History of The Grammys, Part 1: A Decade Study

To be transparent, I've never had much patience for awards shows. Not that I think exceptional work shouldn't be rewarded, but the whole televised aspect of the awards banquet has always just annoyed me a little bit, and very rarely does something I'm truly rooting for actually win. Nevertheless, some good music has been honored on (arguably) the crown jewel of music awards shows, and that's something that should be talked about.

The Recording Academy, which used to be known as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, is an American institution composed of musicians, music producers, recording engineers, and other music professionals, and they are the ones who grace us with the Gramophone Awards, better known as The Grammys, usually in late winter or early spring each year. While the Academy was formally established in 1957, the first Grammy Awards weren't held until 1959, so that is where we will begin our journey.

As we all know, the Grammys award a vast number of categories each year, so to keep things fairly simple in these posts I will only be focusing on two of the night's "big four" general awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year. I was always very confused by the difference between the two awards, so in case you share in that confusion, our good buddy Wikipedia cared to define the two for us. As it currently stands, the Record of the Year award goes to the performer and the production team of a single song (if other then the performer), and the Song of the Year award goes to the songwriter(s) of a single song. With that in mind, let's look at some of the winners from the first ten years of the Grammys.

1959

The 1st Annual Grammy Awards were held May 4th, 1959 in Los Angeles, California and New York City, New York simultaneously. Hosted by comedian Mort Sahl, this inaugural ceremony was not televised.

Record of the Year & Song of the Year - Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) by Domenico Modugno (written by D. Modugno, F. Migliacci)

Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno took home the first ever Record of the Year and Song of the Year awards with his popular 1958 single Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu (In the Blue Painted Blue Sky in English), better known as Volare (To Fly in English). Released as a single in February 1958, it peaked at the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100, later becoming the Year End Hot 100 #1 song for that year and was also featured at the 8th Sanremo Music Festival and the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest. Not only does Modugno leave a legacy as the first Record and Song of the Year winner, but Volare is also to date the only foreign language song to take home either honor as well as being the only Eurovision submission to ever receive a Grammy award. The song has been covered many times by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Gipsy Kings, David Bowie, and many others. In fact, the first time I ever heard this song was a cover by Vitamin C on the soundtrack to The Lizzie McGuire Movie. An English translation of the lyrics from the original Italian is below.

I think a dream like this never comes back/I painted my hands and face blue/Then suddenly, I was kidnapped by the wind/And I began to fly in the infinite sky/Fly, oh, oh, sing, oh, oh/In the blue painted blue, happy to be up there

1959, Vol. 2 (AKA Prequel to 1960?)

The 2nd Annual Grammy Awards were held November 29th, 1959 in both Los Angeles, California and New York City, New York. Hosted by composer Meredith Willson, this ceremony took place six months after the 1st Annual Grammy Awards and no ceremony was held in 1960. This was the first televised Grammy ceremony and recognized musical achievements from the year 1959.

Record of the Year - Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin (written by K. Weill, B. Brecht, M. Blitzstein)

While it was originally written for Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's 1928 musical The Threepenny Opera, it was made especially popular in America after being recorded first by Louis Armstrong in 1956 and again by Bobby Darin three years later. Featured on his 1959 album That's All, the song is a different arrangement than the original, giving it more of a swing feel. The song was very hesitantly released as a single in August 1959 (Darin wasn't super eager to release it and Dick Clark himself advised against recording it at first), it was widely accepted and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ending up in the #2 slot for the Year End Hot 100. Not only did Mack the Knife win Record of the Year, but it also won Darin the Grammy for Best New Artist of 1959.

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear/And it shows them pearly white/Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe/And he keeps it, ah, out of sight/You know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe/Scarlet billows start to spread/Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe/So there's never, never a trace of red/No on the sidewalk, huh, huh, whoo, sunny morning, uh huh/Lies a body just oozing life, eek/And someone's sneaking 'round the corner/Could that someone be Mack the Knife

Song of the Year - The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton (written by J. Morris)

James Morris, better known as Jimmy Driftwood, was awarded Song of the Year for country singer Johnny Horton's cover of his song depicting a comedic, fictionalized version of The Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Released as a single in April 1959, it ended the year as Billboard's #1 Song on the Year End Hot 100 and has been listed by the Western Writers of America as one of the top 100 western songs of all time. It has been covered multiple times over the years by the likes of Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Sha Na Na, Les Claypool, and many others.

In 1814, we took a little trip/Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip/We took a little bacon and we took a little beans/And we caught the bloody British in a town in New Orleans/We fired our guns, and the British kep' a-coming/There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago/We fired once more and they begin to running/On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

1961

The 3rd Annual Grammy Awards were held April 13th, 1961 in Los Angeles, California and New York City, New York. Hosted by actor Lloyd Bridges, the televised awards honored musical achievements from the year 1960.

Record of the Year - Theme from A Summer Place by Percy Faith (written by M. Discant, M. Steiner)

Originally written by Mack Discant and Max Steiner for the 1959 film A Summer Place (starring Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue), Percy Faith released an instrumental version of the song with his orchestra in September 1959, two months prior to the films premiere. It didn't immediately take off as a hit, but after a bit of a slow burn it ended up peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and, as discussed earlier this year in another post, became the #1 song on the Year End Hot 100 of 1960. Faith's orchestral cover of the song had the honor of being the first movie theme and the first instrumental piece to win Record of the Year, and the song has gone on to be covered both instrumentally and vocally many times throughout the years. A sampling of the lyrics from the vocal version are below.

There's a summer place where it may rain or storm/Yet I'm safe and warm/For within that summer place, your arms reach out to me/And my heart is free from all care/For it knows there are no gloomy skies/When seen through the eyes of those who are blessed with love

Song of the Year - Theme of Exodus by Ernest Gold (written by E. Gold)

Composer Ernest Gold took home the third Song of the Year Grammy with his theme written for the 1960 film Exodus (starring Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint). The only instrumental piece to receive Song of the Year to date, this song is just as epic as the film it was written for. Gold also took home the Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album of 1960 for Exodus as he composed all of the film's music.

1962

The 4th Annual Grammy Awards were held May 29th, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York. With no official host, the ceremony honored musical achievements from the year 1961.

Record of the Year & Song of the Year - Moon River by Henry Mancini (written by J. Mercer, H. Mancini)

Originally performed by my all-time favorite actress Audrey Hepburn in one of my Top 10 Movies of All Time Breakfast at Tiffany's, Moon River almost didn't happen when a movie exec tried to cut it from the film. To paraphrase, Hepburn basically told him he could cut the song "over her dead body," and the song went on to become a classic in and of itself. It has been covered by many artists over the years such as Barry Manilow, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Brightman, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, and Frank Ocean. Hepburn's version will always be my favorite, and her version is what my wedding violinist based his own cover off of for me to walk down the aisle to.

Moon River, wider than a mile/I'm crossing you in style some day/Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker/Wherever you're going, I'm going your way/Two drifters, off to see the world/There's such a lot of world to see/We're after the same rainbow's end, waiting 'round the bend/My huckleberry friend, Moon River, and me

1963

The 5th Annual Grammy Awards were held May 15th, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York. Hosted by music legend Frank Sinatra, the ceremony honored musical achievements from the year 1962.

Record of the Year - I Left My Heart in San Francisco by Tony Bennett (written by D. Cross, G. Cory)

Tony Bennett has always been a class act, and I Left My Heart in San Francisco is considered by most to be his signature song. Released as a single in February 1962, it was also included on Bennett's 1962 album of the same name. Bennett was actually the song's third artist: it was originally written for famous contralto Claramae Turner who never got around to actually recording it, and then was offered by Turner's suggestion to singer/TV host Tennessee Ernie Ford, who turned it down. The song has been listed by the Recording Institute of America as one of the most historically significant songs of the 20th Century, earned Bennett not only Record of the Year but also Best Male Solo Vocal Performance at the 1963 Grammys, and has been preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry. San Francisco's baseball team (I'm not even about to actually type the name out for that copyright battle) play this song on their home field every time they win a game, and Bennett himself led a citywide singalong from home earlier this year after the initial Stay at Home order was issued to try and curb the Coronavirus.

The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gray/ The glory that was Rome is of another day/I've been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan/I'm going home to my city by the Bay/I left my heart in San Francisco/High on a hill, it calls to me/To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars/The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care

Song of the Year - What Kind of Fool Am I? by Andy Newley (written by L. Bricusse, A. Newley)

The final number of Bricusse and Newley's musical Stop The World - I Want To Get Off was the first British piece to win Song of the Year at the Grammys. It has been covered multiple times over the years by the likes of Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Goulet, James Brown, Vince Guaraldi, Perry Como, Clay Aiken, and many others. The musical was very popular both in the UK and the US, with Newley recording this version during the US run of the show.

What kind of fool am I, who never fell in love/It seems that I'm the only one that I have been thinking of/What kind of man is this, an empty shell/A lonely cell in which an empty heart must dwell/What kind of lips are these, that lied with every kiss/That whispered empty words of love that left me alone like this

1964

The 6th Annual Grammy Awards were held May 12th, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York. Again with no official host, the ceremony honored musical achievements from the year 1963.

Record of the Year & Song of the Year - Days of Wine and Roses by Henry Mancini (written by H. Mancini, J. Mercer)

Two years after dominating awards shows with Moon River, Mancini was back with another film theme. Days of Wine and Roses starred Jack Lemmon and Lee Riddick, and the title song ended up doing just as well as Mancini's previous Grammy wins. Composed only of two sentences, the bittersweet ballad won both at the Grammy and at the Oscars, as well as being listed at #39 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list in 2004. Released as a single in March 1963, it has since been covered by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, and Ella Fitzgerald.

The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play/Through the meadow land toward a closing door/A door marked nevermore that wasn't there before/The lonely night discloses just a passing breeze filled with memories/Of the golden smile that introduced make to/The days of wine and roses and you

1965

The 7th Annual Grammy Awards were held April 13th, 1965 in Beverly Hills, California. Yet again without a formal host, the ceremony honored musical achievements from the year 1964.

Record of the Year - The Girl from Ipanema by Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz (written by A. Jobim, V. De Moraes, N. Gimbel)

Probably the most famous Brazilian bossa nova ever was released as a single in May 1964. The song was Gilberto's singing debut, and the original recording of the song actually included her husband at the time, singer/guitarist João Gilberto, performing the lyrics in Portuguese while Astrud sang them in English. This track became a bit of a worldwide phenomenon in the mid-60's, has been inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, and is likely the second most covered pop song of all time after Yesterday by none other than The Beatles. Again, my first exposure to this song that I was actually aware of (because apparently it shows up in a lot of movies as elevator music) was a somewhat parodied cover performed by Mayim Bialik in an episode of The Big Bang Theory. The last bit of trivia that I have for this song is that the Girl From Ipanema is actually a real person - her name is Helô Pinheiro, and she would walk past a certain cafe in Ipanema every day as a teenager and tended to catch the attention of anyone sitting outside because she was very pretty. The song actually made her famous, and she ended up with a modeling career and is a boutique owner in Brazil.

Tall and tan and young and lovely/The girl from Ipanema goes walking/And when she passes, each one she passes goes, "Aah"/When she walks, she's like a samba/That swings so cool and sways so gentle/That when she passes, each one she passes goes, "Aah"

Song of the Year - Hello, Dolly! by Louis Armstrong (written by J. Herman)

Composer Jerry Herman took home Song of the Year for 1964 with the title number from his hit musical (and one of my personal favorites) Hello, Dolly! The incomparable Louis Armstrong cover was released as a single in December 1963 to be a sort of preview for the musical, which opened up on Broadway a month later with Carol Channing performing the number in the original run of the show. In addition to Herman's win for Song of the Year, Armstrong himself won Best Vocal Performance, Male for the song and would go on to duet it with Barbra Streisand in the film adaptation five years later.

Hello, Dolly, this is Miss Dolly/It's so nice to have you back where you belong/You're looking swell, Dolly, I can tell, Dolly/You're still glowing, you're still crowing, you're still going strong/I feel the room swaying while the band's playing/One of our old favorite songs from way back when/So take her wrap, fellas, find her an empty lap, fellas/Dolly, never go away again

1966

The 8th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 15th, 1964 in New York City, New York. Hosted by comedic legend Jerry Lewis, the ceremony honored musical achievements from the year 1965.

Record of the Year - A Taste of Honey by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (written by R. Marlow, R. Scott)

What was originally supposed to be just an instrumental theme for an American run of a British play ended up winning four Grammys in 1966. Released as a single in August 1965, the instrumental version by Alpert and The Tijuana Brass did very well on the Billboard Easy-Listening Chart and even entered the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 that year. So many people have covered this song both instrumentally and vocally, but the most famous cover of the song is probably The Beatles'. A sample of the lyrics from the vocal version is below.

Winds may blow over the icy sea/I'll take with me the warmth of thee/A taste of honey, a taste much sweeter than wine/I'll return, I'll return/I'll come back for the honey and you

Song of the Year - The Shadow of Your Smile by Tony Bennett (written by J. Mandel, P. Webster)

Composer Johnny Mandel and lyricist Paul Webster took home Song of the Year for 1965 with the love theme they composed for the 1965 film The Sandpiper (starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor). The '60s seemed to have been a very good time for movie themes, with this being another that won at both the Grammys and the Oscars and was also included on the 2004 100 Years...100 Songs List composed by AFI (ranked at #77). Bennett's version may be the one that won the award, but other notable covers include Astrud Gilberto, Barbra Streisand, Bobby Darin, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra & Count Basie, Nancy Sinatra, and Stevie Wonder.

One day, we walked along the sand, one day in early spring/You held a piper in your hand to mend its broken wing/Now I'll remember many a day and many a lonely mile/The echo of a piper's song, the shadow of a smile/The shadow of your smile when you are gone/Will color all my dreams and light the dawn/Look into my eyes, my love, and see/All the lovely things you are to me

1967

The 9th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2nd, 1967 in Los Angeles, California. Hosted by acting legend Kirk Douglas, the ceremony honored musical achievements from the year 1966.

Record of the Year - Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra (written by B. Kaempfert, C. Singleton, E. Snyder)

Old Blue Eyes shared this award with his producer Jimmy Bowen for Record of the Year. Released as a single in May 1966, the song became the title track for Sinatra's best selling album and won two more awards that night: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Sinatra and Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instruemntalist for pianist Ernie Freeman. It has been covered a multitude of times by the likes of Nancy Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, Barry Manilow, and Bette Midler.

Strangers in the night, exchanging glances/Wondering in the night what were the chances/We'd be sharing love before the night was through/Something in your eyes was so inviting/Something in your smile was so exciting/Something in my heart told me I must have you

Song of the Year - Michelle by The Beatles (written by J. Lennon, P. McCartney)

I'll say this as many times as I need to throughout my life - I love The Beatles. Michelle is a Lennon/McCartney song I was aware of but not exactly familiar with, so getting to spend time with it this week was really nice. Released as a single in December 1965, it was featured on iconic Beatles album (because for real they're all pretty iconic) Rubber Soul. With lyrics in both French and English, it's a nice little ballad that's very easy on the ears, and has ended up becoming one of the most covered Beatles songs of all time.

Michelle, ma belle, these are words that go together well/My Michelle, Michelle, ma belle/Sont les mots qui vaunt tres bien ensemble, tres bien ensemble/I love you, I love you, I love you, that's all I want to say/Until I find a way, I will say the only words I know that you'll understand

1968

The 10th Annual Grammy Awards were held February 29th, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; Nashville, Tennessee; and New York City, New York. Hosted by iconic comedian Stan Freberg, the ceremony honored musical achievements from the year 1967.

Record of the Year & Song of the Year - Up, Up and Away by The 5th Dimension (written by J. Webb)

Songwriter Jimmy Webb, pop group The 5th Dimension, and producers Johnny Rivers and Marc Gordon took home six Grammys for their song about hot air ballooning (Record & Song obviously, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, Best Performance by a Vocal Group, Best Performance by a Chorus, and Best Contemporary Song). One of the best examples of sunshine pop music that there is, Up, Up and Away was released as a single in May 1967 and also featured on The 5th Dimension's album of the same name. It has been covered a multitude of times, as is to be expected by a Grammy winning song at this point, by the likes of Bing Crosby, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Sinatra, and The Prodigy.

Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon/Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon/We could float among the stars together, you and I/For we can fly, we can fly/Up, up and away/My beautiful, my beautiful balloon

I'm super excited to continue on with this series over the next several months and take these trips down memory lane with everyone through these decades. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!