5. Sinatra’s Oldest Hits Beat The Beatles’ Newest Ones
In 1965, Frank Sinatra turned 50, and chose to celebrate by re-recording a double album’s worth of hits, released as A Man and His Music. A television special honoring his birth aired on NBC with the same title. The album was released the next year, and the Grammy Awards decided to reward Sinatra’s retrospective by calling it the Album of the Year in 1967.
We have nothing against Old Blue Eyes—he won the year previous for September of My Years, and we’re not complaining, since that was at least an original album, and a pretty good one, too. However, especially given the competition, it makes no sense for the Grammys to go with a retrospective instead of one of the mind-blowingly creative records that were released that year. Also nominated was the Beatles landmark Revolver, and though it wasn’t on the ballot, Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde was technically in contention that year. With two legendary acts redefining the future music, it’s baffling the Grammys would actively choose to reward those looking towards the past.
