The Foo Fighters cleaned up at the 54th Grammy Awards last night, snagging five Grammys -- but missing out on Album of the Year, for which they were nominated.
That honor went to British soul singer Adele, who won six Grammys, including Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Someone Like You.”
Besides Foo Fighters, Adele also edged out Lady Gaga with Born This Way, Bruno Mars and his Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Rihanna with Loud.
Dave Grohl & Co. won Best Rock Album for Wasting Light, Best Rock Song for "Walk," Best Rock Performance for "Walk," Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for "White Limo" and Best Long Form Music Video for Back and Forth.
What is the difference between Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance? We have no idea.
We should add that Wasting Light also earned top honors when we at Guitar World counted down our 50 best albums of 2011. Yes, we know how to pick 'em!
Each of the Foo Fighters' past seven albums has been nominated for Best Rock Album, and three have won: 2001's There Is Nothing Left to Lose, 2004's One by One and 2008's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.
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“This is a great honor because this record was a special record for our band," Grohl said at the podium. "Rather than go to the best studio, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine. It shows that the human element of making music is what’s most important.”
Early in the broadcast, Foo Fighters performed "Walk" from a stage outside the Staples Center, perhaps to protect their "indie cred," as surmised by Jack Black during his introduction of the band.
The band performed later in the show (also outside the main venue) -- then Grohl joined Paul McCartney and Joe Walsh for "The End," the final part of a three-song medley from The Beatles' Abbey Road album, which McCartney performed to end the show.
In other six-string-centric Grammy news, Best Blues Album went to Tedeschi Trucks Band for Revelator. Paul McCartney & Wings won Best Historical Album for Band on the Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Deluxe Edition) and jazz guitarist Pat Metheny won Best New Age Album for What's It All About. Another winner was Levon Helm from The Band, who won Best Americana Album for Ramble at the Ryman.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
