The Library Of Congress: Following In The Grammys’ Footsteps?
Far be it for me to call anyone lazy (I have a couple of editors who’d like to introduce me to the concept of a met deadline), but while it’s certainly excellent that the Library of Congress is honoring Stevie Wonder with its second Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, please note that the first winner, from last year, was Paul Simon. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that Simon, in accepting his Album of the Year Grammy Award in 1976, for Still Crazy After All These Years, thanked Stevie Wonder for “not making a record this year,” but both men dominated the Grammys during the ’70s. Simon nabbed AOTY twice, in 1971 (for Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water) and ’76, as well as being nominated in 1974 for There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. And of course Stevie won three times: 1974 (Innervisions), 1975 (Fulfillingness’ First Finale), and 1977 (Songs in the Key of Life). What, then, might this mean in terms of future Gershwin Prizes? Let’s take a look.
I decided to do this entirely by numbers. Of the remaining five AOTY winners for the decade (meaning 1971-1980; all dates are the year the Grammy is given, not the year of album release), four were by artists who weren’t otherwise nominated during the span. Sorry, Carole King (1972, Tapestry) and Fleetwood Mac (1978, Rumours) and the Bee Gees et. al. (1979, Saturday Night Fever). Now, if we were going to open things out a bit, the short answer would be easy: Billy Joel, who won in 1980 for 52nd Street and was then subsequently nominated four more (1981, Glass Houses; 1983, The Nylon Curtain; 1984, An Innocent Man; 1994, River of Dreams).
Within the decade, however, two artists are in the clear lead. Elton John had not two, but three nominations during the ’70s, though he never won (1971, Elton John; 1975 Caribou; 1976, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy). And George Harrison won once (1973, The Concert for Bangla Desh) and was nominated earlier (1972, All Things Must Pass). Still, it’s hard to see either winning, mainly because they’re both English and I’m going to hazard a wild guess that a United States Library of Congress award is reserved for Americans. (Though John’s longtime Atlanta residency might qualify him.)
The other Brits who’ve been mentioned more than once for AOTY aren’t exactly recording artists, per se. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar was nominated twice in a row, in 1972 and 1973, for the Broadway cast recording and the film soundtrack. I’d love to root for this to win the award next year, only that would be dishonest, because I have absolutely no patience for such nonsense once it reaches my eardrum. Of course, you could say that three of the other dual-nominees made records that basically sounded the same, too: James Taylor (1971, Sweet Baby James; 1977, JT); Chicago (1971, Chicago; 1977, Chicago X); and the Carpenters (1971, Close to You; 1972, The Carpenters). As for the Eagles (1976, One of These Nights; 1978, Hotel California), the Gershwin may yet come their way, but probably not for a while.
