Why Is It Called A Grammy Award? The Simple Reason For The Name Of Music's Prestigious Honor

High-profile entertainment awards over the years have been given what some may call silly nicknames. The Academy Awards, for example, were supposedly given the nickname "Oscar" because an Academy librarian commented on how it looked like her uncle Oscar.

With the 60th Annual Grammy Awards set for Sunday night, it's probably as good a time as any to delve into the origins of "Grammy."

Unfortunately, there isn't much to the story of the famed music award and it certainly has nothing to do with grandmothers.

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences used to call their awards "Gramophone Awards." A gramophone was the first device for recording and replaying sound, so the name was shortened to "Grammy."

That's it. There's nothing else to the story of the name.

And, yes, it's not a coincidence that the trophy is a gramophone.

The first Grammy Awards show was held in both Los Angeles and New York. The first was at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and the second at the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City.

The first Grammy Awards to be televised was in 1971.