It’s time once again to look back at a particularly contentious Grammys race from the past. In this case, we’re highlighting the Song of the Year award from the 1974 Grammy Awards, when five wildly diverse nominees battled it out.
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The Roberta Flack song “Killing Me Softly With His Song” took home the gold that fateful evening. But did it deserve it? First, the nominees. And then we render our judgment.
“Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” by Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando
Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown were go-to songwriters for Tony Orlando and Dawn, having already scored big with “Knock Three Times”. In this case, they penned a song about a convict who, upon his release, isn’t sure if he’s still welcome at home. It’s an uncharacteristically chipper song for such a downcast story. But, then again, that’s what folks wanted out of Orlando. Fun fact: Ringo Starr was allegedly the first one to whom the song was offered.
“Killing Me Softly With His Song” by Roberta Flack
Incredibly, Flack songs won this award two years in a row, which testifies to her incredible interpretive skills. After “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” earned the honors in 1973, she doubled up with this song. Lori Lieberman, who performed the song first and claimed she came up with the idea after seeing a Don McLean performance. That claim has been disputed throughout the years by credited writers Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox.
“Behind Closed Doors” by Charlie Rich
Charlie Rich started his career singing rockabilly. But once he found his way into the circle of legendary country producer Billy Sherrill, he started veering in that direction. Sherrill utilized Rich to show off his “countrypolitan sound,” which you can hear on “Behind Closed Doors”. Kenny O’Dell wrote it for Rich to sing. Contrary to the subterfuge implied by the title, the lyrics actually depict a happy, committed relationship that ignites in private.
“You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon
We don’t really care too much who the song is about. What matters most is how accurately Simon nailed the playboy type with her lyrics. She gets points for effortlessly sliding the word “gavotte” into the proceedings (and rhyming it with “yacht,” no less.) While pinpointing this guy in the character sketch, she also lets us in on her own heartbreak. We’ve all been noticing clouds in our own cups of coffee ever since.
“You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” by Stevie Wonder
This song deserves points for its historical significance. It signaled the beginning of Stevie Wonder’s auteur period, as he mostly left behind the shot-calling of the Motown brass for a series of incendiary records. You might scoff at it for being a bit too easy listening, especially compared to some of the funkier tracks he was turning out at the time. But as an open-hearted declaration of love, “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” stands out as a melodic marvel.
The Verdict
“Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” is fun as a sing-along, but doesn’t have a lot of weight behind it. “Behind Closed Doors”, although solidly written, feels more like a triumph of production.
“Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” somewhat cancel each other out as pleasant declarations of affection without a lot of bite. That leaves “You’re So Vain”, still one of the finest putdown songs of that or any era. It should have earned Carly Simon the Song of the Year title.
Photo by Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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