Canadian-American rock group The Band is to receive a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award on Saturday, but the occasion won't include a reunion among the surviving members.

Walter Ostanek, Canada's polka king, has had 20 Grammy nominations and three wins.
(Mike DiBattista/Canadian Press)

Keyboardist Garth Hudson says he'll be there in Los Angeles with songwriter Robbie Robertson, but said that Arkansas-born drummer and singer Levon Helm won't be coming.

Helm hosts a regular musical jamboree, the Midnight Ramble, in Woodstock, N.Y., and is referring to Sunday's show as the "Gramble Ramble," in honour of the Grammys.

Hudson and his wife, Maude, were among past and present Canadian nominees who mingled poolside at the official residence of the Canadian consul general earlier this week in a celebration of Canadians at the Grammys.

This year, 15 Canadians stand to win trophies when the 50th annual Grammy Awards celebration gets underway Sunday.

Leading the pack is indie darling Feist, who snagged four nominations, including for the coveted best new artist title and best pop vocal album.

Jazz crooner Michael Bublé and pop star Nelly Furtado each have two nominations, while Arcade Fire, Rush, Nickelback and Emerson Drive each have one. Veterans Joni Mitchell, Howard Shore, Loreena McKennitt and John Gora are also up for one trophy each.  

St. Catharines, Ont., polka king Walter Ostanek got his 20th Grammy nomination this year and has won three times.

Ostanek approached singer-poet Leonard Cohen for an autograph during the celebration, which also featured guests such as Carole Pope and actor Alan Thicke.

Pierre Cossette, shown in 2005 getting a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame, produced the Grammys for 35 years.
(Canadian Press)

Canada's role in the music industry's most prestigious bash has been far from slight, with the very first live Grammy telecast masterminded by Quebec-born television producer Pierre Cossette.

The acclaimed TV guru ran the show for 35 years starting in 1971, ushering the industry gala from a series of taped specials called The Best on Record in the '60s to the star-packed extravaganza it eventually became.

Now 84, Cossette said it was a struggle to convince people to air that first show, which saw Simon and Garfunkel take record, album and song of the year for Bridge Over Troubled Water and The Carpenters crowned best new artist.

"I had a hard time selling the show after I got it because the networks didn't want a show that had to do with Haight-Ashbury and guys with hair down to their ankles and lipstick and all of that whole scene," recalled Cossette, who was born in Valleyfield, Que.

"Rock 'n' roll hadn't even entered the picture then. Rock 'n' roll in those days was Jackson 5, so that slowly evolved. We kept adding new things and the next thing you know, it's where it is today."

The early shows largely focused on U.S. acts, but gradually grew more diverse, said Grammy publicist Richard Mann, whose company Alfred Haber, Inc., helps distribute the show globally.

'Great shining lights'

"Musically, Canada is recognized a lot more for Grammy Awards nowadays and certainly over the last decade than it used to be," said Mann

Over the past nine years, Canadians have received an average of 18 Grammy nominations a year, with an average of one in four taking home trophies, according to Grammy statistics.

Leonard Cohen, who appears on this year's Grammy-nominated disc by Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters, said he's watched with pride as Canadian artists have grown in stature internationally over the years.

"Canadians have always had a very significant place in popular music," said Cohen, who stopped by the party with partner Anjani Thomas on his arm.

"There's always been very great shining lights and it continues from generation to generation. There's good wine in every generation."