Best New Artist (Part Two)
a further examination of the best new artist Grammy to see who won unfairly and who should be upset forever
After last week’s piece, I needed another breather. (Thank you to those of you who reached out to praise it, and just know that those of you who didn’t are now on The List.) Ergo, I’m going back to the well of Grammy nonsense for another round of evaluation. Is this just “‘memba some guys” repurposed for music rather than sports? Absolutely. Leave me be. Don’t make me do a Gordy List next.
Today, I’m going through the nominees for Best New Artist for the Grammy Awards for several years and determining:
Did the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences make the right call?
Should there have been different nominees altogether?
Did the winner have lasting success, or fall prey to the supposed curse surrounding the award?
We left off in 1969 last time (nice), so let’s move directly into 1970…
1970 Nominees
Chicago
I love Chicago more than rational people should, and especially their first few albums. Not every brand new group gets carte blanche to debut with a double LP, but Chicago certainly made the most of it. In this era, their music ran more towards jazz fusion than mainstream pop (although the rise of Peter Cetera would change that substantially). The centerpieces of Chicago’s sound were the immaculate horn section and the thoroughly underrated guitar work of legend Terry Kath.
Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Formed as one of the first popular music “supergroups” by former members of the Byrds, the Hollies, and Buffalo Springfield, CSN combined intricate harmonies with a decided political point of view to create a blend of folk-rock that was simultaneously high-brow and accessible. Their self-titled debut album was a landmark achievement in the growth of FM radio over AM gold. Even in their early years, the big personalities of the trio led to friction and resentment. Adding Neil Young to the mix in late 1969 both deepened their sonic abilities and further damaged their fractured relationships, leading to their first of many breakups in June 1970.
Led Zeppelin
Originally a temporary fix to fill Yardbirds dates that were outstanding, Led Zeppelin would go on to become one of the biggest bands in rock history, selling hundreds of millions of albums and influencing nearly every rock band that came afterwards. I don’t know what more to say about Zeppelin besides pointing out that Jimmy Page is both an incredible guitarist and by all accounts a reprehensible excuse for a human being. Oh, and John Paul Jones never got the credit he deserved.
The Neon Philharmonic
If you’ve never heard of this group, you’re not alone. They only released two albums, both in 1969. Singer Don Gant was the frontman for the vision of producer and bandleader Tupper Saussy, a shining star of psychedelic and orchestral pop. Their only hit “Morning Girl” featured the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Saussy would go on to plunge headfirst into conspiracy theories, claiming that the Pope and Dick Cheney were behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and spending time in federal prison for tax evasion after invoking several sovereign citizen techniques.
Oliver
William Oliver Swofford debuted in 1969 with a cover of “Good Morning Starshine” from the musical Hair, followed by a film soundtrack appearance on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The North Carolina native made multiple showings on the Easy Listening charts in the early Seventies, along with several performances on Ed Sullivan and other variety shows aimed squarely at middle America. His later work was mostly as a background singer, though his own solo work veered towards uncomplicated folk rather than orchestral arrangements.
Winner - Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Answering our prompts in order:
The Academy clearly whiffed on this one. The temperamental trio never stayed together long enough without threatening physical harm on one another to achieve the heights their individual talents could have combined to make. Of the three groups with lasting impact on music, I would have gone with Zeppelin, Chicago, and then CSN for the award. There’s also a part of me that says Chicago should get the nod over Zeppelin, but that’s clearly my own biases and my distaste for Page as a person.
For other nominees, I definitely would have swapped in Three Dog Night for either Oliver or the Neon Philharmonic. I can be convinced to add Creedence Clearwater Revival, but they technically debuted in July 1968 rather than the chosen year. That being said, their second album was their first big hit so the guidelines could be stretched to accommodate. A dark horse for me would be Spiral Starecase, whose one hit “More Today than Yesterday” is more memorable than the other two lesser nominees.
CSN (and later Y) broke up within two years of winning the award, so in that respect they were a bust. However, they kept reuniting for decades afterwards to enthusiastic audience response so they had a lasting career. It wasn’t until David Crosby’s death from COVID-19 that the band conclusively ended. I’d judge them as defying the curse.
1971 Nominees
The Carpenters
The brother and sister duo of Richard and Karen Carpenter practically defines easy listening for the early Seventies with Karen’s inarguable talent as both a musician and a singer. I wish more people knew how skilled she was as a drummer, rather than focusing on her tragic death. Take a look here for proof:
Elton John
I think I’ve covered this one pretty well. You should read that piece, though.
Melba Moore
Following a false start with a recording contract, Moore entered into the public eye after starring in the original Broadway cast of the musical Hair. She went on to win a Tony for her role as Lutiebelle in the musical Purlie. Her first album I Got Love was a critical success, though sold few copies. It wasn’t until 1976 and the rise of disco that she had a true hit, namely with “This is It”. This sparked a long lasting career spanning stage and sound.
Anne Murray
Prior to Celine Dion and Shania Twain, Anne Murray was the Canadian songstress for American audiences. Her blend of folky, country-inflected adult contemporary music was the best kind of inoffensive background music. Her cover of Gene McClellan’s “Snowbird” was the first gold single by a Canadian woman in American music history, serving as the foundation of a decades long music career. Murray retired in 2008 having sold over fifty million albums and winning a record-setting twenty four Juno Awards.
The Partridge Family
Remember when I said last time that the Monkees deserved a look for BEst New Artist? This is why. From the same production company (Screen Gems) and using the same cadre of musicians (Los Angeles’ famed “Wrecking Crew”) as the Pre-Fab Four, the Partridge Family put out high quality teen pop with a flair for hooks and harmonies. Although the only two cast members actually involved with the recording side were David Cassidy and Shirley Jones, the Ron Hicklin Singers provided more than enough vocal firepower to make up for it.
Winner - The Carpenters
Answering our prompts in order:
Obviously, Elton John has had the most impact of the five nominees without question. Hot take time: I can make a cogent argument for The Carpenters to be the next-to-last in terms of winning aptitude, beating out only Moore (sorry, Melba). I am higher on the Partridge Family than I need to be, but that is solely due to the quality of songwriting and the Wrecking Crew.
For other potential nominees, there are only a few that spring to mind. Kool and the Gang released their debut at the end of 1969, but they had not yet become the dance machine they soon would be. Redbone debuted with their self-titled double LP, however their first hit “Come and Get Your Love” wasn’t until their fifth album Wovoka in 1975. The real dark horse here is Black Sabbath; although they weren’t ever critical favorites, their impact on music is undeniable.
Asking if the Carpenters were cursed is like asking if poor white Americans will consistently vote against their own self interest. Of course. To this day, their corpus of easy listening classics is overlooked because of their tragic end. After Richard became addicted to Quaaludes in 1978, the band never recovered. Karen was unable to capitalize on solo opportunities, and attempts to change musical direction were similarly ill-fated. In 1983, Karen passed away at just 32 due to heart failure caused by her eating disorder. I don’t know if there is a more cursed winner of this award.
1972 Nominees
Chase
Bill Chase’s jazz rock band had their first hit in 1971 with “Get It On”, featuring Chase and three other trumpeters to form a formidable horn section. That would be their only chart success, as they pivoted more towards jazz in light of evolving popular tastes and multiple lineup changes. Sadly, the band would come to and end after Chase was killed in a plane crash in 1974.
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
Combining instrumentalists from progressive rock groups the Nice, King Crimson, and Atomic Rooster, the supergroup ELP dominated the prog-rock conversation for most of the Seventies. Strangely enough they were almost called HELP, with the “H” coming from none other than Jimi Hendrix. by taking classical pieces and reworking them as virtuoso popular arrangements, ELP did something markedly different than their contemporaries.
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
Carly Simon
Simon made the list of nominees on the strength of both her debut self-titled album (focused on well-crafted folk rock) and her second album Anticipation, that pivoted more towards mainstream pop-rock. At this point in her career her music was beloved by critics, but had not found its audience. Only after this period would she reach stardom with No Secrets and the evergreen single “You’re So Vain”. (For the record: it’s about three separate people, one of whom is Warren Beatty. Mick Jagger and David Geffen have been ruled out definitively by Simon.)
Bill Withers
Hailing from Slab Fork, West Virginia, Bill Withers was a titan of soul and R&B from the time of his 1971 debut, the fittingly titled Just As I Am. Very few artists are blessed enough to record a song as good as “Ain’t No Sunshine”, and even fewer are able to release a follow-up with the eternal appeal of “Lean on Me”, much less “Use Me”, “Lovely Day”, or “Just the Two of Us” in conjunction with Grover Washington, Jr.
Winner - Carly Simon
Answering our prompts in order:
For me, it’s a coinflip between Simon and Withers. Looking at their overall bodes of work with the benefit of hindsight, Simon has the more impressive track record. However, that doesn’t take into account Withers’ legendarily difficult time with record company politics and his distaste for labels altogether that stopped him from recording from 1977 until 1985, and then again until his death in 2020. Essentially, we have only seven years of Withers versus five or six decades of Simon.
Other artists that merited consideration include Mahavishnu Orchestra, ZZ Top, Don McLean, Little Feat, Yes, Earth Wind & Fire, Can, Alice Cooper, Black Oak Arkansas, and Weather Report. Of those, only the jazz fusion entries plus Can stood a chance with critics. Though I can appreciate the others, they were never critical darlings in the way it takes to be nominated by such a staid and stuffy organization as the NARAS.
Finally, Simon has had a productive music career for as long as she’s wanted, including releasing a live album just this year. Last year she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (don’t even get me started on their criteria and their process). She has had five albums reach the Billboard Top Ten, along with more than two dozen charting singles spanning four decades. Carly Simon emphatically did not suffer from the Best New Artist curse.
That’s all for this week’s article. I am working on something that will hopefully be done next week that’s thematically appropriate and timely to boot. (Look at me planning things out! Feels weird.) As always, if you have suggestions for future topics, let me know in the comments below or via social media. Join me next time!