3 Classic Rock Grammy Award Winners From 1969 Who We Still Love

While the 1960s might have been the most significant and tumultuous decade of the 20th century, the end of the decade was just as wild. From a musical perspective, 1969 offered fans and followers a number of things to think hard about, from Woodstock to the end of The Beatles.

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Here below, we wanted to dive into one of the significant awards shows of the era. We wanted to look back and see which groups at the time were garnering the most glitz and glory. Indeed, these are three classic rock Grammy Award winners from 1969 we still stan.

Simon & Garfunkel

The harmonious duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel took home a number of awards at the 1969 Grammys, including the coveted trophy for Record of the Year. That accolade was bestowed upon the childhood friends-turned-classic rockers for the release of their iconic single, “Mrs. Robinson”, from the now-legendary late 1960s film The Graduate. They took home the award for Best Contemporary-Pop Performance – Vocal Duo or Group for the single, too.

José Feliciano

Nominated for Album of the Year for his LP, Feliciano!, José Feliciano lost that category to Glen Campbell. But Feliciano didn’t leave the 1969 Grammy Awards empty-handed. No, that night, the blind Puerto Rican musician beat out bands like Cream and Gary Puckett And The Union Gap to take home the trophy for Best New Artist. A year later, the artist would release one of the most memorable and beloved Christmas songs, “Feliz Navidad”.

Otis Redding

Not only does Otis Redding boast one of the most memorable singing voices of all time—that brilliant, luminous warble—but he is also a well-decorated artist. In 1969, he took home two Grammy Awards (before there were even any rock categories), nabbing Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male and Best Rhythm & Blues Song for the all-time song “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”. It’s interesting, how do you quantify or qualify one of the greatest songs ever written? Well, the 1969 Grammys tried to do just that in the moment with Redding’s classic.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns