The cover of Bruce Springsteen’s album, “Letter to You.”
Once again, Bruce Springsteen was eligible for Grammy Awards (in the January 2022 ceremony), but has been overlooked. After not nominating his High Hopes (2014) and Western Stars (2019) albums, Grammy voters have now passed on Letter to You (2020) as well.
The album came out in October 2020, preceded by its first single, the title track, in September 2020. Because they were released so late in the year, they were both were eligible for 2022 Grammys, but are not on the list of nominees, announced today.
The 64th annual Grammy Awards will take place on Jan. 31 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Jon Batiste received the most nominations (11), including ones in the Album and Song categories (for We Are and “Freedom,” respectively). Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. have eight apiece, and Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo have seven apiece.
Springsteen has done fine at the Grammys overall, of course. He has been nominated for them 50 times, and won 20. But his last nomination was in 2018 (in the Spoken Word category, for his narration on his “Born to Run” audio book). And his last win was in 2010, in the Solo Rock Vocal category, for “Working on a Dream.”
The Grammys were slow to recognize Springsteen, early in his career. He wasn’t nominated until 1981 (for his “Detroit Medley” on the No Nukes soundtrack album) and didn’t win until 1985 (Rock Vocal Performance, Male, for “Dancing in the Dark”). Look at it this way: He’s had a recording career of nearly 50 years, but his Grammy-winning stretch lasted only half of that (1985 to 2010).
Three of his albums (Born to Run, Born in the USA and Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ) are also in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Click here for more on Springsteen’s Grammy history.
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