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: one in the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and the other 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]
| 1st Annual Grammy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 4th, 1959 |
| Location | Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, and Park Sheraton Hotel, New York, New York |
| Hosted by | Mort Sahl |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | NBC |
Award winners
editThe following awards were given in the first award ceremony:[1]
General
edit- "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
- 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
- "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
editJazz
editMusical 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
editPop
edit- Best Vocal Performance, Female
- Best Vocal Performance, Male
- Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus
- 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
editSpoken
edit- Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word
- Stan Freberg for The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows
References
edit- ^ a b "Grammy Awards 1959 (May)". Grammy. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
- ^ Dornbrook, Don (24 May 1959). "And Now the Grammy Awards". The Milwaukee Journal. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ "1958 Grammy Winners". Grammy.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.