65 Years Ago, Frank Sinatra Came Up Short at the First Grammys

Billboard ^ | 5/4/24 | Paul Grein

[JonPreston]

May 4th 1959, The very first Grammy Awards are held in Los Angeles, with Record of the Year going to Domenico Modugno's "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" and Henry Mancini's The Music From Peter Gunn soundtrack winning Album of the Year.

Domenico Modugno's "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (Volare)

Henry Mancini - “Peter Gunn”

[JonPreston]

The 1st Annual Grammy Awards were held on May 4, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. Two separate ceremonies were held simultaneously on the same day; the first hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and the second in the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City.^[1] Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Domenico Modugno, Ross Bagdasarian, and Henry Mancini, each won 2 awards.^[2][3]

Award winners[edit]

The following awards were given in the first award ceremony:^[1]

General[edit]

Record of the Year

• "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno
• "Catch a Falling Star" – Perry Como
• "Fever" – Peggy Lee
• "The Chipmunk Song" – David Seville and the Chipmunks
• "Witchcraft" – Frank Sinatra

Album of the Year

• The Music from Peter Gunn – Henry Mancini
• Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 23 – Van Cliburn
• Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book – Ella Fitzgerald
• Come Fly with Me – Frank Sinatra
• Only the Lonely – Frank Sinatra

Song of the Year

• "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" – Franco Migliacci and Domenico Modugno, songwriters (Domenico Modugno)
• "Catch a Falling Star" – Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, songwriters (Perry Como)
• "Gigi" – Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, songwriters (Vic Damone)
• "Fever" – Eddie Cooley and Johnny Davenport, songwriters (Peggy Lee)
• "Witchcraft" – Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, songwriters (Frank Sinatra)

Children's[edit]

• Best Recording for Children
  • Ross Bagdasarian Sr. for "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" performed by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. as "David Seville and the Chipmunks"

Comedy[edit]

• Best Comedy Performance
  • Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. for "The Chipmunk Song", performed by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. as "David Seville and the Chipmunks"

Composing and arranging[edit]

• Best Musical Composition First Recorded and Released in 1958 (over 5 minutes duration)
  • Nelson Riddle (composer) for "Cross Country Suite"
• Best Arrangement
  • Henry Mancini (arranger & artist) for The Music from Peter Gunn

Country[edit]

• Best Country & Western Performance
  • The Kingston Trio for "Tom Dooley"

Jazz[edit]

• Best Jazz Performance, Individual
  • Ella Fitzgerald for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook
• Best Jazz Performance, Group
  • Count Basie for Basie

Musical show[edit]

• Best Original Cast Album (Broadway or TV)
  • Meredith Willson (composer) & the original cast with Robert Preston, Barbara Cook, David Burns, Eddie Hodges, Pert Kelton & Helen Raymond for The Music Man
• Best Sound Track Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast
  • André Previn & the original cast for Gigi (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Packaging and notes[edit]

• Best Album Cover Photography
  • Frank Sinatra for Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely

Pop[edit]

• Best Vocal Performance, Female
  • Ella Fitzgerald for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
• Best Vocal Performance, Male
  • Perry Como for "Catch a Falling Star"
• Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus
  • Keely Smith & Louis Prima for "That Old Black Magic"
• Best Performance by a Dance Band
  • Count Basie for Basie
• Best Performance by an Orchestra
  • Billy May for Billy May's Big Fat Brass

Production and engineering[edit]

• Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical
  • Ted Keep (engineer) for "The Chipmunk Song" performed by David Seville
• Best Engineered Record (Classical)
  • Sherwood Hall III (engineer), Laurindo Almeida & Salli Terri for Duets with Spanish Guitar

R&B[edit]

• Best Rhythm & Blues Performance
  • "Tequila"-The Champs

Spoken[edit]

• Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word
  • Stan Freberg for The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows

[JonPreston]

I was going to compare the first Grammys with last years, but I began vomiting when trying to upload the code.

[ClearCase_guy]

“I coulda had those guys whacked, but I figured I’d be nice about it.”
— Sinatra

[microgood]

It is interesting this post comes around the same time we hear of the passing of Duane Eddy which covered the song Peter Gunn.

[nwrep]

The pictures are not from 1959.

[JonPreston]

Hold tight, I’ll send that to my editor ASAP!

[Ge0ffrey]

Wow. Only the Lonely. Perhaps his best.

[shadeaud]

Ole Blue Eyes will always my true respect for being a man of the people. When he was in New York, he was a true gentleman and generous with people who worked for a living. Mr. Sinatra wasn't a “friend”, but he made sure to give me a “ hey slick’’( as he referred to me) when he was in the City. Some of his handlers were such Aresholes, trying to Show the groupies that their manhood was as big as their egos( little wannabes). He was truly one of the best as Sammy,Dean and Don Rickles

[BipolarBob]

“65 Years Ago, Frank Sinatra Came Up Short”. He was 5’8”. He was height challenged. The things these people come up with.

[Fiji Hill]

The award for best rhythm and blues performance went to the Champs for "Tequila," which is not a rhythm and blues song. The award for best country-western performance went to the Kingston Trio for "Tom Dooley." a song that many C-W fans would vehemently argue is not country-western.

Later, Petula would win the Grammy for "Downtown" as the best rock and roll song of 1964. "Downtown," which is set to a bolero beat, is most definitely not rock and roll, and there were dozens of great rock and roll songs from 1964 that the Grammy folks passed over.

[Hot Tabasco]

Ole Blue Eyes will always my true respect for being a man of the people.

He was also an alcoholic and a gross abuser of women.......

"He was abusive to his wives and lovers. Sinatra had a reputation for being a womanizer, but he was also violent and controlling with many of his romantic partners. He reportedly beat his first wife, Nancy Barbato, and cheated on her repeatedly. He also physically assaulted his second wife, Ava Gardner, and threw objects at her during their fights. He had numerous affairs with other women, some of whom he also mistreated. For example, he allegedly broke actress Juliet Prowse’s jaw when she refused to marry him."

[Arkady]

Wow! What an incredible year. Look at those charts, all across the board. Sinatra had two top albums the year I was born!

[HIDEK6]

To be fair, in 1959, Volare was a GIANT hit!

[P.O.E.]

As a child, I found my folks’ “Catch a Falling Star” on 45 rpm. I loved that song and used to play it on my record player.

[dfwgator]

Perry Como is still alive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj5A7W-0zPY

[AnotherUnixGeek]

The Grammys were an irrelevant joke when I was a kid, they’re an irrelevant joke now.

[P.O.E.]

One of my fave SCTV bits of all time. Thanks!