69. 1950
The turn of the decade was a bit better, with Benny Goodman’s album, “The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall azz Concert” taking the lead in the race for Best Album. Other than this jazzy wonder, the biggest record of 1950 belonged to Nat King Cole.
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His record Mona Lisa won an Oscar for Best Original Song and spent five weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard’s Singles Chart. In 1992, his version was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Other great songs of the year include “Goodnight, Irene” by Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers and “Sam’s Song” by Gary & Bing Crosby.