Which Diana Ross album won Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the first AMAs?

Lady Sings the Blues won Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Diana Ross at the first American Music Awards. The album was the soundtrack to the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues, in which Ross portrayed jazz singer Billie Holiday.

Ross’s performance earned her an Academy Award nomination, and the soundtrack became a major commercial success. At the inaugural AMAs, held in January 1974, it competed against releases including Seals & Crofts’ Summer Breeze. The award recognized the album’s popularity with American record buyers rather than the judgment of a recording academy.

A common mix-up is confusing this victory with Ross’s other successful 1970s albums, such as Touch Me in the Morning or Last Time I Saw Him. The first ceremony honored music released during the preceding eligibility period, so the award’s date and the album’s release date are not the same.