Rare 1960 Playboy All-Star Jazz Poll Special Award Medal Awarded to Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross

ARTIFACT: Rare 1960 Playboy All-Star Jazz Poll Special Award Medal awarded to Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross by Robbins Co. The front of the sterling silver medal shows the iconic bunny head wearing a bowtie in nice relief detail and surrounding it reads: "PLAYBOY ALL-STAR JAZZ POLL WINNER" and the reverse is engraved: "SPECIAL AWARD ALL-STARS ALL-STARS LAMBERT HENDRICKS & ROSS VOCAL GROUP 1960". The medal is tension mounted in a trophy stand. The group also appeared on Hugh Hefner's television program "Playboy's Penthouse" along with other jazz greats like Sara Vaughn, Tony Bennett, and Count Basie. Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross were a jazz vocal group that formed and released their first album in 1957, it consisted of versions of Count Basie standards and was titled Sing a Song of Basie. Count Basie liked it so much that the Count Basie Orchestra collaborated with them on an album in 1959 titled Sing Along with Basie which won a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998. Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross also won a Grammy in 1962 for Best Vocal Group Performance on their album High Flying. Lambert died in 1966 and Hendricks and Ross were recently featured in a 2012 documentary on Ross's life titled No One But Me.
The Playboy All-Star Jazz Festival was established in 1959 and held in Chicago – it was the first live American indoor jazz festival and nearly 70,000 people attended that first year. The line-up included legends, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bobby Darrin, and Oscar Peterson – nearly every jazz legend born has performed at the Playboy All-Star Jazz Fest which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2008. The Playboy All-Star Jazz Poll was conducted through the magazine beginning in 1957 making the Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross some of the first groups to be awarded the distinction.
History of the Playboy All-Star Jazz Festival and Poll Award

VINTAGE: Circa 1960

SIZE: Approximately 3-1/2" tall x 4" wide; Medal only: 2-1/2" in diameter; Base: 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

MATERIALS / CONSTRUCTION: Medal: Sterling silver; Stand: Chrome plated brass

ATTACHMENT: Medal is contained inside a trophy style mount

MARKINGS: "STERLING" and a Robbins Co. maker mark on the reverse of the medal, "491", "ER", "AIC" all on underside of base mount

ITEM NOTES: This is from a music collection which we will be listing more of over the next few months. CON-RJK-25-16 LFGEX8/16 SLEDEX6/17 SeVFDEX9/18

CONDITION: 8- (Very Fine—Excellent): The medal shows moderate wear mostly to high points, much of the plated details remain intact, overall very fine condition.