MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee State University's (TSU) band Aristocrat of Bands is now the first collegiate band to win a Grammy Award. The HBCU band marched away with not one history-making win, but two!
TSU's Aristocrat of Bands' gospel album "The Urban Hymnal" took the cake for for Best Roots Gospel Album.
The band's feature on poet J. Ivy's spoken word album “The Poet Who Sat By The Door” made for its second win for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.
The founder of the annual Southern Heritage Classic football game, Fred Jones, sent a special congratulations to the HBCU.
"During the 65th Annual Grammys people around the world were introduced to the amazing talent we’ve had a front-row seat to for the last 33 years at the Classic," Jones said in a press release. "May this honor open more doors than ever before, and may TSU continue to blaze more trails for historically black colleges and universities."
Jones credited TSU's hard work, making a point to mention how desrving the university is of the prestige honor. He encouraged the college to "revel in this moment."
TSU is set to return to the 34th Southern Heritage Classic on September 9, bringing all the sounds that so many love.