The 1st Annual Grammy Awards were held on May 4, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1959. 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.

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, Domenico Modugno,

Ross Bagdasarian Ross S. Bagdasarian (; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, best known for creating the cartoon band Alvin and the Chipmu ...

, and

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

, each won 2 awards.

Award winners

The following awards were given in the first award ceremony:

General

;

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

* " Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno * "

Catch a Falling Star "Catch a Falling Star" is a song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. It is best known and was made famous by Perry Como's hit version, recorded and released in late 1957. Background and chart performance The song's melody is based on a theme ...

" – Perry Como * "

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

" – Peggy Lee * "

The Chipmunk Song "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" is a novelty Christmas song written by Ross Bagdasarian (under the stage name of David Seville) in 1958. Bagdasarian sang and recorded the song, varying the tape speeds to produce high-pitched "chi ...

" – David Seville and the Chipmunks * "

Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

" – Frank Sinatra ;Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Album of the Year *''The Music from Peter Gunn'' –

*''Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky), Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 23'' – Van Cliburn *''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book'' –

*''Come Fly with Me (Frank Sinatra album), Come Fly with Me'' – Frank Sinatra *''Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, Only the Lonely'' – Frank Sinatra ;Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year * " Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" – Franco Migliacci and Domenico Modugno, songwriters (Domenico Modugno) * "

" – Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, songwriters ( Perry Como) * "Gigi (1958 film)#Musical numbers, Gigi" – Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, songwriters (Vic Damone) * "

" – Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, Johnny Davenport, songwriters ( Peggy Lee) * "

" – Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, songwriters ( Frank Sinatra)

Children's

*Grammy Award for Best Album for Children, 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

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

Composing and arranging

*Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition, Best Musical Composition First Recorded and Released in 1958 (over 5 minutes duration) **Nelson Riddle (composer) for "Cross Country Suite" *Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Best Arrangement **

(arranger & artist) for ''The Music from Peter Gunn''

Country

*Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording, Best Country & Western Performance **The Kingston Trio for "Tom Dooley (song), Tom Dooley"

Jazz

*Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Best Jazz Performance, Individual **

for ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook'' *Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group, Best Jazz Performance, Group **

for ''The Atomic Mr. Basie, Basie''

Musical show

*Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, Best Original Cast Album (Broadway or TV) **Meredith Willson (composer) & the original cast with Robert Preston (actor), Robert Preston, Barbara Cook, David Burns (actor), David Burns, Eddie Hodges, Pert Kelton & Helen Raymond for ''The Music Man'' *Grammy Award for Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Original Cast From a Motion Picture or Television, Best Sound Track Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast **André Previn & the original cast for ''Gigi (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''

Packaging and notes

*Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Best Album Cover Photography ** Frank Sinatra for ''Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely''

Pop

*Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Female, Best Vocal Performance, Female **

for ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook'' *Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male, Best Vocal Performance, Male ** Perry Como for "

" *Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus, Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus **Keely Smith & Louis Prima for "That Old Black Magic (song), That Old Black Magic" *Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra - for Dancing, Best Performance by a Dance Band **

for ''Basie'' *Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra, Best Performance by an Orchestra **Billy May for ''Billy May's Big Fat Brass''

Production and engineering

*Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical **Ted Keep (engineer) for "The Chipmunk Song" performed by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., David Seville *Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical, Best Engineered Record (Classical) **Sherwood Hall III (engineer), Laurindo Almeida & Salli Terri for ''Duets with Spanish Guitar''

R&B

*Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance, Best Rhythm & Blues Performance **"Tequila (Champs song), Tequila"-The Champs

Spoken

*Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word **Stan Freberg for ''The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grammy Awards 001 Grammy Awards ceremonies, 001 1959 in New York City 1959 music awards 1959 in Los Angeles 1959 in American music May 1959 events in the United States Events in New York City Events in Los Angeles