NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1999--

Forty years of GRAMMY(R) winners from 1958 to 1998, and Hall Of Fame inductees spanning 1938 (Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb) to 1971 (Marvin Gaye) are included

Arrives in stores November 16th

What started out as a breezy luncheon among Hollywood record company executives in the 1950s and ultimately turned into the most coveted musical accolade in the world is now the subject of THE ULTIMATE GRAMMY BOX.

This 4-CD deluxe boxed set is comprised entirely of musical performances that have either won a GRAMMY Award since its inception in 1958, or have been voted into the Recording Academy's Hall Of Fame established in 1973; all the music reflects the first 40 years of the influential GRAMMY Awards. In-store date has been set for November 16 on Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony Music.

THE ULTIMATE GRAMMY BOX weighs in with more than 70 musical selections representing the widest imaginable range of pop, rock, metal, soul, R&B, rap, Latin, jazz, blues, folk, country, and classical. Some of the most important and influential artists of all time -- many of whom do not ordinarily appear on collections such as this -- have lent their names and GRAMMY-winning performances to the project: Elvis Presley with "Heartbreak Hotel," Bob Dylan with "Cold Irons Bound," Bruce Springsteen with "The Ghost of Tom Joad," Billy Joel with "Just the Way You Are," Mariah Carey with "Vision Of Love," Whitney Houston with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto with "Girl From Ipanema," Marvin Gaye with "What's Going On," the late John Lennon with "(Just Like) Starting Over," and Bonnie Raitt with "I Can't Make You Love Me," to name just a few.

"The celebration of the GRAMMYs' first 40 years has invited us all to look back with pride and fondness at these thrilling four decades of artistic majesty and technical achievement," says Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "The astounding music in this impressive package is the reason the GRAMMYs exist and why the GRAMMYs honor the best in music each year: to help preserve music's legacy, support its ongoing vitality, and ensure this great cultural treasure is recognized and cherished as one of the most important elements of America's cultural heritage."

THE ULTIMATE GRAMMY BOX is a reflection of the diverse rock era that came of age along with the GRAMMY Awards, from "Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno, which swept the very first 1958 GRAMMY awards as Record Of the Year and Song Of the Year, to "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion, which won the same two awards 41 years later at last February's ceremonies.

At the same time, THE ULTIMATE GRAMMY BOX pays homage to more than a dozen of its equally prestigious Hall Of Fame inductees, a special classification of recordings founded by the Academy in 1973 to celebrate music's finest longstanding achievements, many of them recorded before the establishment of the GRAMMYs. Among the earliest vintage recordings on the boxed set are "A-Tisket A-Tasket" by Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra from 1938 (inducted in 1986) and "Take the 'A' Train" by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra from 1941 (inducted in 1976).

In addition, the set's extensive liner notes by Robert K. Oermann offer a compelling insider's look at the award's history.
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Grammy Boxed Set In Works

Forty years' worth of Grammy winners will be featured in a new 4-CD set. To be released Nov. 16, "The Ultimate Grammy Box" (Columbia/Legacy) will comprise 73 musical performances and artists that have either won a Grammy Award or been voted into the Recording Academy's Hall Of Fame, the latter of which was established in 1973.

Tracks from the rock, soul, pop, R&B, Latin, jazz, folk, country, and classical genres are represented. The selections will be sequenced in non-chronological order, in order to take the listener through a journey of tastes and times.

Cuts will span from "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volar é)" by Domenico Modugno, which won record and song of the year at the first Grammy Awards in 1958, to "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion, which received the same two honors at last February's ceremonies.

Other acts represented on the set include Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye, the Beach Boys, Paul McCartney & Wings, Stan Getz, Vladimir Horowitz, Bonnie Raitt, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Bee Gees, Yo-Yo Ma, Roy Orbison, Santana, Gloria Estefan, and Miles Davis, among others.

In addition, the box will be packaged with extensive liner notes by journalist and Grammy insider Robert K. Oermann.