What was the original name of the Grammy Awards?

The Grammy Awards were originally called the Gramophone Awards.

The name referred to the gramophone, the sound-recording device represented by the award’s distinctive trophy. The Recording Academy introduced the awards in 1959 to honor achievements in recorded music.

The ceremony and trophy were later widely known as the Grammys, a shortened form of “Grammy.” The nickname became the official public identity of the awards and is now used in the event’s formal branding.

The awards were created during the late 1950s, when the American recording industry was expanding rapidly. They were designed partly to provide a music equivalent to established entertainment honors such as the Oscars and Emmys.