New York Music Awards
The New York Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony and live concert, established in 1986 with its first sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States. It ran for six years with annual sold-out shows at the Beacon Theater, and then four years through 1996 with awards announced but not presented at one specific ceremony and venue.
The New York Music Awards was established by Robbie Woliver and Marilyn Lash to celebrate New York City and its music after they lost the lease to their legendary and influential Greenwich Village music venue Folk City.
The New York Music Awards celebrates New York-born-and-raised and NY-based/NY-identified artists and their recordings. Nominees include major label and indie label artists as well as unsigned and rising artists. The NYMAs introduced "new" artists such as Whitney Houston, Madonna, L.L. Cool J, Vanessa Williams, Joan Osborne, Mary J. Blige, and has been credited for first introducing rap & hip hop to the mainstream.
Up-and-coming and established artists in more than 50 different musical categories were honored each year in exciting award presentations featuring unforgettable performances by the best in the industry. Nominations and voting are done by a process that includes open nominations and finalist voting by music journalists and music industry representatives, along with a public vote. Critically acclaimed, the prestigious New York Music Awards was called "Better than the Grammys" by The New York Times and the "best" and "most trendsetting" awards show by the New York Daily News.
Artists who participated and performed, and were honored over the years include: Miles Davis, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Laura Nyro, Lou Reed, L.L. Cool J, Suzanne Vega, Public Enemy, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Judy Collins, Rubén Blades, Art Garfunkel, Cameo, Meatloaf, Debbie Gibson, Michael Bolton, Carly Simon, Taylor Dayne, The Smithereens, Lou Gramm, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Nona Hendryx, Patti Smith, Odetta, Marianne Faithfull, The B-52s, C+C Music Factory, Arlo Guthrie, Mayor Ed Koch, Richie Havens, Darlene Love, Paul Shaffer, Taj Mahal, Roger Daltrey, Bobby Rivers, Marc Cohn, Yoko Ono, John Tesh, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, Sophie B. Hawkins, Debbie Harry, John Lurie, Donna Summer, Dion, Salt-n-Pepa, Sonic Youth, Betty Carter, the Ramones, Christine Lavin, Lori Carson, The Manhattan Transfer, Phoebe Snow, Patti Austin, Cyndi Lauper, 10,000 Maniacs, Pat Benatar, Syd Straw, Patty Smyth & Scandal, Bill Graham, Frank Christian, Sinéad O'Connor, CBGB's Hilly Kristal, Howard Stern, Essra Mohawk, M.C. Lyte, Raven-Symoné and hundreds of others.
After a brief hiatus, the New York Music Awards returned with the 2010 New York Music Awards winners. The New York Music Awards expanded its Hall of Fame awards and evolved into a new organization, the New York Music Hall of Fame, and the awards will be an ongoing event produced the NYMHOF.
New York Music Awards Quotes:
L. L. Cool J: “Being respected in your hometown is incredible. Hometown! I love the New York Music Awards.”
Vanessa Williams: “The New York Music Awards supported me from the beginning of my career. I hope I can live up to the honor of growing from ‘Rising Star’ to the ‘Artist of the Year.’”
Billy Joel: “This Award means a lot to me. It’s a special honor being recognized by your hometown.”
New York Newsday: “if one of the signs of credibility of an awards show is its ability to attract major stars, then the New York Music Awards has already found a permanent place.”
New York Daily News: “The hippest awards show. The new York Music Awards are red hot.”
New York magazine: “The sound of success.”
Variety: “The NYMAs gains credibility. Their was an undeniable joie de vivre about the affair/”
New York Post: “The star-studded NYMAs is the hip alternative to the Grammys.”
MTV: “New York is the melting pot of sounds and styles, and the evening showed us once again why the Big Apple is the music capital of the world!”
Cashbox: “A major event!”
The New York Times: “The categories represent the diversity of New York’s musical culture., and the cross-section of styles is revealing. It’s New York’s best pop.”
USA Today: New York's best!”
Miles Davis: “The New York Music Awards are better than the Grammys. I feel at home.”
David Johansen/Buster Poindexter: “The New York Music Awards are very moving to me, and very important to my career. It’s an elegant affair with stiff competition. It’s great to have a gathering of the gang – you get to hear everyone you hear and read about.”
Rick Derringer: I’ve been in New York City for 22 years, but it took the New York Music Awards to really make me feel like an official New Yorker.”
RUN-D.M.C.: The New York Music Awards are chillin’”
Cissy Houston: “The New York Music Awards are quite an honor, and mean a great deal to a lot of entertainers.”
NBC-TV News: “It’s New York celebrating its music and we loved it!”
Rolling Stone: “Contrary to popular belief, the New York music scene ain’t dead—it’s just gone overground. And the healthy scene was very much in evidence when the luminaries convened at the exciting New York Music Awards.”
New Musical Express: “Forget the celebration of the mainstream that is the Grammys, and behold the glittering prizes of the New York Music Awards.”
Cameo “We’re quite proud of winning ‘Best Single'! New York is the music capital.”
Willy DeVille: “The New York Music Awards are great. It’s artists appreciating each other’s art, without the jive attitude.”
Lisa Lisa: “I’m was overwhelmed by the New York Music Awards. It was really cool, all of us getting together and having such a great time.”
Lou Reed: “Being inducted into the New York Music Awards Hall of Fame is great, especially because New York is my hometown. Maybe in forty years they’ll give me another one.”
Pat DiNizio, Smithereens: “This is the city where everyone comes to make it. To be recognized by fans and the industry in New York has a lot of meaning. The New York Music Awards definitely add a lot of credibility to what you’re doing. There’s a great feeling of camaraderie backstage. If you don’t feel loved in a situation like this, you’ll never feel loved in your life!”
Patty Smyth, Scandal: "The New York Music. Awards are great. They legitimize the New York Music community.”
Joey Ramone: “It’s somethiong special to be appreciated in your own hometown. New York is the most critical town there is, so it’s the ultimate honor. The New York Music Awards are more important to me than any other award. This show and this award are really cool. It is a great honor and I’m really proud.”
Paul Shaffer: “We're really thrilled to win this award,and we’re really happy to be part of the New York Music Awards.”
Yoko Ono:” It’s about time New York had something like the New York Music Awards.”