Who was the first artist to win ‘Album of the Year’ at the Grammys three times?
A successful album campaign is usually signified by the often repeated but never dull shot of said artist standing on The Grammys red carpet with a bucket load of golden gramophones, pretending like the weight is just too much to handle. It’s the closest the music industry can tastefully get to figuratively showing us the solid gold worth of the megastars.
In recent years, the images have become increasingly ridiculous, with Adele and Beyoncé winning six in one night, respectively. While Michael Jackson remains the all-time Grammy in one-night record holder for eight in 1983 thanks to Thriller.
While these three artists sit near the top of the all-time Grammy winners’ leaderboard, they have never been able to secure ‘Album of the Year’ three times. Arguably, it’s an award that commends artistry in its highest form and proves that in an ever-changing landscape of music, long-form is still paramount.
In 1977, Stevie Wonder claimed his third gramophone for ‘Best Album’ with Songs In The Key of Life, making him the second person to achieve the lofty feet. And ten years later, Paul Simon joined him after Graceland secured him his third trophy. To this day, Wonder and Simon remain the only people to achieve the trilogy alongside the pioneering artist who made it first.
In 1967, Frank Sinatra secured his third ‘Best Album’ win with A Man and His Music making him the first artist to ever achieve the accolade. And his third came in a consecutive year from his second, after Sinatra bagged the exact same gramophone for September of My Years a year previous.
The 1967 record featured the tracks ‘Come Fly With Me’ and ‘Love and Marriage’, which to this day remain instantly recognisable classics and boast vocal performances that have influenced cult musicians we have come to love. Even Bob Dylan, whose legend is fuelled by his disdain for conformity and commitment to musically rebelling where possible, once told AARP: “All those things that we thought were here to stay, they did go away. But he never did.”
Alex Turner has also cited Sinatra as a musical influence, whose vocals on recent Arctic Monkeys records have been the subject of mixed reviews. During an interview with Entertainment, Turner said, “What always impresses me is the way Sinatra delivers the vocal, the timing of it all”.
A Man and His Music was perhaps Sinatra’s most concentrated example of his idiosyncratic style, which was somewhat avant-garde in its ability to cross-pollinate genres. His popularised style of ballad singing was paired with jazz instrumentation, which was a novelty at the time, and set the stall out for experimentation within that realm.
So it is no surprise that he picked up three gramophones during this period, especially given that The Recording Academy often commend artists who further expand the possibilities of genre cross-over.
This year, however, Sinatra’s three-time record was finally toppled. With her album Midnights, Taylor Swift bagged her fourth ‘Best Album’ Grammy and is now the new record holder. Upon her victory, Sinatra’s daughters Nancy and Tina took their father’s Instagram profile to congratulate Swift, saying:
“Congratulations Taylor Swift on your ‘Album of the Year’ win and breaking our dad’s record. You’re a champion for artists everywhere, and doing it your way”.
But with a record that spanned 57 years and only being beaten by just one extra album, it’s an achievement not to be understated and suitably indicative of the impact Sinatra’s music had on the years that followed its release.
