A common metaphor for the bass is an "anchor," the instrument that establishes the groove in tandem with the drums. Together, they create a solid foundation for the lead instrument, or instruments, to shine.

But if you call Ron Carter, the most-recorded jazz bassist alive, an "anchor," he'll have a few choice words for you.

"You ever see an anchor? It's down at the bottom, rusty," the three-time GRAMMY winner once said. "No one knows it's there; no one gives a s— that it's there, holding the boat back. Anchor of the band? That means the band's not going anywhere.

"That's not what I do, man," Carter continued. "My job is to knock your socks off."

These days, the music community is full of contemporary bassists who knock your socks off, in all genres. Which has less to do with tearing apart the rulebook than bringing their instrument to the center of the music discourse — an instrument in the front seat, not the back.

Take the colorful and virtuosic Thundercat; his bass acumen made him a star, and even blasted him into the Star Wars universe. (Flea followed suit, in a passing of the bass torch in a galaxy far, far away. Consider fellow GRAMMY winner Linda May Han Oh, a dazzling composer on both electric and upright bass; "jazz" barely contains her artistry.

From there, the list goes on and on: Esperanza Spalding, Mali Obomsawin, Charles Berthoud, Endea Owens, Alex Claffy, Sam Wilkes, Logan Kane, and so many others. Sungazer bassist Adam Neely's music-focused YouTube channel commands 1.7 million subscribers; the bassist-YouTuber Davie504, a whopping 13 million.

Clearly, the bass is alive and well in the popular conversation — and to address all the worthy practitioners who've popped up in the last decade and change would require a thick book. 

So here's a sampler platter: five radiant bassists bringing their instrument to the forefront, who hail from a range of backgrounds and scenes.

Blu DeTiger

Watch the video for Blu DeTiger's four-on-the-floor single "Elevator," and chances are you've never seen anything like it: a pop song, and video, with the bass prominently featured.

Yet the TikTok bass phenom is unconcerned with showing off and committed to the pocket. Same in "Hot Crush Lover," which further demonstrates her fluidity and suppleness on four strings.

"I remember thinking 'So many girls play guitar and sing,'" DeTiger told Spin in 2022. "I was like, 'I want to be different. I want to do something unique.' And I've never looked back."

Bass covers of pop songs by Beyoncé, Prince, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas X, and others put DeTiger on the map. Since then, she's evolved into a full-fledged indie pop star, signed to Capitol Records, even performing on "Saturday Night Live" with Bleachers.

"I'm grateful and lucky that I was kind of on TikTok and stuff early on and was finding my way then." DeTiger told Reverb. "Because I feel like if I was trying to do what I was doing then now, I don't know if it would've cut through the same."

But perforate the mainstream DeTiger has — and with it, the bass gets a great deal more shine.

Sam Wilkes

L.A. bassist, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sam Wilkes is pure versatility; his sound straddles jazz fusion and ambient psychedelia without tipping over into "chill study beats."

"Jazz is just a language within another broader language. I'm a curious person and music offers up endless possibilities for me," Wilkes told The Fader. "I guess I can't escape jazz. It's what hits people first and they hear what they hear."

Jazz or no jazz, Wilkes' omnivorous muse has led to regular collaborations with saxophonist Sam Gendel and singer/songwriter Louis Cole, as well as stints in the eclectic groups Knower — who's opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers — and funk cover band Scary Pockets. 

Reared on jammers like Phish and the Dead, Wilkes was bitten by the improvisation bug early on. Although he played electric bass rather than upright, he figured USC would accept him into their jazz program anyway; despite his prodigious talent, said stumbling block barred him from the school.

But when that door closed, another opened; he entered the world of R&B and became an in-demand session cat. The career that ensued wasn't "anti-jazz," exactly; it encompasses a multitude of musical spheres, commensurately owed to brainy analysis and vibey grooves.

Adi Oasis

Adi Oasis isn't just a masterful bassist; she's a completely 360° artist — playing, singing, composing, and producing with equal facility. As such, she's not just here to jam; on her latest album, 2023's Lotus Glow, she tackles difficult subjects of identity and belonging.

"Thematically my new album is fearless, yet vulnerable, and also more political," the French-Caribbean artist wrote in a statement. "Because I'm a Black female immigrant, and these are my truths."

Oasis' pursuance of truths have paved the way for a dynamic career; she's collaborated or shared stages with leading lights like Anderson .Paak, Natalie Prass, Lee Fields, Big Freeda, and Chromeo.

Her approach to her instrument is finding a subliminal core — and a seam of infectious energy. "For me, bass is about finding a good groove that people may not even notice — a good groove that I want to keep playing forever," she told Bass Player in 2021.

Clearly, Oasis continues to accomplish this mission with every gig, every record, every collaboration.

"My entire life, every single show has felt like a victory — and I've played a lot of shows," Oasis has said of holding down the low end onstage. "The feeling that I get when I perform… that's it. That's what I've dreamt about, that's the high that I'm chasing.

"So I've made it a long time ago," the multi-hyphenate continued. "The rest is just a matter of getting more and more people in the room to share it with."

MonoNeon

When two-time GRAMMY-winning bass great Marcus Miller calls a bassist a "young bad cat" — and Prince has worked with them — any lover of four strings should investigate immediately.

MonoNeon, born Dywane Thomas, Jr., is a mighty bassist who blends soul, funk, jazz, and hip-hop, often on his eye-catching YouTube channel, where he commands 179,000 subscribers.

Thomas' father, Dywane Sr., is a bassist in his own right; Thomas curiously learned the instrument upside down from the age of four. "My dad played the right way," he explained to Thrasher in 2021. "I don't know why I flipped it over."

Victor Wooten of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones fame was a formative influence. "Seeing Victor Wooten thump the way he does really made me practice on my slapping and thumping more," MonoNeon continued. "It was difficult trying to thump upside down — I'm still working on it."

In the same interview, he shouts out Joe Cleveland, as well as Curtis Mayfield's bassist Joseph "Lucky" Scott and Muscle Shoals bass legend David Hood.

The sky was the limit for MonoNeon; he was actually one of the Purple One's final collaborators. 

"It was super cool. It wasn't what I thought it would be. Like, it was really weird and s—, but it was also laid back," Thomas added. "I still think about those Paisley Park shows that I played with Prince. I miss that shit so much, mane!"

But Prince will be remembered forever — and the more MonoNeon continues his ascendancy, chances are he will too.

Anna Butterss

What do singer/songwriters like Bright Eyes, Phoebe Bridgers and Aimee Mann have to do wit jazz musicians like Makaya McCraven, Larry Goldings and Walter Smith III? At the top of the list is Anna Butterss.

The Aussie bassist and composer's art isn't simply contained in these accompanying roles, though; her 2022 debut, Activities, contains the full spectrum of her art in microcosm.

"I was trying to subvert expectations while still keeping the music engaging, almost hooky," Butterss told Interlocutor that year. "I'm a sucker for a singable melody, but I want it to be a little off-kilter in some way, to feel surprising."

"And I wanted to express a lot of complicated and conflicting emotions, feelings that are difficult to put into words," she continued. Butterss then cited something that reveals her jazz bona fides: Thelonious Monk's concept of "ugly beauty."

No matter which context Butterss finds herself in, imagination is paramount; she can stretch her personal style any which way. So can all five of these bassists, as they've proved time and time again — every time they bring a background instrument to the forefront, to brilliant results.

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Blu DeTiger, like many of us, has felt the weight of the pandemic. The singer/songwriter and bassist turned her feelings into her latest single, "Cotton Candy Lemonade," a dreamy song about wanting to be anywhere else with that special someone. 

"I've been on my own/ Come find me now/ I'm lonely to the bone/ But I don't feel so low/ When you're around," she sings before opening up a sea of endless possibilities. "I wanna get lost with you/ Picture waking up somewhere new/ I wanna get lost with you."

The song is "classic quarantine, COVID emotions and just longing for a different time," she tells GRAMMY.com in a recent interview.

The song's video only magnifies the dreamy vibe with hazy scenes and candy-colored New York landscapes as she rides off on the back of a motorcycle. 

Despite the heavy feelings, Blu wanted the song to be hopeful, a feeling that comes through the song's beat and her smooth groovy-inspired bass line. 

"It is coming from a hopeful place. It's not a sad bop," she adds.

Blu, who went viral onTik Tok unexpectedly in the spring and has found herself giving people a soundtrack to create on the platform during these times, caught up with GRAMMY.com to talk more about her latest single, what her life looks like now, what we can expect on her next project, how she uses DJing to solidify her sound, how she feels connected to Shawn Mendes and more. 

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How are you spending your time these days? What does your day to day look like now?

Oh, man. I mean, I feel like it's changed over time during this whole thing now that things are a little bit more open in New York, but yeah, my day-to-day, I wake up, have my coffee, whatever. Go through my—I'm doing very basic day to day right now—I'm going very detailed ... check my stuff, emails and texts and things and then I usually, nowadays, I do a walk around my neighborhood just to get back in the zone of going outside and then I'll work on music basically the rest of the day until the late hours of the night. 

Have you noticed something that you didn't notice before about the city while on your walks?

Yeah, now it's weird because the energy here is really good right now. I know that sounds crazy. Everything is so horrible in the world, obviously but the energy here, I feel like it's like more of a community now and real, OG New Yorkers are here and it's been feeling good and I'll Citi Bike. I like to bike around now these days near the water while it's still nice out. But yeah, people are out and about, just relaxing, enjoying themselves. 

Your latest single is called "Cotton Candy Lemonade." I know you wrote it under quarantine. What's the story behind the song?

I've been working with some friends, these two producers, Eugene and Stelios and this other writer, Jessie. Eugene and Stelios had these starting chords and sent them to me and then we got on Zoom and I added the bass and we wrote the song over it pretty much and it came together really quickly. It was interesting that it was over Zoom, I think it was one of my first Zoom sessions. So, I think that was weird, but now I'm more used to that. So, it was over Zoom and it came together really quickly. I think it was just a lot of what I was feeling at that time. The classic quarantine, COVID emotions and just longing for a different time, like pre-COVID or post-COVID. 

Did those first chords set the mood at all for the song?

Yeah, definitely. Those chords just inspired the feeling ... I added the bass and the drums and stuff and I think that the movement of the groove... It's still a driving song, it still drives from the base groove and stuff and I think that's also what's cool about this song because it is coming from a hopeful place. It's not a sad bop, I still think there are some positives in there about it.

You recently released the video directed by Sacred Pact. Were you and Sacred Pact still able to get your vision across through the video?

Yeah, totally. It was different because obviously, it was a very tight set. It was only like four people or five people on set and we all tested and all of the COVID precautions we did before but yeah, it was weird that it was small, but I liked it and it was an all-female set as well, which was special and just good energy. But I think we were able to do well with the limitations. The Sacred Pact girls are so cool, they shot and edited and directed. They took on a bunch of different hats, we all had to. So, that was fun, it was real teamwork and it felt really good. I had so much fun shooting that day. Just riding on a motorcycle in the city is the best feeling ever. 

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When it comes to your music-making process, is there a time you feel most creative?

Yeah, definitely at night between the hours of like midnight and four. It sounds crazy but it's really hard for me to get out of this schedule. I feel like a lot of people actually got into that sleep schedule where people are staying up later and then waking up later ... When quarantine first started and I've gotten into that cycle and I still hadn't broken it but I've just found that I'm way more creative at night when the sun goes down and it's those 12 to 4 a.m. hours, so that's been fun. I'm still doing that. That's when I really sit down to write music and record stuff at home. I found out that's been my process but then when I think about it, I'm also like, "That makes sense," because I'm used to djing. Before COVID, I was djing a lot and those hours would always be 12 to four, those are the nightclub hours or like 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. That's when I would be working anyways in normal times. So, I think I'm just used to that schedule anyways.

Does being a DJ influence your music-making at all?

Totally. I'm so grateful that I have a background in DJing because, first of all, it makes you have a wide, vast knowledge of music throughout the decades. You need to know the hits through every decade, especially if you're djing. I've DJed weddings and bar mitzvahs and all that stuff and you need to know your stuff. You need to know the hits and I've also done other things where... I've just done every genre, so I think it made me just have to know a lot of music and listen to a lot of music and, of course, that's always going to be an influence. To make music, you got to hear other music but also, just the experience of playing to a crowd and being able to control the crowd and seeing what makes people dance and what makes people move and what makes people leave the dance floor and what gets a reaction out of people, different moments in songs and picking up on that and being aware of that has also been really helpful.

I want to pick your DJ brain for a little bit because I know that we've had to adjust a lot to the fact that live music is still not something we're able to experience. Do you feel like these live streams... Is that good for now or do you feel like you just can't wait until you can be in a room with people?

I don't know, I have mixed feelings because I know this is the only other thing that's possible right now, so I don't want to bash it but it's definitely not the same at all, for me at least. It's been tough just to capture that live experience, there's just nothing like it. I definitely think it's the best next thing that's possible but yeah, I don't know. I'm hoping that shows come back soon so you can get that feeling again. Even just like perform... I mean, I did these performance videos from home that I've been uploading on YouTube with each song. Obviously, it wasn't the same but I definitely think it was so therapeutic for me to put those together and just rehearse, like put myself back in a rehearsal mode and back into thinking about the songs in a live performance setting, which is so good for me and I feel like I had those endorphins go off again and I was missing that, craving that feeling. So, I was able to tap into it a little bit, making these videos from home but yeah, I mean, I don't know. I miss sweaty bodies in a room so bad.

Can you be a DJ and also make your own music at the same time? Or is it something that you're like, "I'm going to make music for this amount of time and I'm not going to DJ, I'm just going to focus on making music"?

I definitely think they go hand-in-hand and you can do both for sure. I also think the best feeling is like when I first started to complete my songs for my project, I would test them out in DJ settings and I would mix them into my DJ sets and that's the best feeling ever. Just hearing your song in comparison to other songs and seeing people dance to it but even if they don't even know what they're listening to, but they just know that they like it. Just seeing a genuine live reaction from a crowd in a DJ setting is really special and cool. When I first started finishing my songs and testing them out in the clubs, that was really fun. You could definitely do both and they go hand-in-hand. I mean, it's all music so I think anything music-related. I used to be like, "Oh my God, I do all these different things and how do they come together?" And I feel like they just always come together ... music is fluid and flows and it's all in the same category, in the same mother, you know?

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You've been releasing singles since late 2019, can we expect an album soon?

Yeah, not an album but an EP, for sure, is on the way and then album soon after that but yeah, I'm really excited for this. I haven't released a full body of work yet, so I'm super excited to do that and just have that snapshot of a bunch of songs. So, that's coming next year, so I'm really excited about that.

 I noticed that the singles you released in late 2019 were very dance-pop and we started to hear a little bit of a change in "Tangerine" and then "Figure It Out" and "Cotton Candy Lemonade" lose the dance feel a little bit, can we expect these sounds to make up your EP?

Yeah. I mean, I think the EP definitely has some more dance elements in there. I feel like I started with that because that was the world that I was coming from with the DJ background. I had that influence and I feel like just the music I've been making now, I feel like it's probably the same for a lot of artists these days, during quarantine, but no one's going out and really dancing, I guess, so it's been harder to sit down and make dance music because no one's out there dancing. My thought process I think is just like, "I'll just sit down and make more mellower, groovier tracks," but I'm always going to have that influence in my music because that's just what I like and what I grew up on and also like the funk stuff and disco, that genre is what I really fell in love with when I started playing bass and stuff like that. So, that's definitely in the vibe of the EP, for sure.

What are some of the other sounds that inspired you to make music when you were younger?

Definitely the late '70s, early '80s funk is my sweet spot of music I love, so that's definitely in there and the production style is just... all of the sounds are just so amazing. So, definitely, a sense of that is in there. I mean, I don't know. I listened to everything, I know that sounds like cliché everyone's like I listen to everything, but I do really try to take in everything and I feel like stuff just comes out here and there in my music, whether it's a subconscious decision or I'm actually sitting down and being like, "I'm going to try to replicate this cool thing that I heard in this song." 

What is one genre or artist that you think people would be surprised you like?

Good question. I honestly, I feel like I've talked about this before in an interview but I honestly love Shawn Mendes. He's a major artist, so maybe it's not surprising but I think the new song is so good and I'm pumped for his documentary he just was talking about because I remember I first followed him on Vine when he had not that many followers, so I feel a certain connection but I mean, I don't know. I guess that's a good answer for that question. 

Going back to your project, how do you feel like you're growing working on it?

Oh, damn. I think in the biggest way is, in the past songs I've released, I haven't done as much production work on it, except for "Cotton Candy Lemonade." I co-produced that one, but for the songs before, I wasn't as, I guess, hands-on, on the computer with the production and with these new songs that are coming out, I'm the main producer on the song and really getting into that producer hat zone. So, I think that's probably the biggest way that I'm growing, is I'm really getting into doing more of the production on my own and really just flushing out my ideas from start to finish. Just me or just me and my brother, I've been working with my brother a lot in quarantine. That's the biggest way I'm growing is in my production skills, for sure. 

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Is that something that you've always wanted to do, produce?

Yeah, for sure. I learned Ableton at an early age and I would always experiment, but I never sat down to write songs within and I slowly started to. I went to NYU for music and going there I learned some more skills because they have a bunch of production classes and things like that. So, I was slowly getting better but I wasn't as confident in myself and I never called myself a producer. I feel like now I can call myself a producer but before, I would always be scared to be like, "I produce too," because I just wasn't as confident, so I definitely had to put in the hours and practice before I could really take that on.

People ask themselves, "Is it worth going to school?" In your opinion, what do you think? Is learning in the classroom worth it? Or have you learned the most being an artist and producer?

It's so hard because I feel like everyone's different and everyone has a different style. I mean, I'm definitely so grateful that I got to go to NYU. I left a few years in because I had touring opportunities, but I definitely learned a lot while I was there and it was really good for me just to meet other people and be in the room with the other kids was really important. Classmates inspire you and you inspire classmates and that all rubs off on each other and being in the room with the professors, just having that network is really important but, I can only speak from personal experience. From my experience, it was important for me to leave when I did. And I definitely learned... there are some things you can't learn in the classroom and you got to really just go out and experience because someone telling you how to tour is different than you actually touring, you know? I think just getting life experience is really important. So, I would say a mix, but it really depends on what you want to do and if you want to be an artist or producer, engineer or music business, I think it all really depends on the person in the situation but for me, I'm really grateful I had the mix of both, like the best of both worlds.

When it comes to your forthcoming project, is there something you want to accomplish for yourself?

I think just to feel good about... I don't know. I mean, I do feel really good about it already but I think just to get it out there and for people to hear it. Just to release it. I think every time I release music, I'm just so happy after I put something out. It just feels like another part of you is being shown or expressed. 

This album will have a little bit more of you in the production sense

Yeah, totally. I think you'll definitely get a better taste of me and some different sides of me and qualities and it's a good sum up of just where I'm at right now or where I was when I wrote it and yeah, I'm pumped to just keep growing, keep experimenting and going on and writing more stuff forever. It's been a good journey and process for sure.

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Since Mike Piacentini’s switch from computer science to audio engineering in college, his family has been his biggest champions. So, when he received his nomination for Best Immersive Album for Madison Beer's pop album Silence Between Songs, at the 2024 GRAMMYs, it was a no-brainer to invite his parents and wife.

“He’s always been into music. He had his own band, so [the shift] wasn’t surprising at all,” Piacentini’s mother says in the newest episode of Family Matters. “He’s very talented. I knew one day he would be here. It’s great to see it actually happen.”

In homage to his parents’ support, Piacentini offered to let his father write a short but simple acceptance in case he won: “Thank you, Mom and Dad,” he jokes.

Alongside his blood relatives, Piacentini also had support from his colleague Sean Brennan. "It's a tremendous honor, especially to be here with [Piacentini]. We work day in and day out in the studio," Brennan explains. "He's someone who's always there."

Press play on the video above to learn more about Mike Piacentini's support system, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Family Matters.

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It's fair to say that the 1980s hadn't been particularly kind to country legend Johnny Cash. Once considered the Don of the Nashville scene, the singer/songwriter suddenly found himself dropped by Columbia Records, recording terrible parody songs (remember "The Chicken in Black"?), and addicted to painkillers after a bizarre accident in which he was kicked by an ostrich.

But as the new decade approached, Cash's reputation gradually started to recover. A 1988 tribute album, 'Til Things Are Brighter, alerted a much younger indie generation of his catalog of classics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. And then arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, U2, invited him to take lead vocals on Zooropa's post-apocalyptic closer "The Wanderer." The scene was set for a triumphant comeback, and on 1994's American Recordings, the Man in Black duly obliged.

The Rick Rubin-produced album was far from a one-off. Cash delivered three American follow-ups in his lifetime (1996's Unchained, 2000's Solitary Man, and 2002's The Man Comes Around). And two posthumous volumes (2006's A Hundred Highways, 2010's Ain't No Grave)  further bridged the gap between his statuses as country outlaw and elder statesman — and helped further his legacy as one of country's all-time greats.

As the first American Recordings installment celebrates its 30th anniversary, here's a look at how the series deservedly rejuvenated the career of an American recording legend.

It United Him With A New Muse 

Best known for his pioneering work with Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, Rick Rubin seemed an unusual fit for a sixty-something country singer whose glory days were considered decades behind him. But left spellbound by Cash's performance at a Bob Dylan anniversary gig in 1992, the superproducer offered to make the Nashville legend a superstar once more.

Cash took some persuading, but eventually agreed to join forces on the assurance he'd be in the creative driving seat, and a new unlikely dream team was born. Rubin lent his talents to all six volumes of American Recordings — co-producing the middle two with Cash's son John Carter Cash – and won the first GRAMMY of his career for his efforts. The Def Jam co-founder would also later work his magic with several other '60s heroes including Neil Diamond, Yusuf and Neil Young.

It Saw Cash Lean Into Contemporary Music More Than Ever

Cash had never been averse to tackling contemporary material. He covered Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman" in 1983, just a year after it appeared on The Boss' Nebraska. But the American Recordings series saw the Man in Black embrace the sounds du jour like never before, whether the grunge of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage," electro-blues of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," or most famously, industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

On paper, this could have been nothing short of a disaster, the sign of an aging artist desperately latching onto a much younger musical generation in a transparent bid for relevancy. But instead, Cash elevates the Gen X classics into modern hymns, his sonorous voice injecting a sense of gravitas and Rubin's production stripping things back to their bare but compelling essentials. Far from an embarrassing grandad act, this was the sound of a man respectfully making the source material his own.

It Returned Cash To The Charts 

Cash had reached the lower end of the Billboard 200 in the '80s as part of supergroups The Highwaymen and Class of '55. But you had to go all the way back to 1976's One Piece at a Time to find his last entry as a solo artist. The American Recordings series, however, slowly but surely restored the Man in Black to his former chart glories.

Indeed, while its first two volumes charted at numbers 110 and 170 respectively, the third peaked at a slightly more impressive 88 and the fourth at 22, his highest position since 1970's Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. The posthumous fifth entry, meanwhile, went all the way to No. 1, remarkably the first time ever the country legend had achieved such a feat with a studio effort (live album At San Quentin had previously topped the charts in 1971).

"Hurt" also became Cash's first solo US country hit in 14 years in 2003. And while it only landed at No. 56 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, it remains Cash's most-streamed song to date with over 600 million streams on Spotify alone.

It Included Masterful Collaborators 

As well as handing over the producer reins to Rubin, Cash also surrounded himself with some of the rock world's finest musicians. Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood all lent their considerable talents to Unchained. Sheryl Crow and Will Oldham did the same on Solitary Man, while Nick Cave, Fiona Apple and Don Henley joined him in the studio on The Man Comes Around.

But Cash also kept things more traditional by recruiting fellow country legend Merle Haggard, 'fifth Beatle'Billy Preston, and "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" songwriter Jack Clement, while the presence of wifeJune Carter Cash and son John made the third American Recordings something of a family affair.

It Went Back To Basics 

While American Recordings was, in many respects, Cash's most forward-thinking album, it wasn't afraid to keep one foot in the past, either. For one, the star recorded most of its first volume in his Tennessee cabin armed with only a guitar, a throwback to his 1950s beginnings with first producer Sam Phillips.

Cash also trawled through his own back catalog for inspiration, re-recording several tracks he believed had unfairly gone under the radar including 1955 single "Mean Eyed Cat," murder ballad "Delia's Gone" from 1962's The Sound of Johnny Cash, and "I'm Leaving Now" from 1985's Rainbow.

It Proved He Was Still A Masterful Songwriter…

Although Cash's unlikely covers grabbed most of the attention, the American Recordings series showed that his stellar songwriting skills remained intact throughout his later years, too. "Meet Me in Heaven," for example, is a beautifully poignant tribute to the older brother who died at just 15, while the folksy "Let the Train Blow the Whistle" added to Cash's arsenal of railroad anthems.

"Drive On," meanwhile, is worthy of gracing any Best Of compilation, a powerful lament to those who came back from the Vietnam War with both emotional and physical scars ("And even now, every time I dream/ I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream").

…And Still A Master Interpreter 

As well as putting new spins on his own songs and various contemporary rock favorites, Cash further displayed both his interpretive and curatorial skills by covering a variety of spirituals, standards and pop hits first released during his commercial heyday.

The likes of early 19th century gospel "Wayfaring Stranger," wartime favorite "We'll Meet Again," and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" may have been firmly in Cash's wheelhouse. But more leftfield choices such as Loudon Wainwright III's offbeat morality tale "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" proved that even when outside his comfort zone, he could stamp his own identity with aplomb.

It Made Him An Unlikely MTV Star 

Cash was 62 years old when American Recordings hit the shelves — not exactly a prime age for MTV play. Yet thanks to some inspired creative decisions, the career-reviving series spawned two videos that received regular rotation on the network. Firstly, "Delia's Gone" caught attention for two major reasons: it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the man renowned for his long-running creative partnership with Depeche Mode, and it starred Kate Moss, the world's biggest supermodel at the time, as the titular victim.  

Then nine years later, Cash picked up six nominations — winning Best Cinematography — at the MTV Video Music Awards thanks to Mark Romanek's emotionally devastating treatment for "Hurt." Interspersing clips of the clearly fragile country singer at the rundown Museum of Cash with footage from his earlier days and artistic shots of decaying fruits and flowers, the promo perfectly embodied the transient nature of life. And it had the capacity to reduce even the hardest of hearts to tears.

It Added To His GRAMMY Haul 

Cash won almost as many GRAMMYs with his American Recordings series as he had during the previous 40 years of his career. The Man in Black first added to his trophy collection in 1995 when the first volume won Best Contemporary Folk Album. This was the first time he'd been recognized at the ceremony for his musical talents since the June Carter Cash duet "If I Were A Carpenter" won Best Country Performance for a Duo or Group with Vocal back in 1971  

Three years later, Unchained was crowned Best Country Album. And after picking up a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, Cash won 2001's Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Solitary Man," then again in the same Category for "Give My Love to Rose"in 2003. He posthumously won two more GRAMMYs for Best Short Form Video, in 2004 for "Hurt" and in 2008 for "God's Gonna Cut You Down." In total, the American Recordings series won Cash six more GRAMMYs, bringing his overall count to 13. 

It Was A Powerful Epitaph

In 1997, Cash was told he'd just 18 months to live after being misdiagnosed with neurodegenerative condition Shy-Drager syndrome (later changed to autonomic neuropathy). He ended up outliving this prognosis by a good four years, but during this period, he lost the love of his life and was forced to record his swansong in-between lengthy stints in the hospital.  

Little wonder, therefore, that the American Recordings series is defined by the theme of mortality: see "The Man Comes Around," a biblical ode to the Grim Reaper ("And I looked, and behold a pale horse/ And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him"), Death Row anthem "The Mercy Seat," and funeral favorite "Danny Boy." As with David Bowie's Blackstar, Cash was able to reflect on his impermanence in his own terms in a sobering, yet compelling manner that continues to resonate decades on. 

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Jon Batiste walked into the 2022 GRAMMYs with a whopping 11 nominations, making him the most recognized artist of the evening. By the end of the night, he received five GRAMMYs for Best American Roots Performance, Best American Roots Song, Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, Best Music Video, and the highly coveted Album Of The Year.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch Batiste take the stage to accept the award for Album Of The Year for his sixth studio album, We Are

Batiste began his praises by acknowledging God: "I just put my head down and work on the craft every day. I love music, he said. "I've been playing since I was a little boy. It's more than entertainment for me — it's a spiritual practice." He also thanked the "many people that went into making this album," including his grandfather, nephew, father, and executive producer, Ryan Lynn.

"This [award] is for real artists, real musicians. Let's just keep going. Be you! That's it. I love you even if I don't know you," Batiste cheered.

Press play on the video above to hear Jon Batiste's complete acceptance speech and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

Watch: Jon Batiste Delivers A Heartfelt Performance Of “Ain’t No Sunshine” & “Lean On Me” | 2024 GRAMMYs Performance