Album for Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America.

Though not an Arkansan, Roseanne Cash comes from Arkansas stock and has been an active supporter of efforts to establish a museum in Dyess, Arkansas. She is nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best American Roots Performance (“A Feather’s Not a Bird”), Best American Roots Song (“A Feather’s Not a Bird”), and Best Americana Album (The River & The Thread).

The Grammy Hall of Fame contains several recordings with Arkansas connections.  The 1969 album The Band by The Band, which featured Levon Helm, was inducted in 1999.  Louis Jordan has several singles inducted: 1946’s “Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens,” 1945’s “Caldonia Boogie,” 1946’s “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” and 1946’s “Let the Good Times Roll,” Charlie Rich’s 1973 single “Behind Closed Doors” was inducted as was Conway Twitty’s 1970 hit “Hello Darlin’.” Patsy Montana is included for her 1935 song “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.”  Al Green is included for 1971’s “Let’s Stay Together” and 1974’s “Take Me to the River.”

Glen Campbell and his family at the 2012 Grammy Awards

Glen Campbell has three recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame: 1967’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” 1967’s “Gentle on My Mind,” and 1968’s “Wichita Lineman.”  Johnny Cash has four entries: the singles “Folsom Prison Blues” from 1956, “I Walk the Line” from 1956, and “Ring of Fire” from 1963. In addition his album “Johnny Cash at San Quentin” from 1969 was inducted.

The 1949 musical cast album from South Pacific featuring a heroine from Little Rock was inducted. Another Broadway-themed inductee is “Lullaby of Broadway” featuring former Little Rock resident Dick Powell from 1935.

Here are some past Grammy winners from Arkansas:

• Bill Clinton, 2004 Best Spoken Word Album – My Life
• Bill Clinton and others, 2003 Best Spoken Word Album for Children – Peter and the Wolf
• Hillary Clinton, 1996 Best Spoken Word Album – It Takes a Village
• Evanescence, 2003 Best New Artist, Best Hard Rock Performance (“Bring Me to Life”)
• Al Green has 11 Grammy Awards spanning from 1981 to 2008. In 2002 he was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Johnny Cash won 13 Grammy Awards spanning from 1967 to 2007. In 1999 he was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Glen Campbell received 5 Grammy Awards in 1967 and 1968. In 2012, he was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award. That moment is captured in the documentary Glen Campbell, I’ll Be Me.
• As part of The Band, Levon Helm received a 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. As an individual artist he received Grammy Awards in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
• Conway Twitty received a 1971 Grammy for Country Duo or Group for “After The Fire Is Gone” duet with Loretta Lynn.
• Charlie Rich won the 1973 Grammy for Male Country Vocal Performance for “Behind Closed Doors.”
• Smokie Norful won the 2004 Grammy for Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for Nothing Without You.
• Maya Angelou won Grammy Awards in the Spoken Word Album for 1993’s On the Pulse of Morning, 1995’s Phenomenal Woman and 2002’s A Song Flung Up to Heaven.