On This Day: When Metallica Lost A Grammy To Jethro Tull
Metallica was considered such a shoo-in that the winning act in the category didn't even go to the Grammys in 1989
On Feb. 22, 1989, the Grammys had a Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance (Vocal or Instrumental) award for the first time. Alice Cooper and Lita Ford were the presenters, and here were the nominees, via Ultimate Classic Rock.
Metallica-..And Justice For All
Jane’s Addiction-Nothing’s Shocking
AC/DC-Blow Up Your Video
Iggy Pop-"Cold Metal" (song)
Jethro Tull-Crest of a Knave
In a case of “one of these things is not like the others”, it’s weird Jethro Tull was even nominated in the category. Because when you think metal or hard rock, you surely think of songs like “Aqualung”, right?
Even Cooper thought it was a joke that Jethro Tull was on the list.
“I opened the envelope, and when I saw the name, I thought they’d given me the envelope from the rehearsal,” Cooper told Classic Rock in 2016. “Everybody in that room was certain that Metallica would get the Grammy," he added. "I looked at it again, and it did have a different seal on it and details like that. It was the real thing. So I said, ‘For the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Grammy … Jethro Tull!’ There was a two-minute pause, then everybody broke out laughing. They thought I was doing a joke.”
Ford was shocked too.
“If you watch the video, you’ll see my eyes get real big when Alice says ‘Jethro Tull'," Ford recalled. "I was trying not to show any emotion, but it was like, ‘What?!’ It was a shock to everybody when Alice read out Jethro Tull’s name. Metallica were standing right there, all ready to go on, and they were sure in their heads that they’d got it.”
Jethro Tull did not attend, as they were advised not to.
“The record company said they didn’t think it was really worth the expense of flying us over to Los Angeles because Metallica were favorites to win it – which suited me fine because we were working in the studio at that time,” band leader Ian Anderson told EonMusic in 2017.
In 1992, Metallica won a Grammy for what’s become known as "The Black Album". Drummer Lars Ulrich took the opportunity to “thank Jethro Tull for not putting out an album this year.”