What were you doing when “Monday, Monday” hit the charts? Where were you when you first heard “Black Hole Sun”? Raise your hand if you ever stood in front of a mirror with a hairbrush and sang along with “Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.”.

Um . . . I have my hand up.

Did you ever dance to “Ray of Light” at a club or sing “Respect” on the way home from a hard “9 To 5” day at work? Have you ever been “Crazy in Love”? Does “At Seventeen” make you cry, or “Harper Valley PTA” make you laugh?

The Ultimate Grammy Collection is a 7 CD set that is a tribute and celebration of 50 years of Grammy award winning music and artists. I also found it to be a collection of unique and personal memories. I listened to all of the CDs, even the ones from the genres outside the world of Pop Music. Every song gave me a connection to a place and time in my past.

The CD set is broken up into individual genres with 16 songs in each collection. I have listed the genres and the artists at the end of this article as well as the links for the CDs on Amazon.com. You can pick your favorite genres, or as I would suggest, buy the entire collection. It’s a wonderful collection of music to have in your library.

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on February 10, 2008. The pre-televised portion of the show can be heard on XM Radio. The televised portion is scheduled to be broadcast on CBS at 8PM EST. A Grammy museum will also open in 2008. At this time, I’m keeping my fingers crossed about the televised show. I know that the writers have agreed not to picket; we are just waiting to hear if the unions involved will give a waiver for writers to work on the telecast. I will keep you updated as soon as I find out.

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Ultimate Grammy Collection
This collection compilation ©2008 National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.
Manufactured and marketed by Shout! Factory LLC

Classic Pop: Petula Clark – The Mamas & The Papas – Jose Feliciano – Harry Nilsson – The 5th Dimension – Dionne Warwick – Captain & Tennille – Janis Ian – Bee Gees – The Doobie Brothers – Kenny Loggins – Toto – Tina Turner – Phil Collins – Steve Winwood – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

Contemporary Pop: k.d. lang – Seal – Annie Lennox – Eric Clapton – Shawn Colvin – Sarah McLachlan – Jamiroquai – The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Madonna – Macy Gray – Nelly Furtado – Norah Jones – Justin Timberlake – Los Lonely Boys – Kelly Clarkson – John Mayer

Contemporary Rock: Living Colour – Melissa Etheridge – Soul Asylum – Stone Temple Pilots – Soundgarden – Blues Traveler – Tracy Chapman – The Smashing Pumpkins – The Chemical Brothers – Fiona Apple – Lenny Kravitz – Coldplay – Dave Matthews – The White Stripes – Evanescence – Green Day

Classic R&B: Aretha Franklin – Sam & Dave – Otis Redding – The Isley Brothers – Ike & Tina Turner – Bill Withers – Billy Paul – The Temptations – Gladys Knight & The Pips – Natalie Cole – The Emotions – Donna Summer – Earth, Wind & Fire – Marvin Gaye – Rufus and Chaka Khan – Commodores

Contemporary R&B: Anita Baker – Terence Trent D’Arby – Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler – Luther Vandross – Ray Charles – Sade – Toni Braxton – Boyz II Men – Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre – R. Kelly – Brandy & Monica – TLC – Whitney Houston – D’Angelo – Usher – Beyonce featuring Jay-Z

Classic Country: Roger Miller – Jeannie C. Riley – Tammy Wynette – Johnny Cash – Lynn Anderson – Ray Price – Johnny Cash & June Carter – Jerry Reed – Donna Fargo – Crystal Gayle – Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson – Kenny Rogers – The Charlie Daniels Band – George Jones – Dolly Parton – Willie Nelson

Contemporary Country: Vince Gill – Mary Chapin Carpenter – The Judds – Brooks & Dunn – Dwight Yoakam – Asleep at the Wheel and Lyle Lovett – The Mavericks – Leann Rimes – Alison Krauss and Union Station – Trisha Yearwood – George Jones – June Carter Cash – Tim McGraw – Gretchen Wilson – Emmylou Harris – Carrie Underwood