1961 - The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart - Bob Newhart

Oh dear. It’s Thursday. Well, actually it’s Friday. But since I haven’t been to bed yet, it’s Thursday.

I think the reason I’m so behind this week is that I have absolutely no idea what to say. This album is a live recording of Bob Newhart’s standup comedy act. And it’s funny. Really funny. It was refreshing to hear comedy that’s actually intellectual and not just obscene. I liked it. 

Oh yeah, and did I mention that Bob Newhart is Buddy’s father in one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made? It’s true. So Bob gets an automatic win in my book.

1960 - Come Dance With Me - Frank Sinatra

Well I’m officially behind. Due to some crazy unforeseen circumstances (I was in a pretty major car wreck yesterday, but no worries, everyone is fine…well except for my car) I’m posting on a Monday instead of Sunday. I know. I fail at life. 

This week’s album was Frank Sinatra’s “Come Dance With Me.” Most of the tracks I was familiar with already, but a few were new to me. I was pretty stoked about listening to Ol’ Blue Eyes for an entire week, but much to my surprise, I was kinda bored by Wednesday. Maybe because the material was too familiar already so I couldn’t stay interested as long? I’m not sure. 

But it’s definitely still a good album. My favorite thing? The entire album (I mean literally the ENTIRE album) is about dancing. And dancing is one of my absolute favorite things. Automatic points from me. I think it’s so cool to have an album with a central focus, and I feel like most of today’s music doesn’t do that. In today’s culture we just flip our iPods to shuffle and don’t even listen to albums the way they were made - as a piece of art. My other favorite thing (but also kind of my least favorite at the same time) is that there was not a single slow track on the album, making it the perfect album for an actual night out at the dance hall (because those still exist…) but not so much the perfect album to listen to on repeat in your car - believe it or not the swinging rhythms can get a little monotonous. 

Overall? Good album. Should it have beaten out Van Cliburn’s recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 for album of the year? Probably not. But it’s still a good listen. And Frankie is sexy. I mean look at the guy. He knew how to rock a fedora.

1959 - Music from “Peter Gunn” - Henry Mancini

Uhh…what? A soundtrack from a tv show won the Grammy for Album of the Year? Yeah, I thought it sounded crazy too. But what did I discover? Apparently, they just don’t make tv like they used to.

Before I listened to the album I was honestly just looking forward to getting it over with and moving on to next week. My expectations were low. Then I told my parents that this was the first album on my list of Grammy winners and they both immediately started singing the theme song. It was incredibly cute, as are most things my parents do. I figured if my parents liked it way back in the day then maybe I could like it now. And I did.

I know virtually nothing about jazz music. A brief stint in my just-short-of-terrible high school jazz band is just about all the experience I’ve had with it. Until now I’ve never owned an album of strictly instrumental jazz. I thought it would all sound the same - that I’d get bored really fast. Boy was I wrong.

This album has so much to offer. Henry Mancini must have been a genius. It’s got everything you could ever ask for in an album, from big band to blues, orchestral horn riffs, and even jazz flute (I know, I couldn’t listen to it without thinking about Ron Burgundy and laughing hysterically either).

But my favorite thing about the album was that every track made me feel like a different person. I was sort of shocked that jazz could have that effect on me. But as I drove down the highway, music blaring, I was a super sleuth, a nightclub dancer, a lover, a criminal, and James Bond’s girlfriend of the week.

Would I recommend this album? Definitely. But not unless you’re willing to open up your imagination and let it draw you into its story. 

Some of my favorite tracks:

“The Brothers Go to Mothers” - check out the rockin trombone solo

“Dreamsville” - so incredibly romantic

“Spook!” - for three minutes I was a cast member in that scene from Dirty Dancing where she walks in with the watermelons and everyone is…well…dirty dancing

Press play and daydream of small, smoky nightclubs, men in Brooks Brothers suits, scandals, secrets, and romance. It’s fun, I promise.

So here I am, writing my very first blog, and I’m not gonna lie, I’m more than a little overwhelmed. What if I say the wrong thing and immediately regret it after clicking “create post”? But I am determined to type onward. So here goes.

Last summer I came across this great little record store in Boston (pictured above, photo credit: me) while taking shelter from an afternoon rain. After browsing for almost an hour I realized how much music is out there that I’ve yet to discover. And that, my friends, is an inspirational realization.

I’ve decided to listen to all 52 Grammy award winners for best album - one per week for a year - and blog about it. Will I be able to keep up? Probably not. Will I stick with it anyway? I’d like to think so.  

I wish I could say I have some experience in writing about music, but alas, I have none. So there’s a pretty good possibility I’ll be terrible at it, but I guess only time will tell. 

And so begins an adventure through five decades of great music. At least I hope it’s great. Album number one is in. See ya next Sunday.

Ready. Set. Press play.