Billy Joel's classic album "The Stranger" featuring the hits "Just the Way You Are," "Movin' Out" and "Only the Good Die Young" will be inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008, alongside a slate of other "recordings of significance" that include everything from Arturo Toscanini's 1953 recording of "Verdi: Otello" to The Police's "Roxanne" and the John Coltrane Quartet's "Ballads" album.
"The Stranger," released in 1977, was the album that turned Joel into a superstar. It sold more than 10 million copies, even holding the title of Columbia Records best-selling album in history until 1985, and landed him his first Grammy awards record and song of the year honors for "Just the Way You Are." The album, his first collaboration with producer Phil Ramone, was not only a commercial success, but an artistic one as well, featuring "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Vienna."
Recorded works are eligible for The Grammy Hall of Fame 25 years after their release and are seen to have significantly impact musical history, said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "This year's inductees span nine decades and represent a diverse array of genres from classical and show tunes to blues, jazz and rock and roll," Portnow said in a statement. "They exemplify the best qualities that make the recording arts such a vital part of our culture and each not only uniquely reflects the zeitgeist of its time, but also possesses the enduring power of transcending time."
The inductees -- which also include Michael Jackson's "Thriller," The Beatles' "Help!" and Prince's "1999" -- will be recognized as part of the 2008 Grammy Awards broadcast on Feb. 10.
The Grammy Hall of Fame's 2008 Inductees:
"ALFIE"
Dionne Warwick
Scepter (1967)
Pop (Single)
"ALWAYS ON MY MIND"
Willie Nelson
Columbia (1982)
Country (Single)
"AT SEVENTEEN"
Janis Ian
Columbia (1975)
Pop (Single)
BALLADS
John Coltrane Quartet
Impulse/MCA (1962)
Jazz (Album)
BEETHOVEN: THE FIVE PIANO CONCERTI (COMPLETE)
George Szell cond. Cleveland Orchestra; Leon Fleisher, piano
Columbia (1959 61)
Classical (Album)
BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 5
Arthur Nikisch cond. Berlin Philharmonic
Grammophon/Polydor (1914)
Classical (Album)
BELLINI: "CASTA DIVA (FROM NORMA)"
Rosa Ponselle; Giulio Setti cond. the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Victor (1929)
Classical (Single)
BIZET: CARMEN
Rise Stevens, Jan Peerce, Licia Albanese and Robert Merrill; Fritz Reiner, conductor; Robert Shaw, choral director;
RCA Victor Orchestra; Robert Shaw Chorale
RCA (1951)
Classical (Album)
BREEZIN'
George Benson
Warner Bros. (1976)
Pop (Album)
CABARET
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
ABC (1972)
Film & TV Soundtracks (Album)
"CHOO CHOO CH'BOOGIE"
Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five
Decca (1946)
R&B (Single)
COMPANY
Original Broadway Cast
Columbia (1970)
Musical Show (Album)
"CRYING IN THE CHAPEL"
The Orioles
Jubilee (1953)
R&B (Single)
"DEAD MAN'S CURVE"
Jan & Dean
Liberty (1964)
Rock (Single)
DON'T GO TO STRANGERS
Etta Jones
Prestige (1960)
Jazz (Album)
FOREVER CHANGES
Love
Elektra (1967)
Rock (Album)
"FREE BIRD"
Lynyrd Skynyrd
MCA (1973)
Rock (Single)
GADE: "JALOUSIE"
Arthur Fiedler cond. Boston Pops Orchestra
RCA Victor (1935)
Classical (Single)
"GENTLE ON MY MIND"
Glen Campbell
Capitol (1967)
Country (Single)
"GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY"
Billy Murray
Columbia (1905)
Traditional Pop (Single)
"GOLDFINGER"
Shirley Bassey
United Artists (1964)
Pop (Single)
THE HARDER THEY COME
Jimmy Cliff with Toots & The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, The Melodians, Scotty, and The Slickers
Island (1973)
Film & TV Soundtracks (Album)
"HELP!"
The Beatles
Capitol (1965)
Rock (Single)
"HE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS"
Marian Anderson
RCA Victor (1936)
Gospel (Single)
HOODOO MAN BLUES
Junior Wells
Delmark (1966)
Blues (Album)
HOTEL CALIFORNIA
Eagles
Asylum (1976)
Rock (Album)
"I'M A KING BEE"
Slim Harpo
Excello (1957)
Blues (Single)
"INDIAN LOVE CALL"
Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy
Victor (Red Seal) (1936)
Traditional Pop (Single)
"IT DON'T MEAN A THING (IF IT AIN'T GOT THAT SWING)"
Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra
Brunswick (1932)
Jazz (Single)
"IT'S NOT FOR ME TO SAY"
Johnny Mathis
Columbia (1957)
Traditional Pop (Single)
IVES: SYMPHONY NO. 2
Leonard Bernstein cond. New York Philharmonic
Columbia (1958)
Classical (Album)
"THE JAMES BOND THEME"
The John Barry Seven And Orchestra
United Artists (1962)
Pop (Single)
"JUKE"
Little Walter
Checker (1952)
Blues (Single)
"KING PORTER (STOMP)"
Benny Goodman And His Orchestra
Victor (1935)
Jazz (Single)
KORNGOLD: VIOLIN CONCERTO
Jascha Heifetz with Alfred Wallenstein cond. Los Angeles Philharmonic
RCA Victor (1949)
Classical (Album)
LISZT: SONATA IN B MINOR
Vladimir Horowitz
RCA Victor (1932)
Classical (Album)
"THE LOOK OF LOVE"
Dusty Springfield
RCA (1967)
Pop (Single)
MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 2
Otto Klemperer cond. Philharmonia Orchestra
EMI-Angel (1963)
Classical (Album)
"MONDAY, MONDAY"
The Mamas & The Papas
Dunhill (1966)
Pop (Single)
1999
Prince
Warner Bros. (1982)
Pop (Album)
OFF THE WALL
Michael Jackson
Epic (1979)
Pop (Album)
OLIVER!
Original Broadway Cast
Columbia (1962)
Musical Show (Album)
"OVER THERE"
Nora Bayes
Victor (1917)
Traditional Pop (Single)
PROKOFIEV: PETER AND THE WOLF (OPUS 67)
Serge Koussevitzky cond. Boston Symphony Orchestra; Richard Hale, narrator
Victor (Red Seal) (1939)
Classical (Album)
RAVEL: DAPHNIS ET CHLOE (COMPLETE BALLET)
Charles Munch cond. Boston Symphony Orchestra
RCA Victor (1955)
Classical (Album)
"ROXANNE"
The Police
A&M (1978)
Rock (Single)
"SEVEN COME ELEVEN"
Benny Goodman Sextet
Columbia (1940)
Jazz (Single)
"SH-BOOM"
The Chords
Cat (1954)
R&B (Single)
"SHINING STAR"
Earth, Wind & Fire
Columbia (1975)
R&B (Single)
SHOSTAKOVICH: CELLO CONCERTO NO. 1 IN E FLAT, OP. 107
Eugene Ormandy cond. Philadelphia Orchestra; Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist
Columbia (1960)
Classical (Album)
"SITTIN' ON TOP OF THE WORLD"
The Mississippi Sheiks
Okeh (1930)
Blues (Single)
"SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME"
Gertrude Lawrence
Victor (1927)
Traditional Pop (Single)
"ST. LOUIS BLUES"
Louis Armstrong
Okeh (1929)
Jazz (Single)
THE STRANGER
Billy Joel
Columbia (1977)
Pop (Album)
"STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT"
Frank Sinatra
Reprise (1966)
Traditional Pop (Single)
STRAUSS: ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA, OP. 30
Serge Koussevitzky cond. Boston Symphony Orchestra
RCA Victor (1935)
Classical (Album)
STRAUSS: DER ROSENKAVALIER, OP. 59 (ABRIDGED)
Robert Heger cond. the Vienna State Opera Chorus & Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Lotte Lehmann, Elisabeth
Schumann and Richard Mayr
RCA Victor (1933)
Classical (Album)
STRAUSS: DER ROSENKAVALIER
Herbert von Karajan cond. Philharmonia Orchestra; Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig and Teresa Stich-
Randall
Angel (1957)
Classical (Album)
"A TASTE OF HONEY"
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
A&M (1965)
Pop (Single)
THRILLER
Michael Jackson
Epic (1982)
Pop (Album)
"TOP HAT, WHITE TIE AND TAILS"
Fred Astaire
Brunswick (1935)
Traditional Pop (Single)
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Verve (1967)
Rock (Album)
VERDI: OTELLO
Arturo Toscanini cond. NBC Symphony; Herva Nelli, Ramon Vinay and Giuseppe Valdengo
RCA Victor (1953)
Classical (Album)
THE WALL
Pink Floyd
Capitol (1979)
Rock (Album)
"THE WALLFLOWER"(aka "ROLL WITH ME HENRY")
Etta James
Modern Records (1955)
R&B (Single)
"THE WAY WE WERE"
Barbra Streisand
Columbia (1974)
Pop (Single)
"WE ARE FAMILY"
Sister Sledge
Cotillion/Atlantic (1979)
R&B (Single)
"WEATHER BIRD"
Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines
Okeh (1928)
Jazz (Single)
"WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE"
Jackie DeShannon
Imperial (1965)
Pop (Single)
"YOU'RE THE TOP"
Ethel Merman
Brunswick (1934)
Traditional Pop (Single)