Two 1962 Grammy winners:
Diva: Song of the Year - - "What Kind of Fool Am I?," Sammy Davis Jr.
Mensch: Record of the Year - - "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," Tony Bennett
Tony is fully formed, to be sure, but Sammy is overblown! In a thrilling way. Just listen to what he does with the word "words" at 1:15, it cracks me up. The arrangement is a riot, the instrumental break in particular. I feel like a song is automatically in the diva camp if the instrumental break starts with a flourish from the harp. And then the key change, and the freaking finale - - Sammy sounds like a dream (what a voice on that guy) but the ending is totally "Theme of Exodus" in its self-importance. And of course, a major seizure on the harp.
And then there's Tony. Yes, it's still a big deal studio production but it's so much more contained, tender, and sincere. Sammy had a harp making the whole thing sound grand - - Tony has the piano keeping it intimate.
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