1961 Grammy Awards (3rd) – Complete List of Winners and Nominees
The 3rd Annual Grammy Awards took place on April 13, 1961, honoring recordings released between July 1, 1959, and September 30, 1960. A significant moment arrived with Bob Newhart's win for Best New Artist and Album of the Year for his groundbreaking comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.
This was a rare instance of a non-musical album taking a top honor, highlighting the Academy's willingness to embrace various forms of recorded performance. Percy Faith's lush instrumental "Theme from A Summer Place" earned Record of the Year, demonstrating the continued appeal of orchestral and cinematic scores.
Elvis Presley received his first Grammy for Best Sacred Performance. The event continued to gain traction, showcasing the evolving landscape of American entertainment and the Academy's expanding influence in recognizing a broader spectrum of recorded artistry beyond just popular songs.
Record Of The Year
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Percy Faith & His Orchestra | The Theme From A Summer Place |
| Nominee | Frank Sinatra | Nice 'N Easy |
| Nominee | Ella Fitzgerald | Mack The Knife |
| Nominee | Ray Charles | Georgia On My Mind |
| Nominee | Elvis Presley | Are You Lonesome Tonight? |
Album Of The Year
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Bob Newhart | The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart |
| Nominee | Nat King Cole | Wild Is Love |
| Nominee | Erich Leinsdorf, conductor | Puccini: Turandot |
| Nominee | Frank Sinatra | Nice 'N Easy |
| Nominee | Erich Leinsdorf, conductor; Sviatoslav Richter, piano | Brahms: Concerto |
| Nominee | Harry Belafonte | Belafonte Returns To Carnegie Hall |
Song Of The Year
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ernest Gold | Theme From Exodus |
| Nominee | Percy Faith | Theme From A Summer Place |
| Nominee | Frank Sinatra | Second Time Around |
| Nominee | Frank Sinatra | Nice 'n Easy |
| Nominee | Jim Reeves | He'll Have To Go |
Best Vocal Performance Single Record Or Track, Female
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ella Fitzgerald | Mack The Knife |
| Nominee | Doris Day | Sound Of Music |
| Nominee | Brenda Lee | I'm Sorry |
| Nominee | Peggy Lee | I'm Gonna Go Fishin' |
| Nominee | Eileen Farrell | I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues |
Best Vocal Performance Album, Female
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ella Fitzgerald | Mack The Knife - Ella In Berlin |
| Nominee | Miriam Makeba | Miriam Makeba |
| Nominee | Peggy Lee | Latin Ala Lee |
| Nominee | Della Reese | Della |
| Nominee | Rosemary Clooney | Clap Hands, Here Comes Rosie |
Best Vocal Performance Single Record Or Track, Male
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ray Charles | Georgia On My Mind |
| Nominee | Frank Sinatra | Nice 'N Easy |
| Nominee | Johnny Mathis | Misty |
| Nominee | Jim Reeves | He'll Have To Go |
| Nominee | Elvis Presley | Are You Lonesome Tonight? |
Best Vocal Performance Album, Male
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ray Charles | The Genius Of Ray Charles |
| Nominee | Nat King Cole | Wild Is Love |
| Nominee | Frank Sinatra | Nice 'N Easy |
| Nominee | Elvis Presley | G.I. Blues |
| Nominee | Harry Belafonte | Belafonte Returns To Carnegie Hall |
Best Arrangement
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Henry Mancini, arranger (Henry Mancini) | Mr. Lucky |
| Nominee | Dick Schory, arranger (Dick Schory) | Wild Percussion And Horns A'Plenty |
| Nominee | Don Costa, arranger (Ferrante And Teicher) | Theme From The Apartment |
| Nominee | Percy Faith, arranger (Percy Faith) | Theme From A Summer Place |
| Nominee | Nelson Riddle, arranger (Frank Sinatra) | Nice 'N' Easy |
| Nominee | Quincy Jones, arranger (Ray Charles) | Let The Good Times Roll |
| Nominee | Bill Holman, arranger (Gerry Mulligan) | I'm Gonna Go Fishin' |
| Nominee | Billy May & George Shearing, arrangers (George Shearing) | Honeysuckle Rose |
Best Performance By A Band For Dancing
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Count Basie | Dance With Basie |
| Nominee | Henry Mancini | The Blues And The Beat |
| Nominee | Billy May | Girls And Boys On Broadway |
| Nominee | Perez Prado | Big Hits By Prado |
| Nominee | Les Brown | Bandland |
Best Performance By An Orchestra
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Henry Mancini | Mr. Lucky |
| Nominee | Percy Faith | Theme From A Summer Place |
| Nominee | Count Basie | The Count Basie Story |
| Nominee | Gerry Mulligan | The Concert Jazz Band |
| Nominee | Esquivel | Infinity In Sound |
Best Performance By A Vocal Group (2 To 6)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Eydie Gorme & Steve Lawrence | We Got Us |
| Nominee | Swe-Danes | Scandinavian Shuffle |
| Nominee | The Kingston Trio | Here We Go Again |
| Nominee | The Brothers Four | Greenfields |
| Nominee | The Hi-Los | All Over The Place |
Best Performance By A Chorus (7 Or More Persons)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Norman Luboff Choir | Songs Of The Cowboy |
| Nominee | Robert Shaw Chorale | That Wondrous Love |
| Nominee | Pete King Chorale | My Favorite Things |
| Nominee | Ray Charles Singers | Deep Night |
| Nominee | Belafonte Folk Singers | Belafonte Returns To Carnegie Hall |
Best Jazz Performance Solo Or Small Group
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Andre Previn | West Side Story |
| Nominee | George Shearing | White Satin |
| Nominee | Dizzy Gillespie And His Octet | The Greatest Trumpet Of Them All |
| Nominee | Modern Jazz Quartet | Pyramid |
| Nominee | Miles Davis | Jazz |
| Nominee | Art Tatum | Greatest Piano Of Them All |
| Nominee | Lambert, Hendricks And Ross | The Hottest New Group In Jazz |
| Nominee | Duke Ellington And Johnny Hodges | Back To Back - Duke Ellington And Johnny Hodges Play The Blues |
Best Jazz Performance Large Group
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Henry Mancini | Blues And The Beat |
| Nominee | Quincy Jones | The Great Wide World Of Quincy Jones |
| Nominee | Count Basie | The Count Basie Story |
| Nominee | Miles Davis And Gil Evans | Sketches Of Spain |
| Nominee | Gerry Mulligan | I'm Gonna Go Fishin' |
Best Classical Performance - Orchestra
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) | Bartók: Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste |
| Nominee | (Philadelphia Orchestra) | Tchaikovsky: Sixth Symphony |
| Nominee | (Boston Symphony Orchestra) | Stravinsky: Petrouchka |
| Nominee | (London Symphony Orchestra) | Schubert: Symphony # 9 |
| Nominee | (New York Philharmonic) | Ives: Symphony # 2 |
| Nominee | (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) | Haydn: Salomon Symphonies Vol. 2 |
| Nominee | (Morton Gould Orchestra) | Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite |
| Nominee | (Boston Symphony Orchestra) | Copland: Appalachian Spring |
Best Classical Performance - Vocal Or Instrumental - Chamber Music
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Laurindo Almeida, artist | Conversations With The Guitar |
| Nominee | Clifford Curzon, artist | Schubert: /Trout Quintet/ |
| Nominee | Smetana Quartet, artists | Janácek String Quartets Nos. 1 And 2 |
| Nominee | Yehudi Menuhin, artist | J.S. Bach: The Complete Brandenburg Concerti |
| Nominee | Griller Quartet, artists | Haydn: Quartets, Opus 71 And 74 |
| Nominee | Juilliard String Quartet (Claus Adam, Isidore Cohen, Raphael Hillyer & Robert Mann), artists | Debussy And Ravel: Quartets |
| Nominee | Victor Babin, Joseph Eger & Henryk Szeryng, artists | Brahms: Horn Trio And Beethoven: Sonata For Horn And Piano |
| Nominee | - | Bach: Cantata No. 4; Christ Lag In Todesbaden (Christ Lay In The Bonds Of Death) |
Best Classical Performance - Concerto Or Instrumental Soloist
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Sviatoslav Richter, artist (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) | Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 In B Flat |
| Nominee | Jascha Heifetz, artist | Sibelius: Violin Concerto In D |
| Nominee | Van Cliburn, artist | Schumann: Piano Concerto In A |
| Nominee | Malcolm Frager, artist | Prokofiev: Piano Concerto # 2 |
| Nominee | Gervase De Peyer, artist | Mozart: Clarinet Concerto |
| Nominee | Pierre Fournier, Zino Francescatti & Rudolf Serkin, artists | Brahms: Double Concerto For Violin And Cello |
| Nominee | Glenn Gould, artist | Bach: Concerto No. 5 |
Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist Or Duo (Other Than With Orchestral Accompaniment)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Laurindo Almeida, artist | The Spanish Guitars Of Laurindo Almeida |
| Nominee | Julian Bream, artist | The Art Of Julian Bream |
| Nominee | Sviatoslav Richter, artist | Prokofiev: Sonata # 7 And Pictures At An Exhibition |
| Nominee | Vladimir Horowitz, artist | Pictures At An Exhibition |
| Nominee | Wanda Landowska, artist | Haydn: ..Landowska |
| Nominee | Artur Rubinstein, artist | Chopin Ballades |
| Nominee | Paul Maynard, artist | Brahms: Keyboard Music Of The French Court |
| Nominee | Jaime Laredo, artist | Bach: Partita No. 3 In E And Brahms: Sonata No. 3 In D Minor |
Best Classical Performance - Vocal Soloist
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | NOMINEES | A Program Of Song - Leontyne Price Recital |
| Nominee | Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau | Schuman: Dichterliebe |
| Nominee | Maureen Forrester | Schubert: Songs, Album 3 |
| Nominee | Joan Sutherland | Mahler: Kindertotenlieder |
| Nominee | Salli Terri | Handel Arias |
| Nominee | Peter Pears | Conversations With The Guitar |
| Nominee | Eileen Farrell | Britten: Nocturne |
| Nominee | - | Arias In The Great Tradition |
Best Classical Opera Production
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Erich Leinsdorf (Rome Opera Orchestra) | Puccini: Turandot |
| Nominee | Tullio Serafin | Verdi: La Traviata |
| Nominee | Herbert von Karajan (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) | Verdi: Aida |
| Nominee | Erich Leinsdorf | Verdi-Shakespeare: Macbeth |
| Nominee | Tullio Serafin | Puccini: La Boheme |
| Nominee | Georges Pretre (Paris Opera Comique Chorus; Theatre Orchestra Of Paris) | Poulenc-Cocteau: La Voix Humaine |
| Nominee | Josef Krips | Mozart: Don Giovanni |
| Nominee | Benjamin Britten | Britten: Peter Grimes |
| Nominee | Tullio Serafin | Boito: Mefistofele |
Best Classical Performance - Choral (Including Oratorio)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (Royal Philharmonic Chorus; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) | Handel: Messiah |
| Nominee | (Vienna Philharmonic Society Of Friends; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) | Verdi: Requiem |
| Nominee | (Roger Wagner Chorale) | Vaughan Williams: Mass In G Minor/Bach: Christ Lay In The Bonds Of Death |
| Nominee | Charles Munch | Dvorák: Requiem |
| Nominee | (New England Conservatory Chorus) | Berlioz: Requiem |
| Nominee | (Robert Chorale Shaw) | Bach: Motet No. 3 - Jesu Meine Fresude |
| Nominee | - | Arias, Anthems And Chorales Of The American Moravians - Vol. I |
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Aaron Copland, composer | Copland: Orchestral Suite From Tender Land Suite |
| Nominee | Edgard Varese, composer | Varese: Density 21.5 |
| Nominee | Igor Stravinsky, composer | Stravinsky: Threni |
| Nominee | Roger Sessions, composer | Sessions: Sym. # 1 |
| Nominee | Francis Poulenc, composer | Poulenc: La Voix Humaine |
| Nominee | Charles Ives, composer | Ives: Symphony # 2 |
| Nominee | Paul Hindemith, composer | Hindemith: Sonata For Cello And Piano |
| Nominee | Easley Blackwood, composer | Blackwood: Symphony # 1 |
Best Soundtrack Album Or Recording Of Music Score From A Motion Picture Of Television
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ernest Gold, composer (Ernest Gold) | Exodus |
| Nominee | Nelson Riddle, composer (Nelson Riddle) | The Untouchables (Television) |
| Nominee | Adolph Deutch, composer (Various Artists) | The Apartment (Motion Picture) |
| Nominee | Henry Mancini, composer (Henry Mancini) | Mr. Lucky (TV) |
| Nominee | Miklos Rozsa, composer (Miklos Rozsa) | Ben Hur (Motion Picture) |
Best Sound Track Album Or Recording Of Original Cast From Motion Picture Or Television
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Cole Porter, composer (Frank Sinatra And Original Cast) | Can Can |
| Nominee | Nelson Riddle, composer (Nelson Riddle) | Li'l Abner (Motion Picture) |
| Nominee | Elvis Presley, artist (Elvis Presley) | G.I. Blues (Motion Picture) |
| Nominee | Betty Comden, Adolph Green & Jule Styne, composers (Judy Holliday, Dean Martin And Original Cast) | Bells Are Ringing (Motion Picture) |
Best Show Album (Original Cast)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Oscar Hammerstein II & Richard Rodgers, composers (Mary Martin And Original Broadway Cast) | The Sound Of Music |
| Nominee | Meredith Willson, composer (Original Broadway Cast) | The Unsinkable Molly Brown |
| Nominee | Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick, composers (Original Broadway Cast) | Fiorello |
| Nominee | Alan J. Lerner & Frederick Loewe, composers (Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet) | Camelot |
| Nominee | Lee Adams & Charles Strouse, composers (Chita Rivera, Dick Van Dyke, Paul Lynde) | Bye Bye Birdie |
Best Comedy Performance - Spoken Word
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Bob Newhart | The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! |
| Nominee | Jonathan Winters | The Wonderful World Of Jonathan Winters |
| Nominee | Shelley Berman | The Edge Of Shelley Berman |
| Nominee | Carl Reiner And Mel Brooks | 2000 Year Old Man |
Best Comedy Performance - Musical
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Jonathan & Darlene Edwards (Jo Stafford And Paul Weston) | Jonathan And Darlene Edwards In Paris |
| Nominee | Stan Freberg | The Old Payola Roll Blues |
| Nominee | Homer And Jethro | Homer And Jethro At The Country Club |
| Nominee | Tom Lehrer | An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer |
| Nominee | David Seville And The Chipmunks | Alvin For President |
Best Performance - Documentary Or Spoken Word (Other Than Comedy)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) | FDR Speaks |
| Nominee | Henry Fonda | Voices Of The Twentieth Century |
| Nominee | John Gielgud | Part Two Of Shakespeare's /Ages Of Man/, /One Man In This Time/ |
| Nominee | Archibald MacLeish | J.B. |
Best Performance By A Pop Single Artist
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Georgia On My Mind | - |
| Nominee | Nice 'N Easy (Single) | - |
| Nominee | Mack The Knife (Single) | - |
| Nominee | Heart (Single) | - |
| Nominee | Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Single) | - |
Best Country & Western Performance
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Marty Robbins | El Paso |
| Nominee | Ferlin Husky | Wings Of A Dove |
| Nominee | Hank Locklin | Please Help Me, I'm Falling |
| Nominee | Johnny Horton | North To Alaska |
| Nominee | Jim Reeves | He'll Have To Go |
Best Rhythm & Blues Performance
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ray Charles | Let The Good Times Roll |
| Nominee | Bo Diddley | Walkin' And Talkin' |
| Nominee | John Lee Hooker | Travelin' |
| Nominee | LaVerne Baker | Shake A Hand |
| Nominee | Jackie Wilson | Lonely Teardrops |
| Nominee | Muddy Waters | Got My Mojo Working |
| Nominee | Hank Ballard | Finger Poppin' Time |
| Nominee | Etta James | All I Could Do Was Cry |
Best Performance - Folk
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Harry Belafonte | Swing Dat Hammer |
| Nominee | Alan Lomax | Southern Folk Heritage Series |
| Nominee | Ewan MacColl | Songs Of Robert Burns |
| Nominee | Jimmy Driftwood | Songs Of Billy Yank And Johnny Reb |
| Nominee | Miriam Makeba | Miriam Makeba |
| Nominee | The Kingston Trio | Here We Go Again |
| Nominee | The Brothers Four | Greenfields |
| Nominee | Belafonte Folk Singers | Cheers |
Best Album Created For Children
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (David Seville And The Chipmunks) Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. | Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks |
| Nominee | Ralph Bellamy | Stories And Songs Of The Civil War |
| Nominee | Sterling Holloway | Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes |
| Nominee | Pete Seeger | Folk Songs For Young People |
| Nominee | Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss Presents Bartholomew And The Oobleck |
| Nominee | (Various Artists) | Adventures In Music, Grade 3, Volume 1 |
Best Engineering Contribution - Classical Recording
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Hugh Davies, engineer (Laurindo Almeida, guitar) | The Spanish Guitars Of Laurindo Almeida |
| Nominee | John Kraus, engineer (Leonard Pennario) | The Two Pianos Of Leonard Pennario |
| Nominee | Lewis W. Layton, engineer (Fritz Reiner, conductor) | R. Strauss: Don Quixote |
| Nominee | Lewis W. Layton, engineer (Erich Leinsdorf, conductor) | Puccini: Turandot |
| Nominee | Lewis W. Layton, engineer (Charles Munch, conductor) | Berlioz: Requiem |
| Nominee | Lewis W. Layton, engineer (Fritz Reiner, conductor) | Bartók: Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste |
| Nominee | Lewis W. Layton, engineer (Fritz Reiner, conductor) | Alexander Nevsky |
Best Engineering Contribution - Popular Recording
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Luis P. (Val) Valentin, engineer (Ella Fitzgerald) | Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Songbook |
| Nominee | Robert Simpson, engineer (Dick Schory) | Wild Percussion And Horns A'Plenty |
| Nominee | John Kraus, engineer (Nat King Cole) | Wild Is Love |
| Nominee | Robert Fine, engineer (Terry Snyder And The All Stars) | Persuasive Percussion #2 |
| Nominee | Luis P. (Val) Valentin, engineer (Louis Bellson) | Louis Bellson Swings Jule Styne |
| Nominee | John Norman, engineer (Esquivel) | Infinity In Sound |
| Nominee | Robert Simpson, engineer (Harry Belafonte) | Belafonte Returns To Carnegie Hall |
Best Engineering Contribution - Novelty Recording
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | John Kraus, engineer (Stan Freberg) | The Old Payola Roll Blues |
| Nominee | Thorne Nogar, engineer (Spike Jones) | Spike Jones In Hi-Fi |
| Nominee | John Crawford, Anthony Salvatore & Robert Simpson, engineers (John Klein) | New Sounds America Loves Best |
| Nominee | George Fernandez, engineer (Larry Verne) | Mr. Custer |
| Nominee | Ted (Theodore) Keep, engineer (David Seville) | Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks |
| Nominee | John Kraus, engineer (Jack Cookerly) | June Night |
| Nominee | Ted (Theodore) Keep, engineer (David Seville And The Chipmunks) | Alvin For President |
Best Album Cover
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Marvin Schwartz, art director (Peggy Lee) | Latin A La Lee |
| Nominee | Robert M. Jones, art director (Dick Schory) | Wild Percussion And Horns A'Plenty |
| Nominee | Robert M. Jones, art director (Fritz Reiner) | Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite Excerpts |
| Nominee | Robert M. Jones, art director (Pierre Monteux) | Stravinsky: Petrouchka |
| Nominee | Robert M. Jones, art director (Fritz Reiner) | Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky |
| Nominee | Irving Werbin, art director (Fred Astaire) | Now! Fred Astaire |
| Nominee | Sheldon Marks, art director (Ella Fitzgerald) | Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Song Book |
| Nominee | Robert M. Jones, art director (Carlos Montoya) | Carlos Montoya |
| Nominee | Marvin Israel, art director (Milt Jackson) | Bean Bags |
Best New Artist Of 1960
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Bob Newhart | - |
| Nominee | The Brothers Four | - |
| Nominee | Joanie Sommers | - |
| Nominee | Leontyne Price | - |
| Nominee | Miriam Makeba | - |
Best Jazz Composition Of More Than Five Minutes Duration
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Miles Davis & Gil Evans, composers (Gil Evans And Miles Davis) | Sketches Of Spain |
| Nominee | Jimmy Giuffre, composer (Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Brookmeyer & Jim Hall) | Western Suite |
| Nominee | John Lewis, composer (Modern Jazz Quartet & Guests) | Sketch |
| Nominee | Maynard Ferguson, composer (Maynard Ferguson) | Newport Suite |
| Nominee | Duke Ellington, composer (Duke Ellington) | Idiom '59 |
| Nominee | Bob Brookmeyer, composer (Bob Brookmeyer) | Blues Suite |
| Nominee | Dave Brubeck, composer (Dave Brubeck) | Blue Rondo A La Turk |
