You're going to go.

Because I'll be gone.

Go, go, go, really gone.

Go, go, go, go.

Go, go, go. Welcome back to Hit Parade, a podcast of Pop Chart history from Slate magazine about the hits from

Coast to Coast. I'm Chris Malamphi,

chart analyst, pop critic, and writer of Slates Why Is This Song Number One series.

On our last episode, we started walking through the history of the Grammy Awards and

their relationship to the Billboard charts. The Recording Academy was founded in the 1950s by industry figures who hated rock and

roll and spent the Grammy's first decade avoiding it.

The Academy did eventually begin rewarding rock, R&B, and other forms of pop,

and by the 70s and 80s, they were aligning with the charts and popular tastes, but as the 21st century

approaches the center cannot hold. Entering the 90s, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was reeling from its biggest ever scandal,

the 1990 rescinding of the best new artist prize from fraudulent hip-pop vocal duo Milli Vanilli which we discussed in depth in a prior episode of hit parade.

With the rain that was falling

with the rain

that was falling blame it on the stars

didn't shine that night whatever you with With the Grammy's very existence called into question after this scandal,

Naris began to retrench. The 1991 Grammys were swept by veteran producer Quincy Jones with his multi artist album back on the block.

And then they went even more old school at the awards of

1992. After a year when Alternative Rock was on the rise and

R. E. M. and Nirvana were topping the charts.

...