hennemusic

“I heard the wind a whisp'rin', strong magic comin' on!
They comin' out for sure.”

Van Halen - “Light Up The Sky” (1979)

Fast forward from 1979 to November 30, 2011 – that’s when rumor has it that Van Halen will appear at the Grammy Nominations Concert live to make a special announcement.

Two signs indicate VH will update the world on their plans at the event:

The first is a mention at the end of this week’s press release for the Grammy Nominations broadcast, which says: "a special, live announcement from an iconic group regarding their historic band reunion set to take place on the Grammy stage on February 12, 2012.”

Sure, not enough to go on, but combine that info with…

The second, a tweet from The Grammy folks (here), which reads:

"Who do u predict the reuniting band will be @ #GRAMMYnoms? Does this hint make u wanna 'Jump' & 'Dance the Night Away'?"

There you go.

Now, all that being said, the Van Halen connection with the Grammys has never been too solid, since the awards tend to dismiss rock and hard rock acts, in general, with token gestures of support, preferring to focus their broadcasts on mainstream pop artists.

To date, VH have four Grammy nominations and one win.

In 1985, VH’s first #1 single, “Jump” was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (Prince won for “Purple Rain”). That same year, Eddie was nominated as a solo artist for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the track “Donut City,” which appeared in “The Wild Life” film and on the soundtrack (Yes won for “Cinema”).

VH won their only Grammy in 1992, as “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” picked up the honors for Best Hard Rock Performance.

In 1996, VH were up for Best Hard Rock Performance for “The Seventh Seal” off of the “Balance” release (Pearl Jam won for “Spin The Black Circle”). And VH brothers Eddie and Alex were nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for “Respect The Wind” in 1997 for the “Twister” movie and soundtrack (winners were Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, B.B. King, Art Neville, Bonnie Raitt & Jimmie Vaughan for "SRV Shuffle").

The catalyst to the new VH-Grammy connection is likely producer John Shanks, who worked on the band’s forthcoming release. Shanks is a 6-time Grammy nominee himself, as well as 2005 Producer of the Year winner for his work on multiple projects.

Shanks’ bio suggests his accomplishments are right up the Grammys alley: produced and/or written 43 #1 singles, 67 #1 albums and sold over 60 million albums in the genres of Rock, Pop and Country music.

The 54th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 8 PM ET/PT.

Stay tuned…

Van