Just a quick note for today to say how remarkable it is to me that, in February of 2025, both The Beatles and the Rolling Stones won Grammy awards. Perhaps some of the votes were sentimental (I mean, how many more times might you, as a member of the academy, get a chance to check "The Beatles" or "The Rolling Stones" on our ballot). But the fact that they are still relevant - and still known by enough of the academy to warrant a statue, is just remarkable.
Think about all of the groups and artists that have come and gone since both of these groups burst on the US scene in 1964. Do you seriously think that Gary Lewis and the Playboys would have received a vote for any new record released in 2025? And while that's an extreme example, it just goes to show how culturally significant both of these groups were and are.
I have often said what I'm about to say yet again - it is remarkable that, for every day of my 61 years on Earth, I have been privileged to be surrounded by the music of The Beatles. And that, for my entire record buying life, I have been able to add new music to that collection - be it by the band itself, or its individual components - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Ringo just released a brand new album - at 84 years young!!
They have been the soundtrack of my life and I'm so thrilled to see that they are once again Grammy award winners.
