Awards / Music

1959 Grammy Award Winners

Posted by Joe Hummel IIIPosted 65 years ago May 4, 1959

1959 Grammy Award Winners

Winners Announced: May 4, 1959
Venues: Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles & New York
Host/Emcee: Mort Sahl
Eligibility Year: January 1, 1958 – December 31, 1958

Major Wins:

Henry Mancini picked up Album of the Year for “The Music from Peter Gunn.”
Domenico Modugno’s “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)” won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Ella Fitzgerald became the Best Female Pop Vocalist for her album “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book.”

Additional Info:

Count Basie won Best Jazz Performance, Group for “Basie.”
The Champs got Best Rhythm & Blues Performance for “Tequila.”

Trivia:

This was the first-ever Grammy Awards ceremony.
Mort Sahl, known primarily for his satirical comedy, was the first emcee of the Grammy Awards.
Henry Mancini’s Album of the Year win was significant because it was a television soundtrack, a unique event at the time.

1959 Grammy Award Winners
Winners Announced: May 4, 1959
Held at: Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles & New York
Host/Emcee: Mort Sahl
Eligibility Year: January 1, 1958 – December 31, 1958

1959 Grammy Winners
Record of the Year:
Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare), Domenico Modugno
Album of the Year:
The Music From Peter Gunn, Henry Mancini (RCA)

Song of the Year:
Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu, Domenico Modugno, songwriter

Best Vocal Performance, Male:
Catch a Falling Star, Perry Como

Best Vocal Performance, Female:
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book, Ella Fitzgerald

Best Performance By a Vocal Group or Chorus:
That Old Black Magic, Louis Prima and Keely Smith

Best Rhythm and Blues Performance:
Tequila, Champs

Best Jazz Performance, Individual:
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book, Ella Fitzgerald

Best Jazz Performance, Group:
Basie, Count Basie

Best Performance By a Dance Band:
Basie, Count Basie

Best Country and Western Performance:
Tom Dooley, Kingston Trio

Best Performance By an Orchestra:
Billy May’s Big Fat Brass, Billy May

Best Arrangement:
The Music From Peter Gunn, Henry Mancini, arranger

Best Musical Composition First Recorded and Released in 1958 (More Than Five Minutes):
Cross Country Suite, Nelson Riddle, composer

Best Original Cast Album, Broadway or Television:
The Music Man, Meredith Willson (Capitol)

Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast:
Gigi, André Previn (MGM)

Best Classical Performance, Orchestra:
Gaîté Parisienne, Felix Slatkin conducting Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra

Best Classical Performance, Chamber Music (Including Chamber Orchestra):
Beethoven, Quartet 130, Hollywood String Quartet

Best Classical Performance, Instrumental (With Concerto Scale Accompaniment):
Tchaikovsky, Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23, Van Cliburn, pianist; Kiril Kondrashin Symphony Orchestra

Best Classical Performance, Instrumental (Other Than Concerto Scale):
Segovia Golden Jubilee, Andrés Segovia

Best Classical Performance, Operatic or Choral:
Virtuoso, Roger Wagner Chorale

Best Classical Performance, Vocal Soloist (With or Without Orchestra):
Operatic Recital, Renata Tebaldi

Best Comedy Performance:
The Chipmunk Song, David Seville

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

Best Recording for Children:
The Chipmunk Song, David Seville (Liberty)

Best Album Cover:
Only the Lonely, Frank Sinatra (Capitol)