[1959 Grammy Awards] – Complete List of Winners and Nominees (1st) ♪
[1959 Grammy Awards] – Complete List of Winners and Nominees (1st) ♪
Held on May 4, 1959, this pioneering event marked the dawn of the Grammy Awards, recognizing outstanding musical achievements from 1958. Unlike the grand spectacles of today, it was a modest, untelevised dinner event held concurrently in Los Angeles and New York.
The focus was purely on acknowledging artistic merit in the nascent recording industry. Key victors included Domenico Modugno's "Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)" for Record of the Year, a song that captured global imagination, and Henry Mancini's iconic Peter Gunn soundtrack for Album of the Year, showcasing the growing importance of instrumental and cinematic music.
The awards also honored Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Perry Como in vocal categories. This inaugural ceremony laid the foundational bricks for what would evolve into the most prestigious and globally recognized music awards, setting a precedent for celebrating diverse musical forms and talents across jazz, classical, pop, and country genres.
Record Of The Year
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Domenico Modugno | Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) |
| Frank Sinatra | Witchcraft | |
| David Seville And The Chipmunks | The Chipmunk Song | |
| Peggy Lee | Fever | |
| Perry Como | Catch A Falling Star |
Album Of The Year
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Henry Mancini | The Music From Peter Gunn |
| Van Cliburn, piano | Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1, In B-Flat Minor, Op.23 | |
| Frank Sinatra | Only The Lonely | |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Song Book | |
| Frank Sinatra | Come Fly With Me |
Song Of The Year
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Domenico Modugno | Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) |
| Frank Sinatra | Witchcraft | |
| Vic Damone | Gigi | |
| Peggy Lee | Fever | |
| Perry Como | Catch A Falling Star |
Best Vocal Performance, Female
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Song Book |
| Keely Smith | I Wish You Love | |
| Peggy Lee | Fever | |
| Eydie Gorme | Eydie In Love | |
| Doris Day | Everybody Loves A Lover |
Best Vocal Performance, Male
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Perry Como | Catch A Falling Star |
| Frank Sinatra | Witchcraft | |
| Domenico Modugno | Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) | |
| Andy Williams | Hawaiian Wedding Song | |
| Frank Sinatra | Come Fly With Me |
Best Performance By An Orchestra
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Billy May | Billy May's Big Fat Brass |
| Andre Previn, Dave Rose | Young Man's Lament | |
| Henry Mancini | Peter Gunn | |
| Esquivel | Other Worlds, Other Sounds | |
| Jack Kane | Kane Is Able | |
| Johnny Mandel | I Want To Live | |
| Buddy De Franco | Cross Country Suite | |
| George Shearing | Burnished Brass |
Best Performance By A Dance Band
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Count Basie | Basie |
| Warren Covington And Tommy Dorsey Orcehstra | Tea For Two Cha Cha | |
| Ray Anthony | Peter Gunn | |
| Perez Prado | Patricia | |
| Jonah Jones | Baubles, Bangles And Beads |
Best Performance By A Vocal Group Or Chorus
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Keely Smith, Louis Prima | That Old Black Magic |
| The Kingston Trio | Tom Dooley | |
| Lambert, Hendricks And Ross | Sing A Song Of Basie | |
| The King Sisters | Imagination | |
| Kirby Stone Four | Baubles, Bangles And Beads |
Best Jazz Performance, Individual
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book |
| Jonah Jones | Jumpin' With Jonah | |
| Matty Matlock | Dixieland Story | |
| George Shearing | Burnished Brass | |
| Jonah Jones | Baubles, Bangles And Beads |
Best Jazz Performance, Group
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Count Basie | Basie |
| Basie Rhythm Section And Dave Lambert Singers | Sing A Song Of Basie | |
| The Four Freshmen | Four Freshmen In Person | |
| George Shearing | Burnished Brass | |
| Jonah Jones | Baubles, Bangles And Beads |
Best Comedy Performance
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | David Seville & The Chipmunks (Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.) | The Chipmunk Song |
| Mort Sahl | The Future Lies Ahead | |
| Elaine May And Mike Nichols | Improvisations To Music | |
| Stan Freberg | Green Christmas | |
| Stan Freberg | Best Of The Stan Freberg Shows |
Best Country & Western Performance
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | The Kingston Trio | Tom Dooley |
| Jimmie Rodgers | Oh, Oh, I'm Falling In Love Again | |
| Don Gibson | Oh Lonesome Me | |
| Everly Brothers | Bird Dog | |
| Everly Brothers | All I Have To Do Is Dream |
Best Rhythm & Blues Performance
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | The Champs | Tequila |
| Earl Grant | The End | |
| Perez Prado | Patricia | |
| Nat King Cole | Looking Back | |
| Harry Belafonte | Belafonte Sings The Blues |
Best Arrangement
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Henry Mancini, arranger (Henry Mancini) | The Music From Peter Gunn |
| Nelson Riddle, arranger (Frank Sinatra) | Witchcraft | |
| Jack Marshall, arranger (Peggy Lee) | Fever | |
| Billy May, arranger (Frank Sinatra) | Come Fly With Me | |
| Billy May, arranger (Billy May) | Billy May's Big Fat Brass |
Best Engineered Record (Classical)
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Sherwood Hall III, engineer (Laurindo Almeida, guitar; Salli Terri, vocals) | Duets With A Spanish Guitar |
| A N, engineer (Leonard Bernstein, conductor) | Stravinsky - Rite Of Spring | |
| A N, engineer (Fritz Reiner) | Song Of The Nightingale | |
| Sherwood Hall III, engineer (Felix Slatkin, conductor) | Gaiete Parisienne |
Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Ted (Theodore) Keep, engineer (David Seville) | The Chipmunk Song |
| Luis P. (Val) Valentin, engineer (Frank Sinatra) | Witchcraft | |
| Rafael O. Valentin, engineer (Esquivel) | Other Worlds, Other Sounds | |
| Luis P. (Val) Valentin, engineer (Frank Sinatra) | Come Fly With Me | |
| Hugh Davies, engineer (Billy May) | Billy May's Big Fat Brass |
Best Album Cover
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Frank Sinatra, art director (Frank Sinatra) | Only The Lonely |
| Charles Ward, art director (Julie London) | Julie | |
| David Rose, art director (Ira Ironstrings) | Ira Ironstrings Plays Music For People With $3.98 | |
| Ray Rennahan, art director (Ray Heindorf, conductor) | For Whom The Bells Toll | |
| Marvin Schwartz, art director (Frank Sinatra) | Come Fly With Me |
Best Musical Composition First Recorded And Released In 1958 (Over 5 Minutes Duration)
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Nelson Riddle, composer (Nelson Riddle) | Cross Country Suite |
| Richard Rodgers, composer (Robert Russell Bennett) | Victory At Sea Vol II | |
| Samuel Barber, composer (Dimitri Metropoulos, cond.; Steber, Elias, Etc.) | Vanessa | |
| Kurt Weill, composer (Lotte Lenya) | Mahagonny | |
| Johnny Mandel, composer (Johnny Mandel) | I Want To Live |
Best Original Cast Album (Broadway Or TV)
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Meredith Willson, composer (Robert Preston, Barbara Cook, David Burns, Eddie Hodges, Pert Kelton, Helen Raymond) | The Music Man |
| Richard Rodgers, composer (Richard Russell Bennett) | Victory At Sea Vol II (From NBC Production) | |
| Henry Mancini, composer (Henry Mancini) | Peter Gunn | |
| Richard Rodgers, composer (Original Broadway Cast) | Flower Drum Song |
Best Sound Track Album, Dramatic Picture Score Or Original Cast
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Andre Previn | Gigi |
| Ray Heindorf | Auntie Mame Sound Track | |
| Malcolm Arnold | The Bridge On The River Kwai | |
| Alfred Newman | South Pacific (Original Soundtrack) | |
| Johnny Mandel | I Want To Live |
Best Performance, Documentary Or Spoken Word
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Stan Freberg | The Best Of The Stan Freberg Shows |
| Marian Anderson | The Lady From Philadelphia | |
| Mike Nichols And Elaine May | Improvisations To Music | |
| Stan Freberg | Green Christmas | |
| Carl Sandburg, Melvyn Douglas, Vincent Price, Ed Begley | Great American Speeches | |
| Henry Jacobs, Woody Leafer | 2 Interviews Of Our Times |
Best Recording For Children
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | David Seville And The Chipmunks (Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.) | The Chipmunk Song |
| Jose Ferrer | Tubby The Tuba | |
| David Seville And The Chipmunks | The Witch Doctor | |
| Danny Kaye | Mommy, Give Me A Drinka Water | |
| Shari Lewis And Lambchop | Fun In Shariland | |
| Cyril Stapleton | Childrens' Marching Song |
Best Classical Performance - Orchestra
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | (Hollywood Bowl Orchestra) | Gaiete Parisienne |
| (New York Philharmonic) | Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps | |
| (London Symphony Orchestra) | Rimsky-Korsakoff: Scheherezade | |
| (Philadelphia Orchestra) | Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major | |
| (New York Philharmonic) | Mahler: Symphony No. 2 In C Minor | |
| (Columbia Symphony Orchestra) | Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 In F Major | |
| (Boston Symphony Orchestra) | Barber: Meditation And Dance Of Vengeance |
Best Classical Performance - Instrumentalist (With Concerto Scale Accompaniment)
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Van Cliburn, artist (Symphony Of The Air Orchestra) | Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Minor, Op. 23 |
| Andres Segovia, artist | Segovia Golden Jubilee (Last Record In Set) | |
| Artur Rubinstein, artist | Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto # 2 | |
| Leonard Pennario, artist | Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini | |
| Emil Gilels, artist | Brahms: Piano Concerto # 2 | |
| Isaac Stern, artist | Bartók: Concerto For Violin |
Best Classical Performance - Instrumentalist (Other Than Concerto-Scale Accompaniment)
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Andres Segovia, artist | Segovia Golden Jubilee |
| Marcel Grandjany, artist | Music For The Harp | |
| Vladimir Horowitz, artist | Horowitz Plays Chopin | |
| Nathan Milstein, artist | Beethoven: Sonata No. 9 And Sonata No. 8 | |
| Wanda Landowska, artist | Art Of The Harpsichord |
Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music (Including Chamber Orchestra)
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Hollywood String Quartet (Alvin Dinkin, Paul Shure, Eleanor Aller Slatkin & Felix Slatkin), artists | Beethoven: Quartet 130 |
| Budapest String Quartet (Boris Kroyt, Josef Roisman, Alexander Schneider & Mischa Schneider), artists | Ravel: Quartet In F/Debussy: Quartet In G Minor | |
| Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky & William Primrose, artists | Beethoven: Trio In G, Op. 9, No. 1; Beethoven Trio In C Minor, Op. 9, No. 3 | |
| Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky & William Primrose, artists | Beethoven: Trio In E Flat, Op. 3 | |
| Pablo Casals, Joseph Fuchs & Eugene Istomin, artists | Beethoven: Trio In E Flat And Trio In D Major |
Best Classical Performance - Vocal Soloist (With Or Without Orchestra)
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | NOMINEES | Operatic Recital |
| (Boston Symphony Orchestra) | Wagner: Prelude And Liebestod - Tristan And Isolde, Brunnhilde's Immolation, Die Gotterdamerung | |
| Salli Terri | Eileen Farrell As Medea | |
| Maria Callas | Duets For Spanish Guitar | |
| - | Cherubini: Medea |
Best Classical Performance - Operatic Or Choral
| Artist | Work | |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | Roger Wagner, choir director | Virtuoso |
| Dom David Nicholson, Robert Zimmerman, choir directors | Victoria: Requiem Mass | |
| Erich Leinsdorf, conductor | Puccini: Madam Butterfly | |
| Erich Leinsdorf, conductor | Donizetti: Lucia De Lammermoor | |
| Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor | Barber: Vanessa | |
| Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi | Barber Of Seville |