The Grammy Curse *CUE DRAMATIC STING!*

Okay, so, the Grammies, right? You're a band in the early going, the success train seems to be rolling your way...and then you not only get nominated for a Grammy, BUT WIN? Things can only go up hill from there, right? Wellllll. Don't go mansion shopping in Elton John's neighborhood just yet, rock star.

Like The Spin Doctors, for instance. This thing sat around for a year before "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes" blew up and the album started selling like the most delicious candy of the month. Everybody seemed to have a copy. Listen, here Taylor Swift, the only artist to go platinum this year, back when you was in diapers, this band went, in one year, 5X platinum. That's ten million, worldwide. They made the cover of the Rolling Stone. They were on Sesame Street. They were nominated for best pop/rock album. Then the next album only sold a million and seemed to head straight for the used c.d. bins all over the country, there to wait out the decade next to:

In 1995, this band, Hootie And The Blowfish, came out of nowhere and sold, by the end of the decade, 16 MILLION COPIES OF ONE ALBUM. Yes, it was much loved, even if you'd be damned to name one member of the band. It seems like every housewife and backwards hat wearing frat douche was pumping their copy of this record at full volume. They even won Grammies for "Let Her Cry" Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and, yes, best new artist. 

Then the next record, bland of production and as free of hits as the first album was packed tight, sold way WAY less...and that was it. Lead singer guy is now a certified country star, people still call him Hootie regardless, and he'll never see sales of sixteen million ever again.

Talk about a rocket ride to fame followed by a steep drop, the band pictured above, The Starland Vocal Band, released a song that seemed to sum up all things 70's in a quick three minutes, won two Grammies for it, and even got their own television show that ran for six weeks on CBS in 1977. And that was all for:

and, let's not forget:

and then what many knew was confirmed when, during a concert, the backing track started skipping and both Mili and Vanilli were forced to scamper off stage into shame, their Grammy soon revoked, one committing suicide a little while after while the other was caught trying to steal cars.

Sad.

The End.

And, oh yeah, in 1964, the Best New Artist went to The Swingle Singers.

So hold tight to that Best New Artist Grammy, Sam Smith. And plot your career with care.

For more on how the Grammy voters can get things wrong, here are Ten Times The Grammy made an OOPSIE!