Four songs that should have won Record of the Year at the Grammys

1975 Grammy Record Of The Year Nominations 

• “Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John
• “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Roberta Flack
• “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell
• “Midnight At The Oasis” by Mariah Muldaur 
• “I Honestly Love You” by Olivia Newton-John.

If you don't already know which of those nominations won, take a guess and see if you are right. If you picked Olivia Newton-John with “I Honestly Love You”, then you were correct. It’s a piano-led ballad from her Long Live Love album. The chorus is memorable for a line or two, but not much else seems to stick in your mind. 

Newton-John does though give a great singing performance on “I Honestly Love You”. Due credit for that came with the 1975 Grammy for Best Female Vocal Pop Performance. The record itself was rated for its lush production and perhaps both that and her performance tipped the scales in its favour in the voting. 

Up against her, we had another super song from Elton John which outshines the winner. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” came from Elton’s 1974 Caribou album and represented another high point in his recordings. Years later, in 1991, a live version with Elton and George Michael revived the record again. 

The song starts softly with a typical Elton piano introduction and continues to grow. The way this song develops and adds in close harmonies to reach a great ending and fanfare of brass is just brilliant. The production values are high, as is the pleasure of hearing the song. There's just one thing missing, that Record Of The Year Grammy!