Frank Sinatra has been a GRAMMY favorite from the very beginning. He had two of the five nominations for Album Of The Year for 1958, the GRAMMYs' inaugural year. He later became the first artist to receive two Album Of The Year awards — and also the first to receive three. He is, to date, the only artist to receive three Special Merit Awards from The Recording Academy — a Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and GRAMMY Legend Award.

The GRAMMYs are going all out to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sinatra's birth. "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert" will commemorate the Chairman of the Board with performances by Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Alicia Keys, and Usher, among others. The two-hour special will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday, Dec. 6 from 9–11 p.m. ET/PT.

The multimedia exhibit Sinatra: An American Icon opened at the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live on Oct. 21. It will run through Feb. 15, 2016, the date of the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Here's a chronological look at Sinatra's GRAMMY history, including his nine GRAMMY Awards, recordings that have been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame and his three Special Merit Awards.

(Whenever he performed in concert, Sinatra was gracious in crediting songwriters and arrangers. I'll follow his lead here.)

1940

"I'll Never Smile Again," Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra And The Pied Pipers
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 1982

This dreamy ballad was Sinatra's first major hit. It topped the Billboard chart for 12 weeks, becoming the biggest hit Dorsey ever had. Ruth Lowe wrote the song as a tribute to her recently deceased husband. Dorsey arranged and conducted the smash. This was the first Sinatra recording to be inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.

1946

"The House I Live In"
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 1998

Sinatra sang this stirring song in a 10-minute short film of the same name, for which he received a special award at the Academy Awards in March 1946. The key lyric: "All races and religions/That's America to me." The song's positive message about diversity was progressive at the time — and is still relevant today. Earl Robinson composed the song, Lewis Allan wrote the lyrics. Axel Stordahl was musical director.

1953

"I've Got The World On A String"
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2004

This bright, brassy recording was Sinatra's first collaboration with Nelson Riddle, a trombonist and arranger who had also worked with Dorsey. It became Sinatra's second hit for Capitol Records. (The first was the less-well-remembered "I'm Walking Behind You," which was arranged by Stordahl.) You can make a good case that this is the song on which Sinatra established his swinging style. Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler wrote the song in 1932 for a revue at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, N.Y. Cab Calloway and Bing Crosby had hits with it soon afterward.

1955

In The Wee Small Hours
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 1984

Riddle also arranged and conducted this classic collection of torch songs. This was the first Sinatra album to be voted in the Hall Of Fame. (It was inducted the same year Riddle received a GRAMMY for his work on the title track of Linda Ronstadt's smash album What's New, which was a virtual love letter to the work Sinatra and Riddle had done together.)

1956

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2000

This swinging album was Sinatra's follow-up to …Wee Small Hours. Riddle again arranged and conducted. Highlights include "I've Got You Under My Skin" (see next entry) and "You Make Me Feel So Young." The album title played off the title of Sinatra's 1954 album, Songs For Young Lovers.

"I've Got You Under My Skin"
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 1998

This was a 20-year-old song by the time Sinatra recorded it. Cole Porter wrote the song for the 1936 film, Born To Dance. It was performed in the film by Virginia Bruce, who sang it to her co-star, James Stewart. The song brought Porter his first Oscar nomination. It was a hit that year, and again in 1951 for satirist Stan Freberg. The song had a history, but it's fair to say that Sinatra's dynamic version is what has made it an all-time classic. Riddle wrote the exciting arrangement after Sinatra gave him this direction: "I want a long crescendo." He got his wish via Milt Bernhart's eight-bar trombone solo. Sinatra's version was never released as a single. It is, nonetheless, one of his most famous works — and one of his very best.

1958

Come Fly With Me
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2004

This collection of songs about travel destinations was Sinatra's first collaboration with arranger Billy May, whose orchestra played on the album. Highlights include "Autumn In New York," "April In Paris" and "Brazil." (This was the first of three Sinatra albums with similar titles. It was followed by Come Dance With Me! and Come Swing With Me!)

Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely
Best Album Cover: 1st GRAMMY Awards
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 1999

Oddly, Sinatra won his first GRAMMY not for his singing but for his art direction. The album cover depicts Sinatra made up as a sad clown. This concept album consists of classic torch songs, including "One For My Baby" (see next entry), "What's New" and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry." (In their liner notes, songwriters Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen reveal the album was nearly titled For Losers Only.) Riddle arranged and conducted the album.

"One For My Baby"
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2005

Arlen and Johnny Mercer co-wrote this ballad, which is considered the definitive "saloon song." Fred Astaire introduced it in the 1943 film The Sky's The Limit. Sinatra first recorded it at Columbia Records in 1947. He also sang it in the 1954 film Young At Heart.

1959

Come Dance With Me!
Album Of The Year; Best Vocal Performance, Male: 2nd GRAMMY Awards

May and his orchestra again backed Sinatra on this swinging collection. Highlights include "Cheek To Cheek" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." Come Fly With Me, Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely and Come Dance With Me! were consecutive studio albums. The Chairman was on a roll.

1965

September Of My Years
Album Of The Year: 8th GRAMMY Awards
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 1999

Sinatra turned 50 in 1965. Many artists in the pop music game would have tried to downplay the milestone, but Sinatra addressed it head-on, recording an album in which a man looks back and takes stock. Highlights include "It Was A Very Good Year" (see next entry) and "This Is All I Ask." The album, which was arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins, made Sinatra the first two-time Album Of The Year winner.

"It Was A Very Good Year"
Best Vocal Performance, Male: 8th GRAMMY Awards

This song, written by Ervin Drake, was first recorded as a folk ballad by the Kingston Trio in 1961. Jenkins' dramatic arrangement on Sinatra's recording won a GRAMMY for Best Arrangement Accompanying A Vocalist Or Instrumentalist.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Sinatra was just the second recipient of this award, following his hero, Bing Crosby (who was honored two years earlier). The Academy saluted Sinatra "for his continuing dedication to the highest of musical standards, both as a performer and as a recording executive, and for his unswerving faith in and devotion to the beauty in music."

1966

A Man And His Music
Album Of The Year: 9th GRAMMY Awards

This two-disc retrospective of Sinatra's career, which he narrated, made Sinatra the first three-time Album Of The Year winner. In all the years since then, only two other artists, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, have equaled that feat. The album consists of key tracks Sinatra recorded for Reprise Records and re-recordings of earlier tracks made for RCA Victor, Columbia and Capitol. A blurb on the front cover called the album "an anthology of the musical career of the most exciting entertainer of our time." High praise, but who would argue?

"Strangers In The Night"
Record Of The Year; Best Vocal Performance, Male: 9th GRAMMY Awards
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2008

This sumptuous ballad became Sinatra's first No. 1 hit in 11 years and brought him his only GRAMMY for Record Of The Year. Bert Kaempfert composed the song as part of his instrumental score for the 1966 film A Man Could Get Killed. Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder added the lyrics. Ernie Freeman's arrangement on Sinatra's recording won a GRAMMY for Best Arrangement Accompanying A Vocalist Or Instrumentalist.

1969

"My Way"
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2000

While visiting France, Paul Anka heard a French ballad, "Mon Habitude," written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibault and Claude Francois. Anka re-wrote the lyrics, tailoring them for Sinatra's persona. Sinatra was just 53 when he recorded the song, rendering the opening line ("And now the end is near/And so I face the final curtain") premature (and a tad maudlin). Nonetheless, the power ballad became a signature song for Sinatra. Don Costa arranged and conducted the recording.

1979

Trustees Award

With this award, Sinatra became the second person to receive both a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Trustees Award (which primarily recognizes nonperformance contributions to music). The first was Duke Ellington.

1980

"Theme From New York, New York"
GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2013

Liza Minnelli introduced this Fred Ebb/John Kander song in the 1977 film of the same name. Sinatra was 63 when he recorded the song in September 1979; his age gives the song added depth and poignancy. Sinatra was exactly who he was portraying in the song: An older guy hungry for one last shot at the brass ring. He got it: The song became Sinatra's final Top 40 hit, 40 years after his first. It also became his signature song for the rest of his performing career. Costa arranged Sinatra's version, which was featured on the triple-disc album Trilogy: Past, Present, Future.

1994

GRAMMY Legend Award

Bono, who was Sinatra's duet partner on "I've Got You Under My Skin" on his 1993 album Duets, presented this award on the 36th GRAMMY Awards telecast on March 1, 1994. The U2 frontman gave an insightful speech in which he analyzed Sinatra's appeal. He called Sinatra "this singer who makes other men poets." He added, Sinatra's music "is where he lives, where he lets go, where he reveals himself. His songs are his home and he lets you in."

1995

Duets II
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance: 38th GRAMMY Awards

Fittingly, Sinatra won a GRAMMY for the final studio album of his unmatched career. This sequel to Duets featured such duet partners as Ronstadt, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Lena Horne. Phil Ramone produced the album. 

(Paul Grein writes about pop music for Yahoo Music and Hits.com.)

With a new album of holiday cheer, We Wish You the Merriest, under their belts, Liz Gillies and Seth MacFarlane have become one of the most popular recording duos of the season. Yet their sonic story goes back a decade.

Gillies, who starred as Fallon Carrington on "Dynasty," met the "Family Guy" at a karaoke bar and noticed they were singing in similar styles.  She was singing her go-to: Julie London’s "Cry Me a River" and recalls MacFarlane singing Frank Sinatra.

"We immediately realized that we both shared a deep love and affinity for this music," Gilles told GRAMMY.com by phone about their mutual admiration for jazz and crooning styles of the 1940s and 50s.

She started joining his Los Angeles concerts at the Catalina Jazz Club in 2014/2015 and then went with him on tour. "When you find somebody that you share that kind of common ground with and you have great chemistry with –  it sort of feels like you'd be doing a disservice not to explore it," she says.

They released a joint un-official album, Songs From Home, in spring 2021 and fans quickly clambered for a Christmas album. In November, Gillies and MacFarlane finally delivered.

Their 13-track We Wish You the Merriest features many classics — from "Frosty the Snowman" to "That Holiday Feeling" — sung in the styles of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. "This is as close to a classic feeling, warm, fuzzy, nostalgic Christmas album you’re gonna get these days," Gilles says.

"Seth is sort of like this youthful energy, as much as he loves these older songs. I truly present myself like a 50 to 60 year old woman from 1950," says 30-year-old Gillies. "So onstage it really works. We love a lot of the same movies. A lot of the way we banter and our jokes are very similar." 

Singing has long been a part of Gillies' repertoire, beginning with her Broadway debut at 15 years old in "13: The Musical" alongside Ariana Grande. They both went on to star and sing on Nickelodeon’s "Victorious" and have sustained a friendship ever since. Gillies even appeared in Grande’s "Thank U, Next" music video.   

They recently went viral for their Halloween costume reveal. "We already know what we’re doing next year," Gillies teased. "We have this all mapped out. It's been a fun, new tradition that we started and it's just a blast. It lets us be wacky, free and creative."  

Asked whether they’d ever perform together again – Gillies said it’s all about timing. "If there’s an opportunity that makes sense, we would love to be on stage together, create something together. We're always talking about it," she said.  

Right now, the focus has been her partnership with MacFarlane.  

Recording a Christmas album was especially meaningful to Gillies, who  remembers listening to these classics during her childhood  in New Jersey. The holidays were "the most important time of year" for Gilles' music-loving family. "I just remember being completely enveloped in Christmas music," she recalls.

"[Holiday music] was very much a part of my childhood and a part of my upbringing in my education, musically," Gillies notes. "The fact that I'm even on a Christmas record — let alone with this amazing orchestra and with these arrangements — is pretty surreal for me. 

"They feel so familiar to me," she continues. "That's why I was happy to do a more classic album because I don't think I would succeed doing a pop Christmas album. I wouldn't know where to start." 

In honor of We Wish You the Merriest, Gillies shares some of her favorite holiday songs and why.  

"The Christmas Waltz" - Frank Sinatra 

"The Christmas Waltz" is one my grandma always would sing. She sang it the other night as well — I just had my family Christmas party this past weekend. We have so many traditions and so many beautiful memories and things that we do at parties during the holidays. 

I know it's Seth’s favorite Christmas song, I believe, and it's one of mine as well. Several members of my family play the piano and after dinner and before dessert, we always went over to the piano. [This happened] since I was a kid, and generations before I existed sang Christmas carols. 

"Winter Wonderland" - James Taylor 

I remember my dad having this huge stack of CDs and the first one always that went in was actually James Taylor's Christmas album, believe it or not. The first song on that album is "Winter Wonderland." Once that started, I would get a very Christmassy feeling in my house and I would know that it was Christmas time. 

"The Christmas Song" - Nat King Cole

To me, the quintessential Christmas song is "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole. That is the song I think Nat has, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful voices of all time. That song, no matter where I am when I hear it, I stop.   

"Sleigh Ride'' - Ella Fitzgerald

That's another one that I really love. It's so effortless, jazzy and fun. I tried to emulate little parts of each of these [songs] in our record although our arrangements are different.  

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Frank Sinatra  

Judy [Garland’s version] is very beautiful and very sad, so I don't listen to it as much. Frank’s is almost haunting. I believe it starts acapella. It’s so beautiful and his voice sounds so rich and velvety. I love that version of that song.  

New Holiday Songs For 2023: Listen To Festive Releases From Aespa, Brandy, Sabrina Carpenter & More

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Why is jazz so walled off to younger people? Laufey spends a lot of time pondering this question. And part of it comes down to the ways Gen Z might second-guess themselves.

"Like, how do you consume jazz music?" the Icelandic singer asks GRAMMY.com rhetorically. "Do you go to a jazz club? Do you have to be 18? Do you have be 21? When do you clap? How do you dress?

"There are so many barriers to entry," adds the 24-year-old, mononymous artist, whose full name is Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir. "It seems like something that's for an older, more refined, more educated set of society."

Which is something of a tragedy for music — especially given that youngsters made some of its most resonant works, and that much of jazz was meant for everybody. With that in mind, Laufey isn't out to shove the music down people's throats. She wants to leave them Bewitched.

That's the title of Laufey's second album, due out Sept. 8. Characterized by a more laid-back, accessible approach than its predecessor — 2022's Everything I Know About Love — the set is charming and companionable, from "Dreamer" to "From the Start" and its twilit, cinematic title track.

Read on for an interview with Laufey about her approach to Bewitched, the foundational influences of Astrid Gilberto and Chet Baker, and dismantling the wall between the youth generation and America's Music.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Tell me how your creative evolution led to Bewitched.

I like to think it was written between Los Angeles and London — New York too, but mostly between those two places. And I touched a lot on that in the lyrics. This is my second album [and]  a return to my musical roots. I'm really leaning deep into my jazz and classical roots.

For my first EP [2021's Typical of Me] and album, I always had this goal and dream of bringing jazz music back to my generation. I hadn't seen many examples of doing that. So, I was just kind of seeing how far I could take it — how far I could go into jazz without scaring off Gen Z.

What I found after my first album was that the fans seem to mostly drift toward the songs that resembled jazz standards — ones that were recorded with a symphony orchestra. So, for this album, I had the confidence to just jump straight into that, with no fear that I would lose Gen Z.

The singles that have come out have been some of my most organic music, in that sense. And it's been the most well-received, which is really wonderful. It's such a great sign that music is moving in a direction where I can just be anything.

It's a love album, and touches on everything between love and heartbreak. My last album was a little bit hopeless romantic: Oh, I'll never fall in love. And this one's kind of like, OK, I'm learning a little more about love.

It's a shame how marginalized, niche and walled-off jazz can be. It's one of my greatest pleasures in life.

I mean, that's the whole reason I'm doing this.

But Gen Z might offer light at the end of the tunnel. Where does jazz sit within your age group?

I think there's been a space via social media, like TikTok. In the past few years, there's been so much more music introduced, because it's kind of introduced to you without you seeking it out.

I think Gen Z is a generation of really, really open-minded individuals, especially when it comes to music. I've found that friends and kids this age will listen to anything, really, as long as they can find some sort of line of relatability. That's what they care about.

Even though I'm writing songs that sometimes sound like old jazz standards, the lyrics are very modern; they're my personal experiences from this day and age. I think that relatability is what connects young listeners.

I started this project during Covid, and I found people wanted to find an escape from this bleak reality. We all had to stay home from high school and college; I graduated online, from Berklee.

I think we just wanted to be reminded of a time that wasn't masks and Zoom and whatever. Our escape was kind of found through music. My brainchild during that time was this kind of cinematic, jazzy landscape of music that felt like it didn't belong to 2020. It belonged to a different time.

*Bewitched* album art. Photo: Gemma Warren

Tell me more about how Bewitched reflects your roots. I'm sure there are all kinds of subliminal reflections of the music you love.

I have a jazz standard on the album, "Misty," that I referenced a couple of times on my first album.I wanted to do it in the most classic way, and we recorded it live in one take with a trio.

I'm a huge Chet Baker fan. Even in the first single off the album, "From the Start," I'm borrowing some Chet Baker licks in the scatting.

I grew up playing cello; my twin sister plays violin on it as well. There are a lot of classical influences that I dug into — a lot of Ravel and Mendelssohn and Ravel and Dvorak, which is really fun to hide in there. Because if you know, you know — and if you don't, it's just a fun, new treat.

Back to the Chet Baker point, the way that he sings is kind of like a trumpet. I really took on more of that vocal style on this album — more held back. I used to think [in terms of] vibrato and legato, and I still do, but I think I really [wanted] to emphasize the lyric and storytelling.

This style of singing that's a little more spoken word, a little more bossa nova — I think that really lends well to the songwriting. Bossa nova was also a big influence on this album.

I love Astrud Gilberto a lot; there's this [1967] album of hers called Beach Samba that I was really, really inspired by, specifically in "From the Start."

I'm obsessed with Chet Baker. Can you talk about him more?

Chet Baker is probably the reason I started creating my own music, and writing my own music. I fell in love with his interpretations two or three years ago, and listened to the entire discography.

The way he phrases — the way he approaches words, but also solos — I have completely taken that into my own kind of musicality.

I think it's because [Baker is] really approachable jazz music for Gen Z and new listeners. I think I would have been very scared to say that back in the day, when I was at Berklee. But I'm not afraid to say it now.

When my friends ask me, "What jazz musician should I listen to?" I'm always like, "Go listen to Chet Baker," because I think it's such a great way to introduce new listeners to jazz. Because he's not only a singer — he's a musician. He plays  jazz like a jazz musician.

His early vocal albums were my first immersion in the Great American Songbook. "I'm Old Fashioned," "You're Driving Me Crazy"...

And he doesn't mess with them too much. Which is such a great way to get to know these standards, but also understand jazz form. I love Chet Baker; I think he's just the greatest musician of all time.

On the cover of Chet Baker Sings It Could Happen To You, he's sitting underneath a [waxing crescent] moon. I almost did that for the album cover.

It's important to note these are original compositions, not interpretations. Tell me how you inhabited that language, to write something that feels part and parcel with jazz tradition.

Well, I've learned pretty much every jazz standard — the ones that are in the Real Book, the main ones. I've learned the lyrics; I've figured out the chords.

I think once you have that musical language within you and you understand the form a bit,  you'll find that jazz songs have a very similar form. There are lots of similar chords — the II-V-Is, which is my trick to make any song sound jazzy.

The songs on the album that are the most pop/rock-driven are climbing in II-IV-Is, which bring them back to jazz land — or Laufey land, as I like to say.

[It comes down to] the chord choices, and melodic choices. There are some intervals and licks that are commonly used — that you just kind of adopt, and it becomes a part of you.

**Tell me about your accompanists on Bewitched, as well as its producers and engineers.**

I work very closely with my producer, Spencer Stewart, who also did my first album; he's like my musical soulmate. We nerd out about jazz and classical music all day. But then, he's a really wonderful producer of pop music as well. So, it's this really great combination.

Basically, what I do is: I'll write the song, bring it to him, and we'll usually lay down a guitar or voice or something. We did most of the album in his home studio, and we just jumped around; I would play guitar or piano, he would play drums and bass, I would play cello.

It would just take a day or two, and we'd have a track. It was very organic, in that way — a very modern approach to recording jazzy songs. Which I hope is something that gives it that unique touch.

There's one track on the album that we recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, on Frank Sinatra's piano, which was so cool. Two of the songs we recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the orchestra based out of London.

There was an orchestra conductor there, and an engineer that I worked with. But for the most part, it's produced by Spencer and me.

You're doing a lot to bridge the gap to a younger generation. But what caused that gap in the first place? Historically, what has lent itself to this disconnect?

I think about this a lot. I think the barriers to entry with jazz are too high. I think young kids feel like they need to be educated to speak about it, and to even listen to it.

I think it's done such a disservice to the music that it's gotten to that point. Because in the beginning, jazz music was kind of built on freedom from rules — just expression. And it was kind of meant to be something for everybody.

I think also the nature of Gen Z — and young people at all — is that they don't want to listen to adults. They want to hear something from someone their own age. So, it's my hope that I can tie these worlds together and introduce them to something via my own 24-year-old voice.

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Jeff Goldblum has enjoyed a prolific (and massive) career as one of Hollywood's most beloved actors. But long before making it as a film and television star, he enjoyed an entirely different passion: American standards and jazz.

Now, as Goldblum says, he's "a humble student" of the genres. Four years after releasing his first jazz album with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra (2018's The Capitol Studios Sessions), the actor-turned-musician unveiled his third project, Plays Well With Others, on March 24. 

Across the EP's six tracks, Goldblum and the orchestra deliver inventive renditions of songs like the Frank Sinatra standard "In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning" and Irving Berlin's "Don't Fence Me In." Though he's already proven that he plays well with others — his previous two releases have featured the likes of Miley Cyrus, Fiona Apple and Hailey Reinhart — Goldblum recruited a disparate list of guest stars including pop star Kelly Clarkson and Brazilian singer/songwriter Rodrigo Amarante for his latest set.

In celebration of the EP's release, Goldbum took GRAMMY.com inside the songs, artists and albums that made the biggest impact on him — and ultimately lead to a whole new career. 

Erroll Garner

My dad was a fan of his, and he's one of the first pianists I heard. He used to sit on a telephone book to play piano. What a genius he is. I've been listening to his recording of "Eldorado" from his 1972 album Gemini. Ooh, how about that one?

Henry Mancini's "Moon River"

That was one of the first songs my first piano teacher, Tommy Emmel, gave me the sheet music for. I really sat and worked on that, and I started to get better at playing by playing that song.

When it comes to Henry Mancini, I saw the first run of The Pink Panther with my sister and it made a big impact on me. [*Sings* The Pink Panther theme]. That killed me. 

Frank Sinatra

I have always loved Frank Sinatra. It was in his swimming pool at his former home in Palm Springs where we shot a photograph for the cover of my second album. We put a piano in the middle of his pool!

He's such a good actor, and the gift of his voice. He acts all of these songs so deeply, originally and spontaneously.

Sinatra at the Sands

I've been listening to Sinatra at the Sands a lot lately. What an album. He's with the Count Basie Orchestra, conducted by a very young Quincy Jones. It has all sorts of amazing moments: "Shadow of Your Smile," which he introduces by saying 'Here's a brand new song,' which is amazing. "One for My Baby" is another one, the way he does it on that record is unbelievable with his spoken introduction kills me.

This version of "You Make Me Feel So Young" is one I've listened to several times while I was filming the upcoming Wicked movie with Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Michele Yeoh. I was listening to a lot of music to stimulate me even more, and this album and that song was one of them. 

Jennifer Warnes' "It Goes Like It Goes"

It's originally from the movie Norma Rae from 1979 that Sally Field won the Oscar for. The title song is sung by Jennifer Warnes. It knocks me out. I get weepy, rich tears of delicious joy and sorrow.

Thelonis Monk

Right around the time I was taking piano lessons, Thelonis Monk was on the cover of TIME magazine. I checked him out, and developed a lifelong love of what he did and what a genius he is. 

Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald's "Wheels of a Dream"

This is from the musical Ragtime, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. When I hear this song lately, it reminds me of the time I worked with Brian Stokes Mitchell [on Fox's hit TV series "Glee"]. We actually played a married couple who was raising our child, played by Lea Michele. As a matter of fact, the week we did that show, we went to the Capitol Records building to record a duet of "You're the Top."

Peggy Lee's "Is That all There Is?"

That song kills me. I first heard it in 1969 when it first came out. Randy Newman actually did the orchestral arrangement.

Glenn Gould

My bandmate and coach, Alex Frank, who plays the bass in our band, turned me on to Glenn Gould, who is from Toronto where my wife is actually from. I've been watching some documentaries on him that I've been eating up. What a great guy he was; a masterful, interesting and original artist. 

Alex's dad was involved in music prominently, so when he was a kid, he once went to a rehearsal of Glenn Gould's because his father had some relationship with the orchestra leader. It was a rehearsal and in the middle of it Glenn Gould said, "Stop, stop, I can't continue. I need a paper bag." 

So Alex, who was 10 at the time, went around the corner to get a paper bag. When he came back with it, Glenn Gould took off his shoes and socks and put his bare feet in this paper bag and said, "Now I'm ready" and continued his rehearsal. Why did he do that? I don't know. 

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