Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance awarded to the Dixie Hummingbirds: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The "Best Soul Gospel Performance" Grammy award of 1973 was presented to The Dixie Hummingbirds in March 1974 for their song “Loves Me Like a Rock”. The award is a molded bronze colored metal gramophone mounted on a square frustum wooden base. A bronze colored brush metal plaque is adhered to the front face of the frustum reading “NATIONAL ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS & SCIENCES / DIXIE HUMMINGBIRDS / BEST SOUL GOSPEL – 1973 / “LOVES ME LIKE A ROCK”. The gramophone is positioned with the elbow on the right and the horn opening to the left. The verso of the gramophone has “© NARAS” stamped into the metal. The elbow of the gramophone has a break and has a prior repair utilizing what appears to be fishing wire and brown tape.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1974
• Manufactured by: Bob Graves Molds, Inc., American, 1958 - 1985
• Owned by: Ira Tucker Sr., American, 1925 - 2008
• Received by: Dixie Hummingbirds, American, founded 1928
• Commissioned by: The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American, founded 1957
• Type: trophies (prizes)
• Medium: alloy, wood, plastic, pressure-sensitive tape
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 6 1/2 x 4 7/8 x 4 3/4 in. (16.5 x 12.4 x 12.1 cm)
• Place made: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Gospel (Music)
• Object number: 2013.13.17
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from Ira Tucker, Jr. of the Dixie Hummingbirds
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.