Steve Martin Has More Grammys for Banjo Than Comedy

When people picture Steve Martin, they picture the arrow through the head, the white suit, the manic energy of his 1970s stand-up act. What most fans miss is a strange fact hiding in his trophy case: Steve Martin's music has won him more Grammy Awards than his comedy ever did.

A Banjo Habit He Never Grew Out Of

Martin started playing the five-string banjo as a teenager, years before anyone paid him to be funny.

Instead of dropping it once his stand-up career took off, he wrote the instrument directly into his act, using tricky bluegrass runs as a punchline of their own.

The banjo became his signature prop right alongside the arrow through the head.

Two Grammys for Being Funny

Martin's first Grammy wins came for comedy.

He took home Best Comedy Recording for his 1977 album "Let's Get Small" at the 1978 ceremony, then won again the following year for "A Wild and Crazy Guy."

Those two awards are the ones most people associate with his name.

Three Grammys for Playing

The music wins came later, and there are more of them.

In 2002, Martin won Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," a shared credit as part of the ensemble billed as Earl Scruggs & Friends.

In 2010, his solo album "The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo" won Best Bluegrass Album.

Then in 2014, "Love Has Come for You," a song he co-wrote and recorded with Edie Brickell, won Best American Roots Song.

That's three Grammys for music against two for comedy.

The Banjo Was Never a Joke

Martin has toured with the bluegrass band the Steep Canyon Rangers since 2009, releasing albums and playing sold-out shows built around actual musicianship, not just gags.

In 2010, he also created what became the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music, an annual award that has put real money into the hands of working banjo players for over a decade.

Martin still tells jokes for a living, and he's still one of the biggest names in comedy.

But if you go strictly by Grammy count, the banjo he picked up as a kid has quietly outscored the arrow through the head, three wins to two.