Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawai'ian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Yvonne Elliman, first Japanese American to win a Grammy

 

Yvonne Elliman's breakout single If I Can't Have You replaced the Bee Gees Night Fever at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 May 13, 1978.  Elliman rose to fame when she joined the traveling cast of Jesus Christ Superstar, written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber, as Mary Magdalene.    Her performance in the film version garnered her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.  

Born in Honolulu, Hawai'i Territory, December 29, 1951 of Chinese, Japanese, and Irish descent, Elliman had her first Billboard Hot 100 with I Don't Know How to Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971. 

She recorded If I Can't Have You, written by the Bee Gees in 1977. It became a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100 and was featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.  The album won a Grammy for Album of the Year in1978, making Elliman the first Japanese-American to win a Grammy. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ad1ItSxpSGc?si=hOiCHnp8NlU-rhha

"Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack reaches #1 1978

The soundtrack album from the movie Saturday Night Fever reached #1 on the Billboard 200 January 21, 1978 and stayed there for 24 weeks.  It generated three singles from the Bee Gees and one from Yvonne Elliman.  It is the second biggest-selling soundtrack of all time.  It won the Grammy for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1979.  It won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B album in 1979.  

The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004 and, in 2014, was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for being culturally significant.

Bee Gees' "Night Fever" reaches #1 1978

The Bee Gees' hit single Night Fever, which appeared on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, March 18, 1978 and remained there for 8 more weeks.  It finished at #2 on the year-end charts.  It is certified platinum in the US, selling 2.5M copies.

Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame 2004

My man Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame at the 46th awards ceremony February 8, 2004.  The single was released in September 1977 and won two Grammys in 1979 for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

Other songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame 2004 included Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, and the soundtracks to West Side Story, Fantasia and Saturday Night Fever.

"You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees hits #1 1976

The Bee Gees released Children of the World, their fourteenth studio album in September 1976, but released the single You Should Be Dancing earlier, in June.  September 4, 1976, the single made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

A year later, it was featured in the movie Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta.  It was their third #1 Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.