1959 Briefly Revisited: AotY
Playlist of music in this post: Spotify
Rock and what, now?
Let's take a look some of the music that could have been nominated for 1959's Album of the Year. A quick Google search of 1958's albums pulls up:
- Buddy Holly, Buddy Holly
- One Dozen Berrys, Chuck Berry
- King Creole, Elvis Presley
- Elvis' Golden Records, Elvis Presley
None of them were nominated for Album of the Year.
What I find more important, though, is that no music like their music was nominated. If the Album of the Year nominees were your only source of information, you wouldn't think anything resembling rock and roll was occurring in the musical world.
Perhaps those none of albums were noteworthy... perhaps. But, for the record, those artists were all around and making music.
The King
Perhaps those none of albums were noteworthy... perhaps.
First and foremost: King Creole
In 1958, Elvis released King Creole, a soundtrack to a movie of the same name.
King Creole is a really good album.
There's a song on the album called "Crawfish", and it might become my sexy-summer-nights jam of 2016.
Somehow coming in second: Elvis' Golden Records
Elvis also released Elvis' Golden Records in 1958 -- a compilation of hits from his previous few years. The track listing includes such songs as:
- "Hound Dog"
- "All Shook Up"
- "Heart Break Hotel"
- "Jailhouse Rock"
- And a bunch of other titles you'll probably recognize
--
Either album would have been a decent Album of the Year nominee; I'd happily swap out any nominee (except Come Fly With Me) to get King Creole on the list.[1]
As noted in a previous post, I'm sure there are a lot of factors that go into the oddities of what does and does not pick up a nomination. It'll be interesting to see if the academy ever moves from behind the curve to in front of it.
Julie London
Julie London released two albums in 1958; I don't know that they're particularly noteworthy, but I love Julie London so I'm telling you about her.
I first came to know Julie London as Nurse Dixie McCall on a television show called Emergency!. Emergency! is truly excellent and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, helped expand paramedic services and CPR training throughout the United States.[1:1]
Other jazz artists[1:2] also released albums in 1958 and they're probably amazing and worth a listen. However, my love for Ms. London is bright, pure, and unassailable. As such, here is Julie London singing a holiday song, written by her husband Bobby Troup, who was also an Emergency! cast member: "I'd Like You For Christmas".