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Bob Newhart To Lauryn Hill: 4 Best New Artist & Album Of The Year Winners

Lauryn Hill

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Bob Newhart To Lauryn Hill: 4 Best New Artist & Album Of The Year Winners

Take a closer look at the four artists who earned two of the GRAMMYs' most coveted awards in the same year

GRAMMYs/Jan 12, 2018 - 03:08 am

The GRAMMY for Best New Artist marks a special place in each winner's career. In many cases signaling the first major recognition by their peers as top-tier talents to watch, the honor also highlights each artist's potential to return to the GRAMMY stage in the years to come.

But on rare occasions an artist's first submission for GRAMMY Awards consideration showcases such strength that it earns them not only the Best New Artist GRAMMY, but also the coveted gramophone for Album Of The Year in the same year.

Bob Newhart, Christopher Cross, Lauryn Hill, and Norah Jones are the only four artists in GRAMMY history whose first touches with GRAMMY gold brought home simultaneous Best New Artist and Album Of The Year honors, and signaled the onset of profound careers in the recording industry.

Let's take a look back at the artists and the albums that made helped this quartet make GRAMMY history.

Bob Newhart, 3rd GRAMMY Awards (1960)

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Beloved comedian and perennial straight-man actor Bob Newhart first made a name for himself through sketch-style audio recordings where he portrayed one-half of long business-oriented telephone conversations, implying absurd situations and outlandish statements on the part of the nonexistent other party to the call. After Warner Bros. Records signed Newhart off the strength of his homemade recordings, his 1960 debut album The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart became the first comedy album to ever take the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200. Six months later, Newhart released a follow-up record, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!, which reached No. 2 while his first album was still reigning at No. 1. The strength of the two albums earned Newhart a well-deserved Best New Artist at the 3rd GRAMMY Awards, the only comedian in GRAMMY history to win the title. Meanwhile, The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart won Album Of The Year, while The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! won Best Comedy Performance — Spoken Word.

Christopher Cross, 23rd GRAMMY Awards (1980)

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Texas singer/songwriter Christopher Cross caught lightning in a bottle with his late-1979 self-titled debut album, which brought the then-28-year-old performer almost immediate success. With four radio singles — "Ride Like The Wind," "Sailing," "Never Be The Same," and "Say You'll Be Mine" — that claimed Top 20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Sailing" took No. 1), the album went on to become one of the most influential soft-rock LPs of the 1980s. Based on the strength of Cross' performance and songwriting, Christopher Cross helped him sweep the "big four" General Field categories at the 23rd GRAMMY Awards, taking home Best New Artist, Album of The Year, and Song and Record Of The Year ("Sailing") — to date, he is the only artist to achieve this feat. Additionally, "Sailing" won Cross the GRAMMY for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), bringing the total haul for his first GRAMMY Awards outing to five.

Lauryn Hill, 41st GRAMMY Awards (1998)

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After previously earning two GRAMMYs as a member of the Fugees, multitalented performer Lauryn Hill made the transition to solo artist, releasing her debut LP, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, to widespread critical acclaim in 1998. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and three singles — "Doo Wop (That Thing)," "Ex-Factor" and "Everything Is Everything" — charted Top 40 on the Hot 100, with "Doo Wop ..." claiming No. 1. The album's first-week sales also set a record for highest ever achieved by a female artist at the time. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill earned Hill an astonishing 10 GRAMMY nominations at the 41st GRAMMY Awards, with Hill taking home Best New Artist, Album Of The Year, Best R&B Album, and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best Rhythm & Blues Song ("Doo Wop ..."), and setting a new record for most GRAMMY wins in a single night by a female artist up until that point. To date, The Miseducation  ... remains Hill's only solo studio album release.

Norah Jones, 45th GRAMMY Awards (2002)

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The daughter of GRAMMY-winning sitar player Ravi Shankar, Norah Jones grew up with a respected musical pedigree and an omnivorous musical appetite for the sounds of eminent jazz icons such as Bill Evans and Billie Holiday. With a sonic blend of acoustic pop, melodic blues and down-tempo jazz stylings, Jones' debut studio album Come Away With Me earned the then-23-year-old singer a total of five nominations at the 45th GRAMMY Awards — Best New Artist, Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance  and Record Of The Year ("Don't Know Why"). Jones won all five categories, tying the record for most GRAMMY wins in a single night by a female artist jointly held at the time by Hill and Alicia Keys. (This mark has since broken by Beyoncé and Adele, who have each taken home six GRAMMYs in a single night.)

GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 2024 Inductees Announced: Recordings By Lauryn Hill, Guns N' Roses, Donna Summer, De La Soul & More
The GRAMMY Museum's inaugural GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala and concert presented by City National Bank on May 21, 2024 at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles.

Image courtesy of the GRAMMY Museum

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GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 2024 Inductees Announced: Recordings By Lauryn Hill, Guns N' Roses, Donna Summer, De La Soul & More

The GRAMMY Museum's inaugural GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala and concert, presented by City National Bank, takes place Tuesday, May 21, at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles.

GRAMMYs/Mar 20, 2024 - 11:59 am

The Recording Academy has announced 10 recordings to be newly inducted to the distinguished GRAMMY Hall Of Fame as part of its 2024 inductee class and in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year. This year's GRAMMY Hall of Fame additions, the first inductions since 2021, include four albums and six singles that exhibit qualitative or historical significance and are at least 25 years old. The inducted recordings, which will be added to the iconic catalog residing at the GRAMMY Museum, will be honored at GRAMMY Museum's inaugural GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala and concert, presented by City National Bank, taking place Tuesday, May 21, at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets for and performers at the Gala will be announced at a later date. 

The 2024 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inducted recordings range from Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction. Others include recordings by De La Soul, Buena Vista Social Club, Donna Summer, Charley Pride, Wanda Jackson, Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra, the Doobie Brothers, and William Bell. Eligible recipients will receive an official certificate from the Recording Academy. With these 10 newly inducted titles, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame currently totals 1,152 inducted recordings.

See below for a full list of the 2024 recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, and see the full list of all past GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inducted recordings.

Full list of 2024 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inducted Recordings:

3 FEET HIGH AND RISING
De La Soul
Tommy Boy (1989)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
Guns N' Roses
Geffen (1987)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
Buena Vista Social Club
World Circuit/Nonesuch (1997)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

“I FEEL LOVE”
Donna Summer
Casablanca (1977)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

“KISS AN ANGEL GOOD MORNIN'“
Charley Pride
RCA Victor (1971)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

“LET'S HAVE A PARTY”
Wanda Jackson
Capitol (1960)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
Lauryn Hill
Ruffhouse/Columbia (1998)
(Album)
Inducted: 2024

“ORY'S CREOLE TROMBONE”
Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra (As Spike's Seven Pods of Pepper Orchestra)
Nordskog (1922)
(Single)
2024

“WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES”
The Doobie Brothers
Warner Bros. (1978)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

“YOU DON'T MISS YOUR WATER”
William Bell
Stax (1961)
(Single)
Inducted: 2024

Explore The 2024 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductees

"We're proud to unveil the diverse mix of recordings entering the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in its 50th year," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said in a statement. "The music showcased here has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural landscape, and it's a true honor to recognize these albums and recordings, along with the profound influence each has had on music and beyond."

"The artists, songwriters, producers, and engineers who composed this year's inducted recordings are a reflection of the sheer talent and hard work that goes into creating such seminal music," GRAMMY Museum President/CEO Michael Sticka said in a statement. "It's a privilege to be able to welcome these new additions into our distinguished catalog and celebrate the recordings at our inaugural gala on May 21."

The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was established by the Recording Academy's National Trustees in 1973. The inducted recordings are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts with final ratification by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees.

This year, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala will be the first of what will become an annual event and includes a red carpet and VIP reception on the newly opened Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum, followed by a one-of-a-kind concert at the NOVO Theater in downtown Los Angeles. 

The inaugural gala and concert is produced by longtime executive producer of the GRAMMY Awards, Ken Ehrlich, along with Chantel Sausedo and Ron Basile and will feature musical direction by globally renowned producer and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. For sponsorship opportunities, reach out to halloffame@grammymuseum.org.

Explore the history of the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

5 Inspirations Behind Norah Jones' New Album 'Visions': Nightly Dreams, Collabs, Harmony Stacks & More
Norah Jones

Photo: Joelle Grace Taylor

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5 Inspirations Behind Norah Jones' New Album 'Visions': Nightly Dreams, Collabs, Harmony Stacks & More

On her iridescent new album 'Visions,' out March 8, Jones embraces a newer collaborator in Leon Michels, and brings the stuff of phantasmagoria into immediate, organic relief.

GRAMMYs/Mar 8, 2024 - 03:06 pm

Not all Norah Jones fans know this, but her debut 2002 album Come Away With Me was recorded in its entirety a whopping three times. Her latest, Visions, is no less detailed or exacting. But in true Blue Note fashion — it's out March 8, via said label — it sprang from an improvisatory, immediate space.

"I didn't really have a lot of preconceived ideas," Jones tells GRAMMY.com over Zoom, as a typically oppressive winter in New York blurs into spring. ("I like winter," she says. "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one.") Despite this dearth of advance material, "We just wrote and played," Jones continues. "And, honestly, he's one of the most fun people I get to play music with."

"He" is none other than producer, multi-instrumentalist and two-time GRAMMY nominee Leon Michels; Jones, a nine-time GRAMMY winner and 19-time nominee herself, previously worked with him on her first-ever holiday album, 2021's I Dream of Christmas.

Highlights like "Staring at the Wall," "Running" and "I'm Awake" show Jones is clearly the same artist who made classics like Come Away With Me and 2004's Feels Like Home — but in the ensuing decades, her work has assumed layers of adventurousness and dynamism.

"I love playing music with people and collaborating and trying new things, and I feel very at ease with myself and as myself in all those situations," Jones says. "Which is why it works, I think. I'm not trying to be somebody else when I do this. I'm comfortable, but I love to just try new clothes on musically."

Read on for a breakdown of people, concepts and things that inspired the making of Visions.

Her Podcast "Norah Jones Is Playing Along"

Over 32 episodes and counting, Jones has sat down with everyone from Jeff Tweedy to Seth MacFarlane to Laufey for extemporaneous collaborations and conversations. Jones notes that they're gearing up to release more episodes.

While she doesn't expressly note the podcast as a direct influence, its one-on-one format harmonizes with the dynamic between herself and Michel on Visions.

"I think anything you do influences you in some ways, even if you don't realize how," Jones says. "I've always been a pretty open musician, but I just feel like I get more and more open."

Her Creative Synergy With Leon Michels

When Jones had a shred of an idea — a few lyrics, a sketch of a melody — she would sit at a piano or guitar, Michels would get behind the kit, and they'd jam it out, garage band-style.

From there, the collaborators would add "a ton of harmonies" — more on that later — as well as bass, guitar, horns, organ, or whatever else would elevate the songs.

"The live energy you feel on those recordings is from me and him playing drums and piano or guitar," Jones says, "and just having fun."

Subconscious, Subterranean Zones

As Jones noted in the press materials, Visions came from a space beyond wakefulness.

"The reason I called the album Visions is because a lot of the ideas came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep," she said. She then evoked the lead single: "'Running' was one of them where you're half asleep and kind of jolted awake."

"I think it just all flowed really fast," Jones says in retrospect. "There were some songs that I had to tweak the lyrics more because they were slower to come, but most of them were pretty fast."

Stacking Harmonies — Christmas Style

Two years and change ago, I Dream of Christmas displayed a newer facet of Jones' sound: dense, layered harmonies. It worked so well on those yuletide tunes that Jones and Michels expanded on that concept for Visions.

"I'm always hearing harmonies, and I'm pretty quick at adding them," Jones recalls, and he's always, "Add a harmony, add a harmony, add a harmony." It's really part of the sound of the record."

Jones says this comes straight from her record collection. "It does come pretty naturally. It comes from years of loving music," she says. "I mean, I used to imitate Aretha's background singers. I think it was Cissy Houston. I love that kind of harmony." (Plus, she sang in jazz groups and high school and college, with 10 vocalists as a united throng.)

For Jones' upcoming tour dates on the East Coast, which span May and June, Michels won't be present. But those shimmering, layered vocals will.

Bringing Two More Singers To The Party

Along with four-time GRAMMY-winning drummer extraordinaire Brian Blade and the great, indie-oriented bassist Josh Lattanzi, Jones will perform alongside singers Sasha Dobson and Sami Stevens, who will also chip in on guitar and keys.

"We had our first rehearsal yesterday, and it sounds incredible," Jones says, aglow. She then considers the nuances of bringing studio creations to life onstage.

"Sometimes, you want to hit all the parts and sometimes you can and sometimes you can't," she says. "And you have to strip a song back and it sounds just as great, because it's a good song, and that's always a good feeling."

Onstage, though, Jones says they'll have all the resources to pull it off. Call it Visions come to life, and made material.

Norah Jones On Her Two-Decade Evolution, Channeling Chris Cornell & Her First-Ever Live Album, 'Til We Meet Again

2024 GRAMMYs: Taylor Swift Makes GRAMMY History With Fourth Album Of The Year Win For 'Midnights'
Taylor Swift accepts Album Of The Year at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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2024 GRAMMYs: Taylor Swift Makes GRAMMY History With Fourth Album Of The Year Win For 'Midnights'

'Midnights' earned Taylor Swift her fourth Album Of The Year win at the 2024 GRAMMYs — the most of any artist of all time.

GRAMMYs/Feb 5, 2024 - 04:42 am

Taylor Swift has made GRAMMY history once again.

The pop superstar won the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year for Midnights at the 2024 GRAMMYs, marking her fourth win in the Category — the most Album Of The Year wins of any artist at the GRAMMYs. (She had been tied with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.) 

Swift was shocked as she accepted the award, bringing up her producer Jack Antonoff — who had already won the GRAMMY for Producer of the Year — and collaborator Lana Del Rey, who was also nominated for Album Of The Year for Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. She acknowledged both in her acceptance speech, calling Antonoff "a once in a generation producer" and Del Rey "a legacy artist, a legend in her prime right now." 

She continued, "I would love to tell you that this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song, or when I crack to code to a bridge I love, or when I'm shortlisting a music video, or when I'm rehearsing with my dancers or my band, or getting ready to go to Tokyo to play a show. For me the award is the work. All I wanna do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much, it makes me so happy." 

The 66th GRAMMY Awards were already a big night for Swift before her Album Of The Year victory. Midnights won Best Pop Vocal Album earlier in the telecast, marking her 13th win; as Swifties know, 13 is Swift's lucky number because of her Dec. 13 birthday.

And at the 2024 GRAMMYs, it was her lucky number indeed: along with making history, Swift used her first win to announce a brand-new album. Swift will release her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

2024 GRAMMYs: Victoria Monét Wins The GRAMMY For Best New Artist
Victoria Monét

Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

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2024 GRAMMYs: Victoria Monét Wins The GRAMMY For Best New Artist

Victoria Monét beats Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, and The War And Treaty.

GRAMMYs/Feb 5, 2024 - 04:22 am

Victoria Monét has won Best New Artist at the 66th GRAMMY Awards.

Tearfully accepting the award, the rising R&B star gave an eloquent speech in which she compared herself to a plant growing out of the soil of the music industry. 

“My roots have been growing underneath ground, unseen, for so long, and I feel like today I’m sprouting, finally above ground,” she said.

Monét beat out Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, and The War and Treaty for the award. It was given out by last year’s winner, Samara Joy.

She really puts in the work and she is being rewarded now more than ever for it," producer D'Mile, who has known Monét since the beginning of her career, recently told GRAMMY.com. "She grows more and more confident and sure about what she's aiming for as she continues her journey."

This was not Monét’s first win. Her album Jaguar II won Best Engineered Album and Best R&B Album earlier in the day during the GRAMMYs Premiere Ceremony.

Keep checking this space for more updates from Music’s Biggest Night!

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List