The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening the show with "I Will Always Love You".
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record charts in several countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. Characterized by its complex soundscapes, episodic structure and subversions of pop music formula, it was at the time the most expensive single ever recorded. "Good Vibrations" later became widely acclaimed as one of the finest and most important works of the rock era.
"Everyday People" is a 1968 song composed by Sly Stone and first recorded by his band, Sly and the Family Stone. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It held that position on the Hot 100 for four weeks, from February 9 to March 8, 1969, and is remembered as one of the most popular songs of the 1960s. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song of 1969.
Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and the 12-bar blues. Popular music songs traditionally use the same music for each verse or stanza of lyrics. Pop and traditional forms can be used even with songs that have structural differences in melodies. The most common format in modern popular music is introduction (intro), verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and chorus. In rock music styles, notably heavy metal music, there is usually one or more guitar solos in the song, often found after the middle chorus part. In pop music, there may be a guitar solo, or a solo performed with another instrument such as a synthesizer or a saxophone.
"Wichita Lineman" is a 1968 song written by Jimmy Webb for American country music artist Glen Campbell, who recorded it backed by members of the Wrecking Crew. Widely covered by other artists, it has been called "the first existential country song."
"Piano Man" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. First released as a single in the US on November 2, 1973, it was included on Joel's 1973 album Piano Man. The song is sung from the point of view of a piano player at a bar, describing the patrons. "Piano Man" is based on Joel's real-life experiences as a lounge musician in Los Angeles from 1972 to 1973, which he had decided to pursue in an effort to escape his contracted New York City–based record company at the time, Family Productions, following the poor commercial performance of the album Cold Spring Harbor.
The Andalusian cadence is a term adopted from flamenco music for a chord progression comprising four chords descending stepwise – a iv–III–II–I progression with respect to the Phrygian mode or i–VII–VI–V progression with respect to the Aeolian mode (minor). It is otherwise known as the minor descending tetrachord. Traceable back to the Renaissance, its effective sonorities made it one of the most popular progressions in classical music.
"Just the Way You Are" is a song by Billy Joel from his fifth studio album The Stranger (1977), released as the album's second single in early November 1977. It became both Joel's first US Top 10 and UK Top 20 single, as well as Joel's first Gold single in the US. The song also topped the Billboard Easy Listening Chart for the entire month of January 1978.
"Not a Second Time" is a song by English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon, though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was first released on the Beatles second British album, With the Beatles, and their second American album Meet the Beatles!. Lennon said he was "trying to write a Smokey Robinson or something at the time." The song was recorded in nine takes on 11 September 1963 at EMI Studios.
"Mother" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It appeared on their 1979 album The Wall.
"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic murder ballad, written in 1972 by songwriter Bobby Russell and first recorded by his then-wife singer, comedian, and actress Vicki Lawrence. Lawrence's version, from her 1973 album of the same name, went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart after its release. Of several cover versions, the one recorded by Reba McEntire for her 1991 album For My Broken Heart peaked at number 12 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
"Us and Them" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. The music was written by Richard Wright and Roger Waters with lyrics also by Waters. It is sung by David Gilmour, with harmonies by Wright. The song is 7 minutes and 49 seconds, the longest on the album.
"Wendy" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1964 album All Summer Long and was also featured on their EP, Four by The Beach Boys.
"Sunny" is a soul jazz standard written by Bobby Hebb in 1963. It is one of the most performed and recorded popular songs, with hundreds of versions released and its chord progression influencing later songs. BMI rates "Sunny" No. 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century".
"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first recorded by Marvin Rainwater in 1959 and released on MGM as "The Pale Faced Indian", but that release went unnoticed. The first hit version was a 1968 recording by Don Fardon – a former member of the Sorrows – that reached number 20 on the Hot 100 in 1968 and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970.
"Just the Two of Us" is a 1980 song written by Bill Withers, William Salter, and Ralph MacDonald, and recorded by Grover Washington Jr. with Withers on vocals. Elektra Records released it in Washington's 1980 album Winelight and as a February 1981 single.
"She's Always a Woman" is a song by Billy Joel from his 1977 album, The Stranger. The single peaked at No. 17 in the U.S. in Oct. 1978, and at No. 53 in the UK in 1986, when it was released as a double A-side with "Just the Way You Are". It re-entered the UK chart in 2010, reaching No. 29.
"Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and was originally a hit in 1963 for Gene Pitney.
"Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" is a 1978 song written by Pete Shelley and performed by his group Buzzcocks. It was a number 12 hit on the UK Singles Chart and was included on the album Love Bites.
"Shape of My Heart" is a song by British musician Sting, released in August 1993 as the fifth single from his fourth solo album, Ten Summoner's Tales (1993). The song was co-written by guitarist Dominic Miller and features harmonica played by Larry Adler. It was used for the end credits of the 1994 film Léon and within the 1993 film Three of Hearts. Despite failing to reach the top 50 in the UK upon its release, it has become a pop classic and one of Sting's works most closely associated with his solo career. It has since been sampled in many tracks since its release, including "Shape" (2003) by Sugababes and "Rise & Fall" (2003) by Craig David. Ann-Margret sang a cover over the opening credits of her 1996 movie Blue Rodeo.
