Grammy for Gotta Serve Somebody

The award went to the lead single from Slow Train Coming, the first record of his gospel period. It was a striking piece of mainstream approval at a moment when many longtime listeners were confused or put off by his new direction. At the ceremony he performed the song with his touring band and backing singers, carrying its religious message to a national television audience. The song had also provoked John Lennon, who recorded a mocking home demo in reply. The win suggested the gospel records could still reach a broad public, even as the next album, Saved, met a cooler reception later that year. It remains one of the clearest signs of how seriously the music business took this chapter while it was happening, whatever critics would later decide about it.