For 65 years, the Recording Academy has maintained a level of prestige that can seem inevitable or preordained. But in 1957, few foresaw that it could make such an impact — and future Executive Vice President Christine Farnon did.
When Farnon sat down for an interview in 1999 for the Recording Academy's Living Histories series, she detailed how the nascent Recording Academy could have effectively evaporated before it began — if not for the dedication of a dogged few, including her.
"I think it was… a wait-and-see attitude on the part of record companies. It was a new concept, they didn't know what it was going to do, and this was [also the truth of] potential members," Farnon said. "They heard about it, and they thought, 'Let's wait and see where it's going.' So, it was slow, but it was a steady progress."
Why did these potential members — as well as five record-company executives, including her then-husband, RCA Records head Dennis Farnon — want to form an Academy in the first place? From Farnon's recollection, there was no recognition of the recording industry for its artistic achievements — as opposed to sales, an agreed-upon metric that might guarantee an artist a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
With that precept as her animating force, Farnon became an indispensable part of the Recording Academy. She rose from an unpaid volunteer to become the Academy's first full-time employee, and then went on to become the Academy's Executive Vice President. She also received the Recording Academy's Trustees Award in 1992 as well as the inaugural President's Merit Award in 1983.
Throughout her tenure from 1957 to 1992 — which saw 18 different male presidents at the helm — Farnon truly acted as "a seemingly impossible combination of guiding light and steady anchor," as musicologist George T. Simon put it.
"Deeply involved from the start in all the Academy's activities, this warm, intelligent, soft-spoken, sensitive lady has helped tremendously, often leading the way, in chartering and steering the course of [the Academy]," Simon continued back in 1992, within an appreciation in that year's GRAMMY program book.
Farnon's light ripples out forevermore. Sadly, she passed away on Oct. 24, in the Los Angeles area — where she first helped blueprint the Recording Academy — of natural causes. She was 97. While Farnon may have not been part of the Academy since the Reagan years, her impact is remembered, celebrated and honored today.
In their Feb. 26, 2022 issue, Billboard included Farnon in a gallery of groundbreaking female executives. Therein, they noted, "Decades before Deborah Dugan became the Recording Academy's first female President/CEO in 2019, Farnon was the top executive at the organization — and while she never held the big title, there was no question of who was in charge."
What did she accomplish on a granular level? For one, she maintained contact with disc jockeys and radio personnel and development of annual mailers and special albums designed for radio stations highlighting GRAMMY nominees.
Additionally, Farnon was a talent coordinator for most of the seven GRAMMY-branded "The Best on Record" TV shows that aired on NBC.
On top of that, from 1971 — when the GRAMMYs became a live telecast — until her retirement, she was an integral part of the Academy's TV committee, which oversaw format development, contract negotiations and TV scripts.
Zoom out a tad, and it becomes clear that Farnon gave the Academy a profound gift, by way of her presence and diligence. She helped preserve the organization's integrity, come what may from decades of seismic cultural shifts.
"Chris Farnon was central to the Academy's success," folklorist and author Bill Ivey — the only person in Academy history to serve two, non-consecutive stints as Chairman Of The Board Of Trustees — told GRAMMY.com a decade ago.
"She was quite ferocious in protecting the integrity of GRAMMY and the telecast," he added. "In large part, because she was so conservative and protective, Chris handed future leaders an asset of tremendous potential value that converted to earning power as sponsorships and TV revenues really took off in the '90s."
As the decades wore on, Farnon was happy to note that her fingerprints were all over the Academy's ongoing initiatives and developments.
"The original vision of what the Academy was meant to be and do hasn't changed," she said in that same GRAMMY.com interview. "Many of its significant programs had their roots in the Academy's original goals, although they operate on a much wider and grander scale today."
When Farnon received the Recording Academy's Trustees Award in 1992, her speech was simple and as classy as she was as a person. She thanked the Trustees, and everyone involved with the Recording Academy, past and present. She acknowledged her daughter, Joanna, and her mentor, Paul Weston — the Co-Founder and first President of the Academy.
Then, at its conclusion, Farnon summed up everything that this society of music professionals meant to her in her personal and professional life.
"I thank God for staying so close to this wonderful organization through the years," she said. "And for being such a good listener."
The Recording Academy Turns 65: A Nod To Its Beginnings And A Commitment To A New Era
