These past Grammy winners all have something in common — ties to Columbus
The 65th Grammy Awards are being held Sunday in Los Angeles, and a Hilliard native is among those nominated.
Music producer Angel Lopez, who in 2021 won a Grammy for his contributions to Ye's album "Jesus is King," is hoping to add several more to his collection for his work with rapper Jack Harlow.
Leading the pack in nominations for this year's Grammys — which will be televised on CBS at 7 p.m. — is Beyoncé, whose club-inspired album "Renaissance" received critical acclaim and has gone platinum. She received nine nominations.
Other heavily nominated artists include Kendrick Lamar (eight); Adele and Brandi Carlile (seven apiece); and Harry Styles, Mary J. Blige, Future and DJ Khaled (six each).
Lopez isn't the only Grammy winner with ties to Columbus and central Ohio, however. Here's a look at a few — and others who came close.
Angel Lopez
Lopez's first Grammy came in 2021 for his contributions to Ye's "Jesus is King," which won best contemporary Christian music album. He's up for several more this year for his work with Harlow, who is nominated for three awards, including best rap album for "Come Home the Kids Miss You."
The Hilliard native was mentored by rapper and producer Timbaland.
"For a while, when I would go to sessions, I wouldn't even be able to add anything," Lopez told The Dispatch last year. "He would just have me set up in a corner. I would see the way he moved and what he did and how he got the results he was getting. That's what helped me."
More:Hilliard-bred music producer nominated for several Grammys
It was through Timbaland that Lopez met Harlow, who's from Louisville.
“We had a lot in common," Lopez said. "We love soccer, we're from the Midwest, we grew up on the same music. We just tucked down, and for a whole year, we were in the room, sometimes 12 or 14 hours, five days in the week. It was hard. But we made the music we wanted to make.”
Twenty One Pilots
The alternative rock-pop band formed in Columbus in 2009 by high school friends Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Salih. The trio self-released their self-titled debut album that year before Thomas and Salih left the band in 2011. Frontman Joseph then recruited replacement drummer Josh Dun and Twenty One Pilots continued as a duo.
By 2013, the pair had put out their first major label album, “Vessel,” and in 2015, they scored big with their second major album, “Blurryface,” which sold more than 1.5 million copies and stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for four consecutive years.
One of the singles from that album, “Stressed Out,” earned them a 2017 Grammy for best pop duo/group performance.
In 2021, the group released its album, "Scaled and Icy" and went on tour to promote it, including three concerts at Nationwide Arena.
Concert review: Twenty One Pilots gave fans what they came for — a rousing Nationwide Arena performance
Dwight Yoakam
While the country singer was born in Pikeville, Kentucky, Yoakam's family moved to Columbus soon after his birth. While attending Northland High School, Yoakam was part of the drama club, appearing in productions such as "The Miracle Worker" and "Flowers for Algernon."
In 1977, Yoakam moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. Shortly after, he relocated to Los Angeles where he was able to secure a record deal with Reprise Records. He released his debut album, "Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc." in 1986.
Yoakam has recorded more than 20 albums and compilations, charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and sold more than 25 million records. Five of his albums were Billboard No. 1s, 12 went gold, and nine platinum.
He won a Grammy for best male country vocal performance in 1994 for "Ain't That Lonely Yet" and another for best country collaboration with vocals in 1999 for "Same Old Train," shared with multiple artists
Yoakam is also a successful actor, having appeared in movies such as "Sling Blade," "Panic Room," "Logan Lucky" and "Cry Macho."
Joe Walsh
The future rocker was born in Wichita, Kansas, but spent the early part of his childhood in Columbus.
Then, after Walsh's family moved to Chicago, New York City and New Jersey, he returned to Ohio to attend Kent State University in 1965. Three years later, he joined the Cleveland-based band, James Gang. The James Gang quickly developed a huge following in the Midwest and landed a record deal, leading to a 1969 debut album, "Yer’ Album." Walsh went solo in 1974 with the album, "So What."
More:Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh once lived in Columbus. Now he has a street named after him
Shortly after, the rock group The Eagles asked Walsh to join the band. Their first album together was 1976's "Hotel California," which went on to sell more than 50 million copies. The title track won the band a Grammy Award for record of the year.
After The Eagles split up in 1980, Walsh continued to release solo albums. In the 1990s, he teamed up with The Eagles again and the band resumed touring. In 1998, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He has five Grammy wins in total as a member of The Eagles, including:
best arrangement for voices for "New Kid in Town" (1977)
best rock vocal performance by a duo or group for "Heartache Tonight" (1979)
best country performance by a duo or group with vocals for "How Long" (2008)
best pop instrumental performance for "I Dreamed There Was No War" (2009)
In April, Walsh appeared in concert with the Eagles at Nationwide Arena. Later in the year, in November, he returned for the sixth annual VetsAid event, benefiting several veterans service organizations based or operating in Ohio.
Concert review:Joe Walsh and friends give fans six hours of energy-packed rock at VetsAid concert
Concert review:Eagles take it to the limit — and then some — during Columbus concert
Nancy Wilson
Born in Chillicothe, Wilson sang in church as a girl and by age 4 had decided she would become a singer. While attending West High School in Columbus, Wilson won a talent show at the age of 15, which was sponsored by ABC station, WTVN. The prize was a twice-a-week appearance on the television show "Skyline Melodies."
After graduating high school, Wilson briefly went to Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, before pursuing a music career in New York City. Her first album, “Like in Love!”, came out in 1959, and Wilson had her greatest commercial success over the following decade.
In the 1970s and after, the Grammy-winning jazz singer continued to record regularly and perform worldwide, at home in nightclubs, concert halls and open-air settings, singing at jazz festivals from Newport to Tokyo. Wilson decided to retire from touring after performing at a show at Ohio University in September 2011.
Wilson died in 2018 after battling a long illness. She was 81.
She won three Grammys over the course of her career:
best rhythm and blues recording for "How Glad I Am" (1965)
best jazz vocal album for "R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)" (2005)
best jazz vocal album for "Turned to Blue" (2007)
Close but no cigar: Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts members and cousins Gary LeVox and Jay Demarcus were born and raised in Columbus. The two eventually moved to Nashville in the 1990s, where they met third member Joe Don Rooney. The country pop group released its self-titled debut album in 2000, with the help of hit song, "Prayin' for Daylight."
Rascal Flatts' third album, "Feels Like Today," became their first one to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, and their fourth album, "Me and My Gang" gave the group their first crossover pop hit with, "What Hurts the Most."
The group, which has four Grammy nominations, continued to release music throughout the 2000s and 2010s. In 2020, Rascal Flatts announced they were working on new music and planning a farewell tour, but those plans were canceled due to the pandemic. However, they did release an EP, "How They Remember You" later that year. The band has since broken up.
Also notable: Bow Wow
Born Shad Moss, Bow Wow was born in Columbus and raised in Reynoldsburg. After connecting with rapper and producer Jermaine Dupri, Bow Wow (then Lil' Bow Wow) released his first album, "Beware of Dog" in 2000 when was only 13. The album went on to sell more than 2.5 million copies.
Bow Wow, who has no Grammy wins or nominations, would soon switch over to acting, taking on roles in "Like Mike," "Roll Bounce" and "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."
Meanwhile, he continued to pursue music, releasing successful albums such as "Wanted" and "The Price of Fame" in 2005 and 2006. Bow Wow later could be seen on the reality show, "Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here are five Grammy winners with Columbus ties
