The 1967 song that gave Elvis Presley his first Grammy
No prizes or awards can weigh the cultural impact of Elvis Presley.
Presley was the biggest music star in the world during the 1950s, almost single-handedly catapulting rock and roll into its legendary status. Presley was seen as many things – an icon, a sex symbol, a troublemaker, and a sinner. But most importantly, Presley was anti-establishment before just about any other popular music figure was.
His influence extended far beyond record sales and chart positions. Presley challenged social norms, blurred musical boundaries and helped transform popular culture, creating a blueprint that countless artists would follow in the decades that followed.
That defiant attitude didn’t exactly endear Elvis to major institutions like the Grammy Awards. By the time he was 32, Presley didn’t have a single Grammy to his name, despite releasing most of what would make up his classic canon of songs.
The Grammys presented its first awards in 1959 when Elvis was still in the Army. Rock and roll didn’t get much love at the ceremony until The Beatles came along anyway, and by that point, Presley had largely shifted his focus.
The lack of Grammy recognition during his commercial peak says as much about the music industry of the era as it does about Presley himself. At a time when rock and roll was still viewed with suspicion by many cultural gatekeepers, artists working within more traditional genres often received greater institutional recognition.
Beginning in the late 1960s, Presley increasingly devoted himself to gospel music. It was the genre that he had originally fallen in love with, and it was the style of music that he felt he was destined to sing. Anybody who saw Presley during the latter stages of his life would have been exposed to just as many traditional hymns and gospel numbers as they would rock and roll classics. That was how Presley envisioned himself, and that’s the guise he took on in the last stage of his life.
Somewhat strangely, this was the step that Presley needed to take to take home Grammy gold. While Presley had largely aged out of the main competitive awards, the Grammys had a number of categories that lent themselves to Presley’s devotional numbers. Between 1962 and 1986, the Grammys had a ‘Best Inspirational Recording’ that highlighted the best gospel music of the time. The award went through different names; in 1968, it was known as the ‘Best Sacred Performance’ award.
More than a decade after he released his first single, Presley finally took home a Grammy when his gospel album How Great Thou Art was awarded ‘Best Sacred Performance’. It would prove to be Presley’s most successful Grammy category, with the singer once again winning the award in 1973 for He Touched Me and then again in 1975 with a live performance of ‘How Great Thou Art’. They would be the only competitive Grammys that Presley ever won.
Although his Grammy tally appears modest compared to his immense cultural stature, Presley’s legacy was never going to be defined by awards. The fact that his only competitive victories came through gospel recordings merely reflects the music that remained closest to his heart. Long before the Grammys recognised him, Elvis had already secured something far more significant: a permanent place in the history of popular music.
Check out ‘How Great Thou Art’ down below.
