Who won ‘Album of the Year’ at the Grammys in 1969?
In a discussion about the best year in musical history, 1969 comes up quickly, which saw Led Zeppelin, Abbey Road, Let It Bleed, making it a huge year for rock and roll as the last kicks of the vibrant ‘60s, but did the Grammys reflect that?
When people reflect on these times, something seems to splinter, where they talk about bands like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones as if they were niche, turning their noses up at modern comparisons made between these huge acts of the yesteryear and acts like, say, One Direction, forgetting that the reality is that the champions of the golden era were the biggest names on the planet; they were the mainstream and the leaders.
However, as we know well, award shows seem to exist in their own realm. While the Grammys are supposed to capture and celebrate the year in music, it’s reflection of the times can often feel out of touch or lead to scratching your head and asking ‘who?’
This begs the question of how all of these things align, and whether the biggest names of the late ’60s honoured by music’s biggest awards body, or did they exist too far into counterculture to pick up such a well-known trophy?
What won ‘Album of the Year’ at the 1969 Grammys?
The important thing to remember here is that the Grammys basically run a year behind, hence in 1969, the 11th annual awards show was hosted in March and celebrated the best release of 1968.
In 1969, the nominees for ‘Album of the Year’ were strong, and proving that they had their finger on the pulse of counterculture, Simon and Garfunkel were nominated for Bookends, and actually took home the trophy for ‘Record of the Year’ with ‘Mrs Robinson’.
‘Album of the Year’ also saw The Beatles nominated for Magical Mystery Tour, and José Feliciano was up for Feliciano!, while Richard Harris was in with A Tramp Shining, but the trophy was taken home by country star Glen Campbell for By the Time I Get to Phoenix, perhaps proving that the committee wasn’t quite yet on board with the more out-there, trippy sounds.
Which 1969 album won the Grammy for ‘Album of the Year’?
When considering albums released in 1969, though, it’s the 12th annual Grammy Awards that are most telling, seeing the counterculture showing up full force. The 5th Dimension won ‘Record of the Year’ with their track ‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In’, while Crosby, Stills, & Nash won ‘Best New Artist’, and even Joni Mitchell snagged an honour as ‘Clouds’ won ‘Best Folk Performance’.
With nominations for The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Crosby, Stills & Nash and 5th Dimension, the trophy for ‘Album of the Year’ went to a true left-field choice in the form of Blood, Sweat & Tears, the New York jazz-rock troupe, with their self-titled record full of wild covers.
So clearly, the Grammys voting board knew what was going on, and they were into it.
