Kirk Hammett has become a big fan of Jethro Tull in recent years, despite Metallica's infamous Grammy loss to the band decades ago.
Hammett said in a new interview with Goldmine magazine, “I just really got into prog about five years ago. I wasn’t into prog. Just accidentally I heard Jethro Tull ‘Stand Up’ and I went, ‘Wow.’ I never ever had paid much attention to Jethro Tull; I just never did.”
The guitarist would admit, with a laugh, “And it didn’t help losing to them in 1989 for that Grammy. But that’s really not the reason why I wasn’t into Jethro Tull, believe me.”
So, why did it take so long until he checked out Jethro Tull? His answer is quite simple.
“I just never got around to it,” he said. “Sometimes you just don’t get around to certain things. So, I ended up checking out their entire catalog and now I’m a full-on Jethro Tull fan.”
For those blissfully unaware of the whole Metallica/Jethro Tull situation, the Recording Academy added the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Vocal or Instrumental category in for the 1989 Grammy Awards. The heavy favorites (pun intended) were Metallica for their 1988 album …And Justice for All. (They were so favored that Jethro Tull, who were nominated in the same category for their album Crest of a Knave, didn’t even attend the ceremony.)
However, Tull would win the first ever hard rock/metal Grammy. Four years later when Metallica won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for Metallica, they made sure to remind The Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences that they didn’t forget.
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