The Grammys always seem to leave someone out of the "In Memoriam" segment at the annual trophy toss, and that someone always seems to have been a member of the heavy-music world. This year, the televised tribute omitted OG Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison and Megaforce Records founder Jon Zazula, two revered individuals in their respective fields.
Making his omission even more mind-boggling, Jordison was a Grammy winner, taking home the Best Metal Performance prize with Slipknot in 2006 for the song "Before I Forget." The Iowan metal juggernaut had been nominated another five times while he was a member of the group. Jordison died on July 26th, 2021 at the age of 46.
Zazula, meanwhile, passed in February 2022. He and his late wife, Marsha, co-founded Megaforce with in 1982 in order to release music by Metallica, a band they immediately recognized as "lightning in a bottle." Megaforce went on to issue 1983's Kill 'Em All and 1984's Ride the Lightning, as well as landmark albums from fellow thrash pioneers like Anthrax, Testament and Overkill.
Adding insult to injury, the Recording Academy didn't just forget about Jordison and Zazula; they clearly made the conscious decision to leave them out of the televised tribute, as both were listed — along with several hundred other music industry notables — on Grammy.com under the "The Recording Academy Remembers the Music People We've Lost: Grammy In Memoriam" section.
The lyrics to Slipknot's song "Surfacing" comes to mind: "Don't belong! Don't exist! Don't give a shit! Don't ever judge me!"
