Grammy Award, any of a series of awards presented annually in the United States by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS; commonly called the Recording Academy) or the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS; commonly called the Latin Recording Academy) to recognize achievement in the music industry. Winners are selected from more than 25 fields, which cover such genres as pop, rock, rap, R&B, country, reggae, classical, gospel, and jazz, as well as production and postproduction work, including packaging and album notes. Four general awards are also given for record, album, song of the year, and best new artist; in total more than 75 awards are presented. The honorees receive a golden statuette of a gramophone.
Musicians Walter Becker (left) and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan posing with their Grammy Awards, Los …Vince Bucci—AFP/Getty Images
To be eligible for a Grammy from NARAS, the recording or music video must be released in the United States between October 1 of the previous year and midnight September 30 of the given Grammy year. Entries are submitted by record companies as well as members of the academy and are reviewed to determine eligibility and category placement. The voting members of NARAS, through a series of ballots, select five nominees for each award and ultimately the winner; the voters cast ballots only in their areas of expertise. The winners are announced during a televised ceremony.
The Grammy Awards were first presented by NARAS in Los Angeles in 1959, when 28 prizes were given. Winners included Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and the Kingston Trio. The number of awards has increased as musical genres have emerged. Rock was first recognized as a genre by the academy at the 1980 ceremony and rap at the 1989 presentation. An award for best music video was first handed out in 1982 to acknowledge the growing influence of the medium. In 2011 NARAS radically restructured the Grammy category system and reduced the total number of awards from 109 to 78. Gender-based categories were eliminated, as were those that distinguished between solo and group efforts. Awards recognizing genres such as Hawaiian music, Native American music, and zydeco were folded into a single category, dubbed “regional roots music,” and instrumental categories were drastically scaled back.
With the rise of Latin music, NARAS created LARAS in 1997. To be eligible for a Latin Grammy, a recording may be released anywhere in the world, but it must be recorded in the Spanish or Portuguese language between July 1 of the previous year and June 30 of the award year. The first Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was staged in Los Angeles in 2000, with Carlos Santana and Shakira among the winners.
Celia Cruz performing at the Latin Grammy Awards, 2002.Lucy Nicholson—AFP/Getty Images
Receipt of a Grammy of any sort usually results in greater record sales, as well as increased recognition to the artists. Among those who have received the most Grammys are Sir Georg Solti (32 awards), Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, and Chet Atkins.
Grammy Award winners
Select Grammy Award winners are provided in the table.
| year | record of the year* | song of the year** | album of the year | best new artist | |||||
| 1958 | "Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volaré)," Domenico Modugno | "Nel blu dipinto di blu ("Volaré)," Domenico Modugno | The Music from Peter Gunn, Henry Mancini | not awarded | |||||
| 1959 | "Mack the Knife," Bobby Darin | "The Battle of New Orleans," Jimmy Driftwood | Come Dance with Me, Frank Sinatra | Bobby Darin | |||||
| 1960 | "The Theme from ’A Summer Place,’ " Percy Faith | "Theme from Exodus," Ernest Gold | The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, Bob Newhart | Bob Newhart | |||||
| 1961 | "Moon River," Henry Mancini | "Moon River," Henry Mancini | Judy at Carnegie Hall, Judy Garland | Peter Nero | |||||
| 1962 | "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," Tony Bennett | "What Kind of Fool Am I?"*** | The First Family, Vaughn Meader | Robert Goulet | |||||
| 1963 | "Days of Wine and Roses," Henry Mancini | "Days of Wine and Roses," Henry Mancini | The Barbra Streisand Album, Barbra Streisand | Ward Swingle (the Swingle Singers) | |||||
| 1964 | "The Girl from Ipanema," Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto | "Hello, Dolly!," Louis Armstrong | Getz/Gilberto, Stan Getz and João Gilberto | the Beatles | |||||
| 1965 | "A Taste of Honey," Herb Alpert | "The Shadow of Your Smile (Love Theme from ’The Sandpiper’)," Tony Bennett | September of My Years, Frank Sinatra | Tom Jones | |||||
| 1966 | "Strangers in the Night," Frank Sinatra | "Michelle," the Beatles | A Man and His Music, Frank Sinatra | not awarded | |||||
| 1967 | "Up, Up, and Away," the 5th Dimension | "Up, Up, and Away," the 5th Dimension | Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles | Bobbie Gentry | |||||
| 1968 | "Mrs. Robinson," Simon and Garfunkel | "Little Green Apples"*** | By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Glen Campbell | José Feliciano | |||||
| 1969 | "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In," the 5th Dimension | "Games People Play," Joe South | Blood, Sweat and Tears, Blood, Sweat and Tears | Crosby, Stills and Nash | |||||
| 1970 | "Bridge over Troubled Water," Simon and Garfunkel | "Bridge over Troubled Water," Simon and Garfunkel | Bridge over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel | the Carpenters | |||||
| 1971 | "It’s Too Late," Carole King | "You’ve Got a Friend," Carole King | Tapestry, Carole King | Carly Simon | |||||
| 1972 | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Roberta Flack | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Roberta Flack | The Concert for Bangla Desh, George Harrison and Friends | America | |||||
| 1973 | "Killing Me Softly with His Song," Roberta Flack | "Killing Me Softly with His Song," Roberta Flack | Innervisions, Stevie Wonder | Bette Midler | |||||
| 1974 | "I Honestly Love You," Olivia Newton-John | "The Way We Were," Barbra Streisand | Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Stevie Wonder | Marvin Hamlisch | |||||
| 1975 | "Love Will Keep Us Together," Captain and Tennille | "Send in the Clowns," Judy Collins | Still Crazy After All These Years, Paul Simon | Natalie Cole | |||||
| 1976 | "This Masquerade," George Benson | "I Write the Songs," Barry Manilow | Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder | Starland Vocal Band | |||||
| 1977 | "Hotel California," the Eagles | "Love Theme from ’A Star Is Born’ (Evergreen)," Barbra Streisand; "You Light Up My Life," Debby Boone (tied) | Rumours, Fleetwood Mac | Debby Boone | |||||
| 1978 | "Just the Way You Are," Billy Joel | "Just the Way You Are," Billy Joel | Saturday Night Fever, the Bee Gees | A Taste of Honey | |||||
| 1979 | "What a Fool Believes," the Doobie Brothers | "What a Fool Believes," the Doobie Brothers | 52nd Street, Billy Joel | Rickie Lee Jones | |||||
| 1980 | "Sailing," Christopher Cross | "Sailing," Christopher Cross | Christopher Cross, Christopher Cross | Christopher Cross | |||||
| 1981 | "Bette Davis Eyes," Kim Carnes | "Bette Davis Eyes," Kim Carnes | Double Fantasy, John Lennon and Yoko Ono | Sheena Easton | |||||
| 1982 | "Rosanna," Toto | "Always on My Mind," Willie Nelson | Toto IV, Toto | Men at Work | |||||
| 1983 | "Beat It," Michael Jackson | "Every Breath You Take," the Police | Thriller, Michael Jackson | Culture Club | |||||
| 1984 | "What’s Love Got to Do with It," Tina Turner | "What’s Love Got to Do with It," Tina Turner | Can’t Slow Down, Lionel Richie | Cyndi Lauper | |||||
| 1985 | "We Are the World," USA for Africa | "We Are the World," USA for Africa | No Jacket Required, Phil Collins | Sade | |||||
| 1986 | "Higher Love," Steve Winwood | "That’s What Friends Are for," Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder | Graceland, Paul Simon | Bruce Hornsby and the Range | |||||
| 1987 | "Graceland," Paul Simon | "Somewhere Out There," Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram | The Joshua Tree, U2 | Jody Watley | |||||
| 1988 | "Don’t Worry, Be Happy," Bobby McFerrin | "Don’t Worry, Be Happy," Bobby McFerrin | Faith, George Michael | Tracy Chapman | |||||
| 1989 | "Wind Beneath My Wings," Bette Midler | "Wind Beneath My Wings," Bette Midler | Nick of Time, Bonnie Raitt | Milli Vanilli (revoked) | |||||
| 1990 | "Another Day in Paradise," Phil Collins | "From a Distance," Bette Midler | Back on the Block, Quincy Jones | Mariah Carey | |||||
| 1991 | "Unforgettable," Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole | "Unforgettable," Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole | Unforgettable: With Love, Natalie Cole | Marc Cohn | |||||
| 1992 | "Tears in Heaven," Eric Clapton | "Tears in Heaven," Eric Clapton | Unplugged, Eric Clapton | Arrested Development | |||||
| 1993 | "I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston | "A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme)," Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle | The Bodyguard, Whitney Houston | Toni Braxton | |||||
| 1994 | "All I Wanna Do," Sheryl Crow | "Streets of Philadelphia," Bruce Springsteen | MTV Unplugged, Tony Bennett | Sheryl Crow | |||||
| 1995 | "Kiss from a Rose," Seal | "Kiss from a Rose," Seal | Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette | Hootie and the Blowfish | |||||
| 1996 | "Change the World," Eric Clapton | "Change the World"*** | Falling into You, Celine Dion | LeAnn Rimes | |||||
| 1997 | "Sunny Came Home," Shawn Colvin | "Sunny Came Home," Shawn Colvin | Time Out of Mind, Bob Dylan | Paula Cole | |||||
| 1998 | "My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme from ’Titanic’)," Celine Dion | "My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme from ’Titanic’)," Celine Dion | The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill | Lauryn Hill | |||||
| 1999 | "Smooth," Santana featuring Rob Thomas | "Smooth," Santana featuring Rob Thomas | Supernatural, Santana | Christina Aguilera | |||||
| 2000 | "Beautiful Day," U2 | "Beautiful Day," U2 | Two Against Nature, Steely Dan | Shelby Lynne | |||||
| 2001 | "Walk On," U2 | "Fallin’," Alicia Keys | O Brother, Where Art Thou?, various artists | Alicia Keys | |||||
| 2002 | "Don’t Know Why," Norah Jones | "Don’t Know Why," Norah Jones | Come Away with Me, Norah Jones | Norah Jones | |||||
| 2003 | "Clocks," Coldplay | "Dance with My Father," Luther Vandross | Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, OutKast | Evanescence | |||||
| 2004 | "Here We Go Again," Ray Charles and Norah Jones | "Daughters," John Mayer | Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles and various artists | Maroon 5 | |||||
| 2005 | "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day | "Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own," U2 | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2 | John Legend | |||||
| 2006 | "Not Ready to Make Nice," Dixie Chicks | "Not Ready to Make Nice," Dixie Chicks | Taking the Long Way, Dixie Chicks | Carrie Underwood | |||||
| 2007 | "Rehab," Amy Winehouse | "Rehab," Amy Winehouse | River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock | Amy Winehouse | |||||
| 2008 | "Please Read the Letter," Robert Plant and Alison Krauss | "Viva la Vida," Coldplay | Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss | Adele | |||||
| 2009 | "Use Somebody," Kings of Leon | "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," Beyoncé | Fearless, Taylor Swift | Zac Brown Band | |||||
| 2010 | "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum | "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum | The Suburbs, Arcade Fire | Esperanza Spalding | |||||
| 2011 | "Rolling in the Deep," Adele | "Rolling in the Deep," Adele | 21, Adele | Bon Iver | |||||
| 2012 | "Somebody That I Used to Know," Gotye featuring Kimbra | "We Are Young," Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe | Babel, Mumford & Sons | Fun. | |||||
| 2013 | "Get Lucky," Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers | "Royals," Lorde | Random Access Memories, Daft Punk | Macklemore & Ryan Lewis | |||||
| 2014 | "Stay with Me," Sam Smith | "Stay with Me," Sam Smith | Morning Phase, Beck | Sam Smith | |||||
| 2015 | "Uptown Funk," Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars | "Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge | 1989, Taylor Swift | Meghan Trainor | |||||
| 2016 | "Hello," Adele | "Hello," Adele and Greg Kurstin | 25, Adele | Chance the Rapper | |||||
| *Record of the year recognizes the performance and production of a song. From 1958 to 1964 it was awarded to the recording artist, from 1965 to 1997 to the artist and producer(s), and since 1998 to the artist, producer(s), and recording engineer(s)/mixer(s). Recording artist is listed above. **Song of the year recognizes the writing of a song and is awarded to the songwriter only. Recording artist is listed above. ***Song was recorded by more than one artist during the eligibility period. | |||||||||
Latin Grammy Award winners
Select Latin Grammy Award winners are provided in the table.
| year | record of the year* | song of the year** | album of the year | best new artist |
| 2000 | "Corazón espinado," Santana featuring Maná | "Dímelo (I Need to Know)," Marc Anthony | Amarte es un placer, Luis Miguel | Ibrahim Ferrer |
| 2001 | "El alma al aire," Alejandro Sanz | "El alma al aire," Alejandro Sanz | El alma al aire, Alejandro Sanz | Juanes |
| 2002 | "Y solo se me ocurre amarte,"Alejandro Sanz | "Y solo se me ocurre amarte," Alejandro Sanz | MTV Unplugged, Alejandro Sanz | Jorge Moreno |
| 2003 | "Es por ti," Juanes | "Es por ti," Juanes | Un día normal, Juanes | David Bisbal |
| 2004 | "No es el mismo," Alejandro Sanz | "No es el mismo," Alejandro Sanz | No es lo mismo, Alejandro Sanz | Maria Rita |
| 2005 | "Tú no tienes alma," Alejandro Sanz | "Tú no tienes alma," Alejandro Sanz | Cantando histórias, Ivan Lins | Bebe |
| 2006 | "La tortura," Shakira | "La tortura," Shakira | Fijación oral, Vol. 1, Shakira | Calle 13 |
| 2007 | "La llave de mi corazón," Juan Luis Guerra | "La llave de mi corazón," Juan Luis Guerra | La llave de mi corazón, Juan Luis Guerra | Jesse & Joy |
| 2008 | "Me enamora," Juanes | "Me enamora," Juanes | La vida...es un ratico, Juanes | Kany García |
| 2009 | "No hay nadie como tú," Calle 13 | "Palabras del silencio," Luis Fonsi | Los de atrás vienen conmigo, Calle 13 | Alexander Acha |
| 2010 | "Mientes," Camila | "Mientes," Camila | A son de Guerra, Juan Luis Guerra | Alex Cuba |
| 2011 | "Latinoamérica," Calle 13 | "Latinoamérica," Calle 13 | Entren los que quieran, Calle 13 | Sie7e |
| 2012 | "¡Corre!," Jesse & Joy | "¡Corre!," Jesse & Joy | MTV Unplugged, Juanes | 3BallMTY |
| 2013 | "Vivir mi vida," Marc Anthony | "Volví a nacer," Carlos Vives | Vida, Draco Rosa | Gaby Moreno |
| 2014 | "Universos paralelos," Jorge Drexler featuring Ana Tijoux | "Bailando," Enrique Iglesias featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona | Canción andaluza, Paco de Lucía | Mariana Vega |
| 2015 | "Hasta la raíz," Natalia Lafourcade | "Hasta la raíz," Natalia Lafourcade | Todo tiene su hora, Juan Luis Guerra | Monsieur Periné |
| 2016 | "La Bicicleta," Carlos Vives and Shakira | "La Bicicleta," Andrés Castro, Shakira, and Carlos Vives | Los Dúo 2, Juan Gabriel | Manuel Medrano |
| *Record of the year recognizes the performance and production of a song and is awarded to the recording artist, producer(s), and engineer(s)/mixer(s). Recording artist is listed above. **Song of the year recognizes the writing of a song and is awarded to the songwriter only. Recording artist is listed above. | ||||
Learn More in these related articles:
Additional Media
External Links
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Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Grammy Award - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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AdvertisementThe Grammy Awards are any of a series of awards presented annually in the United States by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS; commonly called the Recording Academy) or the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS; commonly called the Latin Recording Academy) to recognize achievement in the music industry. Winners are selected from more than 25 fields, which cover such genres as pop, rock, rap, R&B, country, reggae, classical, gospel, and jazz, as well as production and postproduction work, including packaging and album notes. Four general awards are also given for record, album, song of the year, and best new artist; in total more than 75 awards are presented. The honorees receive a golden statuette of a gramophone.
