Being a musician, today’s feature is interesting to me. On this date in 1959, the very first Grammy Awards was held. This awards ceremony was created because of the explosive success of rock ‘n’ roll. The record executives were concerned that quality pop music was going away. It was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hills hotel. There were 28 awards categories, and NO rock! The categories have changed and expanded over time, but here were some results of that first award ceremony.
Domenico Modugno (who?) was the winner over Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee for the Record of the Year with Volare, which was also Song of the Year. The first Album of the Year went to Henry Mancini, and Best Vocal Performance went to both Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como. I would say things have changed, and the original executives who organized this ceremony would probably be horrified to see what has become of the Grammy Awards. But, oh well. That’s the way it goes.
For more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Awards
http://didyouknow.org/grammys/
http://www.life123.com/arts-culture/award-shows/grammys/grammy-history.shtml
