Frank Sinatra. Sammy Davis Jr. Ella Fitzgerald. The cartoon characters known as Alvin & the Chipmunks!
Those were some of the big names at the very first Grammy Awards, back in May 1959. The event only had 28 categories, it was held in two hotel ballrooms on opposite ends of the country, and it wasn’t even televised. How things have changed!
Here’s a look at exactly what the first Grammys were like, who appeared at the ceremony, which artists took home the awards, and much more.
About the First Grammy Awards
Show Date: May 4, 1959
Eligibility Period Covered: 1/1/58-12/31/58
Nominations Announced: March 16, 1959
Number of Categories: 28
Host: Mort Sahl
Location: Beverly Hilton Hotel (Beverly Hills, CA) and Park Sheraton Hotel (New York City)
Television Network: None
Confusingly, there were actually two 1959 Grammy Awards ceremonies. One took place in May 1959, to honor the music of 1958. That one is the “first Grammy Awards.” The other took place in November 1959, to honor the music of 1959, and is generally referred to as the “2nd Annual Grammy Awards” or even the “1960 Grammy Awards,” just to avoid confusion between the two ceremonies.
According to Thomas O’Neil’s book The GRAMMYs For the Record (Amazon link), 500 people paid $15 each (that’s $173 in today’s dollars!) to attend the Beverly Hills gala. They enjoyed a meal of chicken souvaroff and then watched celebrities pick up their trophies. Pepsi reportedly had interest in sponsoring a tv broadcast of the show, but that couldn’t be arranged in time, so it wasn’t televised.
O’Neil writes that the ceremony presented some challenges. Paul Weston, President of the Recording Academy (NARAS), was having trouble gathering enough presenters for the gala. “I was still lining up presenters while people were eating their dinner,” Weston said.
And there weren’t enough Grammy statues to go around for all the winners that first night, since more groups than expected were victorious. The vote tabulators truly kept the results secret, so even NARAS didn’t know how many trophies they would need.
The Recording Academy was a mere 700 members at the time (it’s now more than 15,000 members.)
Lack of Rock Music at the First Grammy Awards
There was no rock & roll at the first Grammys. While the Beatles hadn’t yet emerged, rock stars like Elvis Presley were very successful in that era. But the common view among members of the Recording Academy at that time was that rock music was too edgy for such a dignified, black-tie ceremony.
Among the rock songs eligible for the first Grammys were “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens, “Good Golly Miss Molly” by Little Richard. But all were snubbed.
The closest thing to rock music at the first Grammys was the song “Tequila” by the Champs, which won Best R&B Performance, but is today generally considered a rock & roll classic.
Frank Sinatra’s Disappointing Night
Frank Sinatra was the leading nominee at the first Grammys, with six nods. He was expected to be the night’s big star, but surprisingly, he walked away with only one award, as an art director in the minor category Best Album Cover, for Only the Lonely.
Sinatra was nominated twice for Album of the Year, a rare feat. He lost that honor to Henry Mancini’s The Music From Peter Gunn. Sinatra was also nominated twice for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and lost to Perry Como. Perhaps he suffered from vote-splitting, as his supporters couldn’t decide which Sinatra entries to vote for.
Henry Schipper, writing in Broken Record: The Inside Story of the Grammy Awards (Amazon link), says that Sinatra was so excited for the shindig that he booked two tables.
According to Sinatra biographers, Frank’s date that night, actress Sandra Giles, later said “He was so upset about not winning a music award that he refused to let any of the photographers take our picture that night. He was very moody and drank a lot afterwards.”
Sinatra didn’t show up for the 2nd Annual Grammys, where he would win multiple Grammys, including Album of the Year.
Who Else Appeared at the First Grammys?
Though the first Grammys had an event in New York as well, the Beverly Hills ceremony is the one where most of the big names appeared. Comedian Mort Sahl – a nominee himself for Best Comedy Performance – hosted the affair in Beverly Hills.
Record of the Year went to Domenico Modugno’s “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare),” though we think Peggy Lee’s “Fever” should have been the obvious winner.
Ella Fitzgerald captured two awards, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Song Book. Count Basie won two, including Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Basie.
Ross Bagdasarian, the creator of Alvin & the Chipmunks, was on-hand to accept his two awards, which included the first Best Comedy Album award for “The Chipmunk Song.”
This being the first Grammys, there was no Best New Artist award.
There were no live performances at the 1959 Grammys, aside from a musical sketch called “How South Was My Pacific,” featuring Jesse White, who would later become the Maytag repairman.
Among the stars who appeared in person at the first Grammy Awards: Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Henry Mancini, Andre Previn, Julie London, Johnny Mercer, Gene Autry, Helen Grayco, Milton Berle, and Jo Stafford.
Billboard published a review of the first Grammys and compared it favorably to the Emmys and Oscars, saying of the Grammys: “It sharply contrasted similar affairs staged by the two older entertainment academies in its precision-like pace in handling the presentations.”
1959 Grammy Awards Winners and Nominees
Here’s the complete list of winners and nominees at the first Grammy Awards in May 1959. There were only 28 categories, a far cry from the 100+ categories that the Grammys have today!
Album of the Year
Henry Mancini – The Music from Peter Gunn — WINNER
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
Frank Sinatra – Only the Lonely
Frank Sinatra – Come Fly with Me
Van Cliburn – Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23
Record of the Year
Domenico Modugno – “Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)” — WINNER
David Seville – “The Chipmunk Song”
Frank Sinatra – “Witchcraft”
Peggy Lee – “Fever”
Perry Como – “Catch a Falling Star”
Song of the Year (awarded to songwriters)
“Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)” – Domenico Modugno — WINNER
“Gigi” – Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe
“Witchcraft” – Cy Coleman & Carolyn Leigh
“Fever” – Eddie Cooley & Johnny Davenport
“Catch a Falling Star” – Paul Vance & Lee Pockriss
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Perry Como – “Catch a Falling Star” — WINNER
Andy Williams – “Hawaiian Wedding Song”
Domenico Modugno – “Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)”
Frank Sinatra – “Come Fly with Me”
Frank Sinatra – “Witchcraft”
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook — WINNER
Doris Day – “Everybody Loves a Lover”
Eydie Gormé – Eydie in Love
Keely Smith – “I Wish You Love”
Peggy Lee – “Fever”
Best Pop Group or Chorus Vocal Performance
Louis Prima & Keely Smith – “That Old Black Magic” — WINNER
Kingston Trio – “Tom Dooley”
Kirby Stone Four – “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross – Sing a Song of Basie
King Sisters – “Imagination”
Best Dance Band Performance
Count Basie – Basie — WINNER
Jonah Jones – Baubles, Bangles and Beads
Pérez Prado – “Patricia”
Ray Anthony – The Music from Peter Gunn
Warren Covington & Tommy Dorsey Orchestra – “Tea for Two Cha Cha”
Best Performance by an Orchestra
Billy May – Billy May’s Big Fat Brass — WINNER
Buddy DeFranco – Cross Country Suite
George Shearing – Burnished Brass
Johnny Mandel – I Want to Live
Jack Kane – Kane Is Able
Best Country & Western Performance
Kingston Trio – “Tom Dooley” — WINNER
Everly Brothers – “All I Have to Do Is Dream”
Everly Brothers – “Bird Dog”
Don Gibson – “Oh Lonesome Me”
Jimmie Rodgers – “Oh, Oh, I’m Falling in Love Again”
Best Musical Composition
Nelson Riddle – “Cross Country Suite” — WINNER
Johnny Mandel – I Want to Live
Kurt Weill – “Mahagonny”
Richard Rodgers – Victory at Sea Vol. III
Samuel Barber – “Vanessa”
Best Arrangement
Henry Mancini – The Music from Peter Gunn — WINNER
Billy May – Billy May’s Big Fat Brass
Billy May – Come Fly with Me
Jack Marshall – “Fever”
Nelson Riddle – “Witchcraft”
Best Original Cast Album
Meredith Willson – The Music Man — WINNER
Count Basie, Billie Holiday & others – Sound of Jazz
Henry Mancini – The Music from Peter Gunn
RCA Victor Symphony – Victory at Sea Vol. II
Richard Rodgers – Flower Drum Song
Best Soundtrack Album
André Previn – Gigi — WINNER
Alfred Newman – South Pacific
Johnny Mandel – I Want to Live
Malcolm Arnold – The Bridge on the River Kwai
Ray Heindorf Orchestra – Auntie Mame
Best Rhythm & Blues Performance
The Champs – “Tequila” — WINNER
Earl Grant – “The End”
Harry Belafonte – Belafonte Sings the Blues
Nat King Cole – “Looking Back”
Pérez Prado – “Patricia”
Best Individual Jazz Performance
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book — WINNER
George Shearing – Burnished Brass
Jonah Jones – Baubles, Bangles and Beads
Jonah Jones – Jumpin’ with Jonah
Matty Matlock – Dixieland Story
Best Group Jazz Performance
Count Basie – Basie — WINNER
Basie Rhythm Section & Dave Lambert Singers – Sing a Song of Basie
Four Freshmen – The Four Freshmen in Person
George Shearing – Burnished Brass
Jonah Jones – Baubles, Bangles and Beads
Best Comedy Performance
David Seville – “The Chipmunk Song” — WINNER
Mike Nichols & Elaine May – Improvisations to Music
Mort Sahl – The Future Lies Ahead
Stan Freberg – “Green Christmas”
Stan Freberg – The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows
Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording
Stan Freberg – The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows — WINNER
Henry Jacobs – Two Interviews of Our Time
Marian Anderson – The Lady from Philadelphia
Melvyn Douglas, Vincent Price, Carl Sandburg, Ed Begley – Great American Speeches
Stan Freberg – “Green Christmas”
Best Recording for Children
David Seville – “The Chipmunk Song” — WINNER
Cyril Stapleton – “Children’s Marching Song”
Danny Kaye – “Mommy, Give Me a Drinka Water”
David Seville – “Witch Doctor”
José Ferrer – “Tubby the Tuba”
Shari Lewis – “Fun in Shariland”
Best Album Cover
Frank Sinatra – Only the Lonely — WINNER
Frank Sinatra – Come Fly with Me
Ira Ironstrings – Music for People with $3.98 (Plus Tax, If Any)
Julie London – Julie
Ray Rennahan – For Whom the Bell Tolls
Best Engineered Record – Classical
Sherwood Hall III (Laurindo Almeida, Salli Terri) – Duets with a Spanish Guitar — WINNER
Leonard Bernstein – Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
Fritz Reiner – Song of the Nightingale
Sherwood Hall III – Gaîté Parisienne
Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical
Ted Keep (David Seville) – “The Chipmunk Song” — WINNER
Hugh Davies (Billy May) – Billy May’s Big Fat Brass
Val Valentin (Frank Sinatra) – Come Fly with Me
Val Valentin (Frank Sinatra) – “Witchcraft”
Rafael O. Valentin (Esquivel) – Other Worlds, Other Sounds
Best Classical Performance – Orchestra
Felix Slatkin conducting the Hollywood Bowl Symphony – “Gaîté Parisienne” — WINNER
Bruno Walter conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra – Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major
Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony – Barber: “Meditation and Dance of Vengeance”
Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic – Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
Pierre Monteux conducting the London Symphony – Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Best Classical Performance – Chamber Music
Hollywood String Quartet – Beethoven: Quartet No. 130 — WINNER
Budapest String Quartet – Ravel: Quartet in F Major / Debussy: Quartet in G Minor
Jascha Heifetz, William Primrose, Gregor Piatigorsky – Beethoven: Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 3
Jascha Heifetz, William Primrose, Gregor Piatigorsky – Beethoven: Trios (Op. 9 selections)
Pablo Casals, Eugene Istomin, etc. – Beethoven: Trio selections
Best Classical Performance – Instrumental (With Concerto Scale Accompaniment)
Van Cliburn with Kondrashin Symphony – Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 — WINNER
Andrés Segovia – Segovia Golden Jubilee
Emil Gilels – Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2
Isaac Stern – Bartók: Violin Concerto
Leonard Pennario – Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Best Classical Performance – Instrumental (Other Than Concerto Scale Accompaniment)
Andres Segovia – Segovia Golden Jubilee
Marcel Grandjany – Music for the Harp
Vladimir Horowitz – Horowitz Plays Chopin
Wanda Landowska – Art of the Harpsichord
Nathan Milstein – Beethoven Sonata No. 9 and Sonata No. 8
Best Classical Performance – Operatic or Choral
Roger Wagner Chorale – Virtuoso — WINNER
Dimitri Mitropoulos – Barber: Vanessa
Dom David Nicholson – Victoria: Requiem Mass
Erich Leinsdorf – Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi – Rossini: The Barber of Seville
Best Classical Performance – Vocal Soloist
Renata Tebaldi – Recital of Songs and Arias — WINNER
Eileen Farrell – Eileen Farrell as Medea
Eileen Farrell – Wagner selections
Maria Callas – Cherubini: Medea
Salli Terri – Duets for Spanish Guitar
Who is your favorite winner from the 1959 Grammy Awards?
Last Updated on July 14, 2026