1966 Grammy Awards (8th) – Complete List of Winners and Nominees
On March 15, 1966, the 8th Grammy Awards celebrated music from October 1, 1964, to September 30, 1965. Frank Sinatra continued to demonstrate his enduring reign as a musical titan, with his classic "Strangers in the Night" winning Record of the Year and his reflective album September of My Years securing Album of the Year.
Tom Jones, with his charismatic stage presence and powerful voice, was deservedly named Best New Artist. Other notable recipients included Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.
This ceremony largely reflected a continued emphasis on traditional pop and vocal artistry, even as the global phenomenon of rock and roll was gaining unstoppable momentum. The Grammys were in a fascinating transitional phase, striving to balance the rich legacy of established genres with the raw energy and innovation of emerging sounds.
Record Of The Year
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass | A Taste Of Honey |
| Nominee | The Beatles | Yesterday |
| Nominee | Tony Bennett | The Shadow Of Your Smile (Love Theme From /The Sandpiper/) |
| Nominee | Ramsey Lewis Trio | The /In/ Crowd |
| Nominee | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
Album Of The Year
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Frank Sinatra | September Of My Years |
| Nominee | Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass | Whipped Cream And Other Delights |
| Nominee | Julie Andrews And Cast | The Sound Of Music (Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| Nominee | Eddy Arnold | My World |
| Nominee | Barbra Streisand | My Name Is Barbra |
| Nominee | The Beatles | Help! |
Album Of The Year -- Classical
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Vladimir Horowitz, artist; Thomas Frost, producer | Horowitz At Carnegie Hall - An Historic Return |
| Nominee | Erich Leinsdorf & Leontyne Price, artists; Richard Mohr, producer | Strauss: Salome (Dance Of The Seven Veils, Interlude And Final Scene)/The Egyptian Helen (Awakening Scene) |
| Nominee | Leopold Stokowski, artist; John McClure, producer | Ives: Symphony No. 4 |
| Nominee | Artur Rubinstein, artist; Max Wilcox, producer | Chopin: 8 Polonaises, 4 Impomptus (Andante Spianato, Grand Polonaise, Polonaises 1 And 7, Fantasie-Impromptu) |
| Nominee | Karl Bohm, artist; Otto Gerdes, producer | Berg: Wozzeck |
Song Of The Year
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Tony Bennett | The Shadow Of Your Smile (Love Theme From /The Sandpiper/) |
| Nominee | The Beatles | Yesterday |
| Nominee | Frank Sinatra | September Of My Years |
| Nominee | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
| Nominee | Michel Legrand | I Will Wait For You - Theme From The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg |
Best Vocal Performance, Female
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Barbra Streisand | My Name Is Barbra |
| Nominee | Jackie DeShannon | What The World Needs Now Is Love |
| Nominee | Astrud Gilberto | The Astrud Gilberto Album |
| Nominee | Nancy Wilson | Gentle Is My Love |
| Nominee | Petula Clark | Downtown |
Best Vocal Performance, Male
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Frank Sinatra | It Was A Very Good Year |
| Nominee | Paul McCartney | Yesterday |
| Nominee | Tony Bennett | The Shadow Of Your Smile (Love Theme From /The Sandpiper/) |
| Nominee | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
| Nominee | Glenn Yarbrough | Baby The Rain Must Fall |
Best Instrumental Performance, Non-Jazz
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass | A Taste Of Honey |
| Nominee | Chet Atkins | Yakety Axe |
| Nominee | Horst Jankowski | Walk In The Black Forest |
| Nominee | Henry Mancini | The Great Race |
| Nominee | Neal Hefti | Girl Talk |
Best Performance By A Vocal Group
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Anita Kerr Singers | We Dig Mancini |
| Nominee | We Five | You Were On My Mind |
| Nominee | Herman's Hermits | Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter |
| Nominee | The Beatles | Help! |
| Nominee | The Statler Brothers | Flowers On The Wall |
Best Performance By A Chorus
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ward Swingle (The Swingle Singers) | Anyone For Mozart? |
| Nominee | Robert Shaw Chorals | The Robert Shaw Chorale And Orchestra On Broadway |
| Nominee | Paul Horn And chorus | Jazz Suite On The Mass Texts |
| Nominee | Henry Mancini | Dear Heart And Other Songs About Love |
| Nominee | The New Christy Minstrels | Chim Chim Cher-ee And Other Happy Songs |
Best Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or Television Show
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Johnny Mandel, composer (Robert Armbruster Orchestra) | The Sandpiper |
| Nominee | Mikis Theodorakis, composer (Various Artists) | Zorba The Greek (Motion Picture) |
| Nominee | Jacques Demy & Michel Legrand, composers (Jacques Demy) | The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg |
| Nominee | Jerry Goldsmith, Walter Scharf, Lalo Schifrin & Mort Stevens, composers (Various Artists) | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Television Show) |
| Nominee | George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney & Ken Thorne, composers (The Beatles) | Help! (Motion Picture) |
Best Score From An Original Cast Show Album
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Burton Lane & Alan J. Lerner, composers (Barbara Harris, John Cullum, Tito Vandis, Byron Webster, William Daniels) | On A Clear Day |
| Nominee | David Heneker, composer (Original Cast) | Half A Sixpence |
| Nominee | Richard Rodgers & Stephen Sondheim, composers (Original Cast) | Do I Hear A Waltz? |
| Nominee | Marian Grudeff & Raymond Jessel, composers (Original Cast) | Baker Street |
| Nominee | Walter Marks, composer (Original Cast) | Bajour |
Best Comedy Performance
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Bill Cosby | Why Is There Air? |
| Nominee | (Various Artists) | You Don't Have To Be Jewish |
| Nominee | Earl Doud And Alen Robin | Welcome To The L.B.J. Ranch |
| Nominee | Godfrey Cambridge | Them Cotton Pickin' Days Is Over (Recorded Live At The Hungry I) |
| Nominee | The Smothers Brothers | Mom Always Liked You Best |
Best Spoken Word Or Drama Recording
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (John F. Kennedy) | John F. Kennedy - As We Remember Him |
| Nominee | Adlai Stevenson | The Voice Of The Uncommon Man |
| Nominee | Margaret Webster | The Brontes |
| Nominee | National Theatre Of Great Britain | Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing |
| Nominee | Chet Huntley And David Brinkley | A Time To Keep: 1964 |
| Nominee | Alec Guinness | A Personal Choice |
Best New Artist
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Tom Jones | - |
| Nominee | The Byrds | - |
| Nominee | Glenn Yarbrough | - |
| Nominee | Horst Jankowski | - |
| Nominee | Herman's Hermits | - |
| Nominee | Sonny And Cher | - |
| Nominee | Marilyn Maye | - |
Best Recording For Children
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Marvin Miller | Dr. Seuss Presents /Fox In Sox/ And /Green Eggs And Ham/ |
| Nominee | Sterling Holloway And Sebastian Cabot | Winnie The Pooh And The Honey Tree |
| Nominee | David Seville And The Chipmunks | Supercalifragelistic Expialidocius |
| Nominee | Carmel Quinn | Patrick Muldoon And His Magic Balloon |
| Nominee | Diahann Carroll | Love Songs For Children: /A/ You're Adorable |
Best Album Notes
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Stan Cornyn, album notes writer (Frank Sinatra) | September Of My Years |
| Nominee | Dom Cerulli, album notes writer (Adali Stevenson) | The Voice Of The Uncommon Man |
| Nominee | Stanley Dance, album notes writer (Earl Hines) | Grand Terrace Band |
| Nominee | Charles Lamb, album notes writer (Hank Williams Sr., Hank Williams Jr.) | Father And Son - Hank Williams Sr. And Hank Williams Jr. |
| Nominee | Otto Gerdes & Gustav Rudolf Sellner, album notes writers (Karl Bohm, conducting Orchestra Of German Opera - Berlin) | Berg: Wozzeck |
Best Instrumental Jazz Performance - Small Group Or Soloist With Small Group
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ramsey Lewis Trio | The /In/ Crowd |
| Nominee | Bill Evans Trio | Trio '65 |
| Nominee | Clark Terry And The Bob Brookmeyer Quintet | The Power Of Positive Swinging |
| Nominee | Cal Tjader | Soul Sauce |
| Nominee | Gary McFarland Group | Soft Samba |
| Nominee | Paul Desmond And Jim Hall | Glad To Be Unhappy |
| Nominee | Paul Horn | Cycle |
| Nominee | John Coltrane | A Love Supreme |
Best Instrumental Jazz Performance - Large Group Or Soloist With Large Group
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Duke Ellington | Ellington '66 |
| Nominee | Stan Getz | Mickey One |
| Nominee | Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Fuller Conducting Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra | Love Theme From /The Sandpiper/ |
| Nominee | Kenny Burrell, Gil Evans Orchestra | Kenny Burrell/Guitar Forms |
| Nominee | Paul Horn | Jazz Suite On The Mass Texts |
| Nominee | Rod Levitt | Insight |
| Nominee | Wes Montgomery With String Orchestra | Bumpin' |
Best Original Jazz Composition
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Lalo Schifrin, composer (Paul Horn) | Jazz Suite On The Mass Texts |
| Nominee | Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, composers (Duke Ellington) | Virgin Islands Suite |
| Nominee | Eddie Sauter, composer (Stan Getz) | Mickey One |
| Nominee | Oscar Peterson, composer (Oscar Peterson) | Canadiana Suite |
| Nominee | Wes Montgomery, composer (Wes Montgomery) | Bumpin' |
| Nominee | John Coltrane, composer (John Coltrane) | A Love Supreme |
Best Instrumental Arrangement
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Herb Alpert, arranger (Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass) | A Taste Of Honey |
| Nominee | Horst Jankowski, arranger (Horst Jankowski) | Walk In The Black Forest |
| Nominee | Johnny Mandel, arranger (Robert Armbruster) | The Shadow Of Your Smile |
| Nominee | Bob Florence, arranger (Si Zentner) | Mission To Moscow |
| Nominee | Neal Hefti, arranger (Neal Hefti) | Girl Talk |
| Nominee | Jack Mason, arranger (Arthur Fiedler, Conducting Boston Pops) | A Hard Day's Night |
Best Arrangement Accompanying A Vocalist Or Instrumentalist
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Gordon Jenkins, arranger (Frank Sinatra) | It Was A Very Good Year |
| Nominee | George Martin, arranger (The Beatles) | Yesterday |
| Nominee | Burt Bacharach, arranger (Jackie De Shannon) | What The World Needs Now Is Love |
| Nominee | Les Reed, arranger (Tom Jones) | It's Not Unusual |
| Nominee | Don Costa, arranger (Barbra Streisand) | He Touched Me |
| Nominee | Gil Evans, arranger (Kenny Burrell) | Greensleeves |
| Nominee | Bob Florence, arranger (Vikki Carr) | Everything I've Got |
| Nominee | Claus Ogerman, arranger (Astrud Gilberto) | Day By Day |
Best Contemporary (R&R) Single
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
| Nominee | The Beatles | Yesterday |
| Nominee | Jackie DeShannon | What The World Needs Now Is Love |
| Nominee | Tom Jones | It's Not Unusual |
| Nominee | Glenn Yarbrough | Baby The Rain Must Fall |
Best Contemporary (R&R) Vocal Performance, Female
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Petula Clark | I Know A Place |
| Nominee | Jackie DeShannon | What The World Needs Now Is Love |
| Nominee | Lesley Gore | Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows |
| Nominee | Fontella Bass | Rescue Me |
| Nominee | Barbara Lewis | Baby I'm Yours |
Best Contemporary (R&R) Vocal Performance - Male
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
| Nominee | Paul McCartney | Yesterday |
| Nominee | Tom Jones | What's New Pussycat |
| Nominee | Johnny Tillotson | Heartaches By The Number |
| Nominee | Len Barry | 1-2-3 |
Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance - Group (Vocal Or Instrumental)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | The Statler Brothers | Flowers On The Wall |
| Nominee | Sam The Sham And The Pharoahs | Wooly Bully |
| Nominee | The Supremes | Stop In The Name Of Love |
| Nominee | Herman's Hermits | Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter |
| Nominee | The Beatles | Help! |
Best Rhythm & Blues Recording
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | James Brown | Papa's Got A Brand New Bag |
| Nominee | Junior Walker And The All Stars | Shotgun |
| Nominee | Sam Cooke | Shake |
| Nominee | The Temptations | My Girl |
| Nominee | Wilson Pickett | In The Midnight Hour |
Best Folk Recording
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba | An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba |
| Nominee | Joan Baez | There But For Fortune |
| Nominee | The Womenfolk | The Womenfolk At The Hungry I |
| Nominee | Pete Seeger | Strangers And Cousins |
| Nominee | Roscoe Holcomb | Roscoe Holcomb: The High Lonesome Sound |
| Nominee | Miriam Makeba | Makeba Sings |
| Nominee | Peter, Paul And Mary | A Song Will Rise |
Best Gospel Or Other Religious Recording (Musical)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | George Beverly Shea And The Anita Kerr Singers | Southland Favorites |
| Nominee | The Happy Goodman Family | What A Happy Time |
| Nominee | Blackwood Brothers | Something Old, Something New |
| Nominee | Tennessee Ernie Ford | Let Me Walk With Thee |
| Nominee | Marian Anderson | Just Keep On Singing |
| Nominee | Kate Smith | How Great Thou Art |
| Nominee | Ralph Carmichael Singers And Orchestra | Bos Ashton's Songs Of Living Faith |
| Nominee | Statesmen Quartet With Hovie Lister | All Day Sing And Dinner On The Ground |
Best Country & Western Single
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
| Nominee | Chet Atkins | Yakety Axe |
| Nominee | Little Jimmy Dickens | May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose |
| Nominee | Eddy Arnold | Make The World Go Away |
| Nominee | Jim Reeves | Is It Really Over |
| Nominee | The Statler Brothers | Flowers On The Wall |
Best Country & Western Album
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Roger Miller | The Return Of Roger Miller |
| Nominee | Jim Reeves | The Jim Reeves Way |
| Nominee | Eddy Arnold | My World |
| Nominee | Chet Atkins | More Of That Guitar Country |
| Nominee | Hank Williams Sr. And Hank Williams Jr. | Father And Son |
Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Jody Miller | Queen Of The House |
| Nominee | Skeeter Davis | Sunglasses |
| Nominee | Molly Bee | Single Girl Again |
| Nominee | Dottie West | Before The Ring On Your Finger Turns Green |
| Nominee | Wilma Burgess | Baby |
Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Male
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
| Nominee | Bobby Bare | Talk Me Some Sense |
| Nominee | Eddy Arnold | Make The World Go Away |
| Nominee | Jim Reeves | Is It Really Over |
| Nominee | Carl Belew | Crystal Chandelier |
Best Country & Western Song
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Roger Miller | King Of The Road |
| Nominee | Eddy Arnold | What's He Doing In My World |
| Nominee | Little Jimmy Dickens | May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose |
| Nominee | Statler Brothers | Flowers On The Wall |
| Nominee | Carl Belew | Crystal Chandelier |
Best New Country & Western Artist
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | The Statler Brothers | - |
| Nominee | Del Reeves | - |
| Nominee | Norma Jean | - |
| Nominee | Wilma Burgess | - |
| Nominee | Jody Miller | - |
Best Engineered Recording - Non-Classical
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Larry Levine, engineer (Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass) | A Taste Of Honey |
| Nominee | Chuck Seitz & William Vandevort, engineers (Al Hirt) | That Honey Horn Sound |
| Nominee | Lowell Frank, engineer (Frank Sinatra) | September Of My Years |
| Nominee | Frank Laico, engineer (Barbra Streisand) | My Name Is Barbra |
| Nominee | Al Pachucki & Chuck Seitz, engineers (Chet Atkins) | More Of That Guitar Country |
| Nominee | Richard Bogert & James Malloy, engineers (Henry Mancini) | Latin Sound Of Henry Mancini |
Best Engineered Recording, Classical
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Fred Plaut, engineer (Vladimir Horowitz, piano) | Horowitz At Carnegie Hall - An Historic Return |
| Nominee | Bernie(Bernard) Keville, engineer (Robert Shaw, conductor) | Stravinsky: Symphony Of Psalms |
| Nominee | Anthony Salvatore, engineer (Erich Leinsdorf, conductor; Leontyne Price, soprano) | Strauss: Salome/the Egyptian Helen |
| Nominee | Anthony Salvatore, engineer (Erich Leinsdorf, conductor) | Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 In E Flat Minor |
| Nominee | Edward (Bud) T. Graham, engineer (Leopold Stokowski, conductor) | Ives: Symphony No. 4 |
| Nominee | Bernie(Bernard) Keville, engineer (Morton Gould, conductor) | Gould: Spirituals For Orchestra/Copland: Dance Symphony |
Best Album Cover - Photography
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ken Whitmore, photographer; Robert M. Jones, art director (Paul Horn) | Jazz Suite On The Mass Texts |
| Nominee | Peter Whorf, photographer (Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass) | Whipped Cream And Other Delights |
| Nominee | Sherman Weisburd, photographer; Ed Thrasher, art director (Charles Aznavour) | The Aznavour Story |
| Nominee | Sheldon Streisand, photographer; Bob (Robert) Cato, art director (Barbra Streisand) | My Name Is Barbra |
| Nominee | W. Eugene Smith, photographer; Jerry Smokley, art director (Thelonious Monk) | Monk |
| Nominee | Rudolph Regname, photographer; Acy R. Lehman, art director (Kenny Burrell) | Kenny Burrell/Guitar Forms |
| Nominee | Dan Kramer, photographer; John Berg, art director (Bob Dylan) | Bringing It All Back Home |
Best Album Cover - Graphic Arts
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | George Estes, art director (Erich Leinsdorf, conductor; Joseph Silverstein, violin) | Bartók: Concerto No. 2 For Violin/Stravinsky: Concerto For Violin |
| Nominee | John Berg, art director (Leonard Bernstein, conductor) | William Tell And Other Favorite Overtures |
| Nominee | Jerry Smokley, art director (Thelonious Monk) | Solo Monk |
| Nominee | John Berg, art director (Vladimir Horowitz, piano) | Horowitz At Carnegie Hall - An Historic Return |
| Nominee | (Morton Gould, conductor) | Gould: Spirituals For Orchestra/Copland: Dance Symphony |
| Nominee | Ed Thrasher, art director (Duke Ellington) | Concert In The Virgin Islands |
Best Classical Performance - Orchestra
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (American Symphony Orchestra) | Ives: Symphony No. 4 |
| Nominee | (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) | Ravel: Daphnis And Chloe Suite No. 2/Roussel:Bacchus And Ariadne, Suite No. 2 |
| Nominee | (Boston Symphony Orchestra) | Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 In E Flat Minor |
| Nominee | (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) | Gould: Spirituals For Orchestra/Copland: Dance Symphony |
| Nominee | (NBC Symphony Orchestra) | Berlioz: Romeo And Juliet |
| Nominee | (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) | Bach: Brandenberg Concertos |
Best Classical Chamber Music Performance - Instrumental Or Vocal
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Juilliard String Quartet (Claus Adam, Isidore Cohen, Raphael Hillyer & Robert Mann), artists | Bartók: The Six String Quartets - Nos. 1-6 |
| Nominee | Béla Bartók & Joseph Szigeti, artists | Sonata Recital By Szigeti And Bartók (Bartók/ Beethoven/ Debussy) |
| Nominee | Eugene Istomin, Leonard Rose & Isaac Stern, artists | Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 In B Flat For Piano |
| Nominee | Vladimir Ashkenazy & Malcolm Frager, artists | Mozart/Schumann Recital |
| Nominee | Erick Friedman & Bruce Prince-Joseph, artists | Bach: The Six Sonatas For Violin And Harpsichord |
| Nominee | Yehudi Menuhin, artist | A Purcell Anthology |
Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist Or Soloists (With Orchestra)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Artur Rubinstein, artist (Boston Symphony Orchestra) | Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 In G |
| Nominee | Gary Graffman, artist | Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 2 In G Major For Piano And Orchestra/ Concerto No. 3 In E-Flat Major For Piano And Orchestra |
| Nominee | Leonard Pennario, artist | Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1 In F Sharp For Piano/ Concerto No. 4 In G Minor For Piano |
| Nominee | Eugene Istomin, Leonard Rose & Isaac Stern, artists | Beethoven: Triple Concerto (Concerto In C Major For Violin, Cello And Piano) |
| Nominee | Rudolf Serkin, artist | Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 In G Major For Piano And Orchestra |
| Nominee | Isaac Stern, artist | Barber: Concerto For Violin And Orchestra/ Hindemith: Concerto For Violin And Orchestra |
Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist Or Soloists (Without Orchestra)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Vladimir Horowitz, artist | Horowitz At Carnegie Hall - An Historic Return |
| Nominee | Julian Bream, artist | Julian Bream In Concert |
| Nominee | Artur Rubinstein, artist | Chopin: 8 Polonaises And 4 Impromptus |
| Nominee | Vladimir Ashkenazy, artist | Chopin Ballades (1, 2, 3, 4) |
| Nominee | Glenn Gould, artist | Bach: Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Volume 3 (17-24) |
| Nominee | Raymond Lewenthal, artist | Alkan: Piano Music |
Best Opera Recording
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Karl Bohm (German Opera Chorus; German Opera Orchestra) | Berg: Wozzeck |
| Nominee | Georg Solti (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) | Wagner: Gotterdammerung |
| Nominee | Fausto Cleva (RCA Italiana Opera Chorus; RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra) | Verdi: Luisa Miller |
| Nominee | Thomas Schippers (RCA Italiana Opera Chorus; RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra) | Verdi: La Forza Del Destino |
| Nominee | Richard Bonynge (London Symphony Chorus; London Symphony Orchestra) | Bellini: Norma |
Best Classical Choral Performance (Other Than Opera)
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (Robert Shaw Chorale; RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra) | Stravinsky: Symphony Of Psalms/Poulenc: Gloria |
| Nominee | (Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) | Schoenberg: Gurre Lieder |
| Nominee | (Philharmonia Chorus; Philharmonia Orchestra) | Handel: Messiah |
| Nominee | (London Symphony Chorus; London Symphony Orchestra) | Britten: Cantata Misericordium |
| Nominee | (Vienna Singverein Chorus; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) | Brahms: German Requiem |
| Nominee | (Temple University Choir; Philadelphia Orchestra) | Berlioz: Requiem |
Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (Boston Symphony Orchestra) | Strauss: Salome (Dance Of The Seven Veils, Interlude, Final Scene)/The Egyptian Helen (Awakening Scene) |
| Nominee | Nicolai Ghiaurov | Schumann: Liederkreis |
| Nominee | (London Symphony) | Russian And French Arias |
| Nominee | (Russian State Symphony) | Moussorgsky: Songs |
| Nominee | (Rome Opera House Orchestra) | Mirella Freni - Operatic Arias |
| Nominee | Anna Moffo | Falla: Seven Popular Spanish Songs |
| Nominee | - | Canteloube: Songs Of The Auvergne/ Rachmaninoff: Vocalise/ Villa Lobos: Bachianas Brasilieras #5 |
Best Classical Contemporary Composition
| Result | Artist | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Charles Ives, composer | Ives: Symphony No. 4 |
| Nominee | William Walton, composer | Variations On A Theme By Hindemith |
| Nominee | Morton Gould, composer | Gould: World War I Suite |
| Nominee | David Diamond, composer | Diamond: String Quartet No. 4 |
| Nominee | Benjamin Britten, composer | Britten: Cantata Misericordium |
| Nominee | Leonard Bernstein, composer | Bernstein: Chichester Psalms |
