The Civil Wars Crack An ‘Opening Act’ Joke At The Grammys, Album Sales Skyrocket On iTunes And Amazon

On a relatively reserved night at the Grammys, where the mood swiftly moved from somber to “way annoying,” it may have been a quick, fun joke from John Paul White of The Civil Wars that set just the right tone for the night. And, possibly, launched this duo into the stratosphere.

Appearing on a secondary stage in the middle of the crowd shortly after the likes of Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen had performed, White cracked:

“We’d like to thank all of our opening acts tonight. Especially that very promising kid from Liverpool. That was a good job.” Bandmate Joy Williams then added that they were there to play a quick 60-second song before Taylor Swift took the stage. The selection? “Barton Hollow.”

On Monday, the group — likely buoyed by the sweet-sounding number and White’s sense of humor — found their Barton Hollow album at number 5 on the iTunes album download charts. On Amazon.com, three of their albums shot up the charts, as well. Poison & Wine jumped from 2,497th to 159th overall. And Barton Hollow went from 4,444 to 338 — increases in ranks by 1,470% and 1,214%, respectively. Keep in mind, this wasn’t a finely-produced throwback set like Bruno Mars, or a series of Grammy grabs like Adele. It was a timely joke, followed by a wonderful minute of two singers and a guitar.

Watch the joke and the performance by The Civil Wars, below, courtesy of CBS:

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