The idea to create a Recording Academy （唱片協(xié)會(huì)）began in early 1957. A visionary（有眼光的） group of music professionals and label （唱片公司） executives1 in Los Angeles recognized the need to create an organization that would represent the creative(有創(chuàng)造力的) people in the recording arts and sciences.The founding members of the Recording Academy wanted to recognize and cele- brate the artistic achievement of not only talented (有才華的) musicians and singers but also important， behind-the- scenes(幕后的) contributors2 such as producers and engineers.

Conceived(認(rèn)為) as a way to create a real recording industry community and address3 some of these concerns， the Recording Academy was born and the Grammy Awards process began.The Grammys are the only peer-presented(行業(yè)授予的) award to honor artistic achievement， technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry， without regard to album sales(唱片銷量)or chart position（排行榜名次）. The award is a small statue4. It is shaped like the early record player called a gramophone(留聲機(jī)). The word \"Grammy\" is a short way of saying gramophone.

As we continue our journey into the bold(活躍的) future of the 21st century，the Recording Academy looks forward to(期待) the new opportunities of a growing organization. Over the last decade particularly， the Academy has expanded its goals from the important work of recognizing the best in music through the Grammy Awards to establishing itself as the preeminent (杰出的) arts advocacy5 and outreach (擴(kuò)大的活動(dòng)范圍) organization in the country.The Academy's mission statement is simple，but represents the heart and soul of the organization's efforts: to positively impact (影響) the lives of musicians，industry members and our society at large(全面地).

注釋：

1、executive n.管理人員，主管業(yè)務(wù)的人

2、contributor n.貢獻(xiàn)者

3、address vt.對(duì)付，處理

4、statue n. 雕像，塑像

5、advocacy n. 擁護(hù)，提倡

創(chuàng)建唱片協(xié)會(huì)的想法始于1957年初，一些有眼光的音樂(lè)專業(yè)人士和洛杉磯唱片業(yè)人士認(rèn)為，有必要建立一個(gè)組織來(lái)代表唱片藝術(shù)和技術(shù)方面那些有創(chuàng)造力的人。唱片協(xié)會(huì)的創(chuàng)始成員要評(píng)選和表彰的不僅僅是那些有才華的音樂(lè)家和歌唱家們的藝術(shù)成就，同樣還有那些重要的幕后工作者所做出的貢獻(xiàn)，像音樂(lè)制作人和工程師們。

作為創(chuàng)建一個(gè)真正的唱片行業(yè)組織，并探討相關(guān)問(wèn)題的一種方式，唱片協(xié)會(huì)誕生了，同時(shí)也開始了格萊美音樂(lè)獎(jiǎng)的評(píng)選過(guò)程。格萊美在唱片行業(yè)里是惟一獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)藝術(shù)成就、技術(shù)進(jìn)步和綜合成就的業(yè)內(nèi)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)，而不是根據(jù)唱片銷量和排行榜名次來(lái)評(píng)選的獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)。獎(jiǎng)品是一個(gè)小雕塑，造型酷似早期的電唱機(jī)，也叫留聲機(jī)?！案袢R美”是留聲機(jī)一詞的縮略形式。

當(dāng)我們步人前景充滿活力的21世紀(jì)時(shí)，唱片協(xié)會(huì)期待著進(jìn)一步發(fā)展的新機(jī)遇。特別是在過(guò)去10年中，協(xié)會(huì)把它的目標(biāo)從通過(guò)格萊美音樂(lè)獎(jiǎng)評(píng)選最優(yōu)秀的音樂(lè)人的重要工作，調(diào)整為把自己發(fā)展成為一個(gè)國(guó)內(nèi)杰出的藝術(shù)倡導(dǎo)者和推廣組織。協(xié)會(huì)的使命宣言很簡(jiǎn)單，但是它代表了這個(gè)組織奮斗的中心和靈魂；積極全面地影響音樂(lè)家、音樂(lè)界人士和整個(gè)社會(huì)人們的生活。