Grammy Award for Song of the Year

Grammy Award for Song of the Year

Gilded gramophone trophy presented to Grammy Award winners
Awarded for quality songs containing both lyrics and melody
Presented by National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Country United States
First awarded 1959
Last awarded 2011
Official website grammy.com

The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,[1] Awards in several categories are distributed annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."[2]

The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony. It has been awarded since 1959. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide the award goes to the songwriter(s) of a song that "must contain melody and lyrics and must be either a new song or a song first achieving prominence during the eligibility year. Songs containing prominent samples or interpolations are not eligible". [3]

Despite both the the Record of the Year award and Song of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes only to the composer(s) of the song whereas the Record of the Year award goes to the performer and production team of the song.

Since the late 1960s other songwriter's award has been presented for genre-specific categories including country, rock, r&b and most recently in rap and gospel.

Contents

Achievements

Twenty four of the winning songs have also won the award for Record of the Year. However only in fifteen acts (Domenico Modugno, Paul Simon, Christopher Cross, Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie, Billy Joel, Bobby McFerrin, Natalie Cole, Eric Clapton, Seal, Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal, James Horner, U2, the Dixie Chicks, Amy Winehouse & Lady Antebellum) have been the same recipients.

Christopher Cross is the only artist to receive the award for Song of the Year as well as for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist.

Only three artists have won the Song of the Year and Best New Artist awards: Christopher Cross (1981), Alicia Keys (2002) and Amy Winehouse (2008)

The only multiple winners in this category include Henry Mancini (in 1962 and 1964), James Horner (1988 and 1999) and the band members of U2 (2001 and 2006) winning two times each. On the other hand, songs written for Andy Williams and Roberta Flack have received this award twice.

The song "Volare", winner in 1959 by Domenico Modugno and performed in Italian, is the only foreign-language song to win this award.

Recipients

An asterisk (*) indicates this recording also won Record of the Year.
Year[I] Songwriter(s) Nationality Work Performing artist(s)[II] Nominees Ref.
1959 Domenico Modugno  Italy "Volare" * Domenico Modugno [4]
1960 Jimmy Driftwood  United States "The Battle of New Orleans" Johnny Horton [5]
1961 Ernest Gold  United States "Theme from Exodus" Various Artists [6]
1962 Henry Mancini  United States "Moon River" Andy Williams [7]
1963 Leslie Bricusse
Anthony Newley
 United Kingdom "What Kind of Fool Am I?" Sammy Davis, Jr. [8]
1964 Johnny Mercer
Henry Mancini
 United States "Days of Wine and Roses" Andy Williams [9]
1965 Jerry Herman  United States "Hello, Dolly!" Louis Armstrong [10]
1966 Paul Francis Webster
Johnny Mandel
 United States "The Shadow of Your Smile" Tony Bennett
1967 John Lennon
Paul McCartney
 United Kingdom "Michelle" The Beatles
1968 Jimmy Webb  United States "Up, Up, and Away" * The 5th Dimension [11]
1969 Bobby Russell  United States "Little Green Apples" O.C. Smith [12]
1970 Joe South  United States "Games People Play" Joe South [13]
1971 Paul Simon  United States "Bridge over Troubled Water" * Simon & Garfunkel [14]
1972 Carole King  United States "You've Got a Friend" James Taylor & Carole King [15]
1973 Ewan MacColl  United Kingdom "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" * Roberta Flack [16]
1974 Norman Gimbel
Charles Fox
 United States "Killing Me Softly with His Song" * Roberta Flack [17]
1975 Marilyn Bergman
Alan Bergman
Marvin Hamlisch
 United States "The Way We Were" Barbra Streisand
1976 Stephen Sondheim  United States "Send in the Clowns" Judy Collins [18]
1977 Bruce Johnston  United States "I Write the Songs" Barry Manilow [19]
1978
(tie)
Barbra Streisand
Paul Williams

Joe Brooks
 United States

 United States
"Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)"

"You Light Up My Life"
Barbra Streisand

Debby Boone
[20]
1979 Billy Joel  United States "Just the Way You Are" * Billy Joel [21]
1980 Kenny Loggins
Michael McDonald
 United States "What a Fool Believes" * The Doobie Brothers [22]
1981 Christopher Cross  United States "Sailing" * Christopher Cross [23]
1982 Donna Weiss
Jackie DeShannon
 United States "Bette Davis Eyes" * Kim Carnes [24]
1983 Johnny Christopher
Mark James
Wayne Carson
 United States "Always on My Mind" Willie Nelson [25]
1984 Sting  United Kingdom "Every Breath You Take" The Police
1985 Graham Lyle
Terry Britten
 United States "What's Love Got to Do with It" * Tina Turner [26]
1986 Michael Jackson
Lionel Richie
 United States "We Are the World" * USA for Africa [27]
1987 Burt Bacharach
Carole Bayer Sager
 United States "That's What Friends Are For" Dionne Warwick & Friends [28]
1988 James Horner
Barry Mann
Cynthia Weil
 United States "Somewhere Out There" Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram [29]
1989 Bobby McFerrin  United States "Don't Worry, Be Happy" * Bobby McFerrin [30]
1990 Larry Henley
Jeff Silbar
 United States "Wind Beneath My Wings" * Bette Midler [31]
1991 Julie Gold  United States "From a Distance" Bette Midler [32]
1992 Irving Gordon  United States "Unforgettable" * Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole [33]
1993 Eric Clapton  United Kingdom "Tears in Heaven" * Eric Clapton [34]
1994 Alan Menken
Tim Rice
 United States "A Whole New World" Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle [35]
1995 Bruce Springsteen  United States "Streets of Philadelphia" Bruce Springsteen [36]
1996 Seal  United Kingdom "Kiss from a Rose" * Seal [37]
1997 Gordon Kennedy
Wayne Kirkpatrick
Tommy Sims
 United States "Change the World" * Eric Clapton [38]
1998 Shawn Colvin
John Leventhal
 United States "Sunny Came Home" * Shawn Colvin [39]
1999 James Horner
Will Jennings
 United States "My Heart Will Go On" * Celine Dion [40]
2000 Itaal Shur
Rob Thomas
 United States "Smooth" * Santana featuring Rob Thomas [41]
2001 Adam Clayton
David Evans
Larry Mullen, Jr.
Paul Hewson
 Ireland "Beautiful Day" * U2 [42]
2002 Alicia Keys  United States "Fallin'" Alicia Keys [43]
2003 Jesse Harris  United States "Don't Know Why" * Norah Jones [44]
2004 Richard Marx
Luther Vandross
 United States "Dance with My Father" Luther Vandross [45]
2005 John Mayer  United States "Daughters" John Mayer [46]
2006 Adam Clayton
David Evans
Larry Mullen, Jr.
Paul Hewson
 Ireland "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" U2 [47]
2007 Emily Robison
Martie Maguire
Natalie Maines
Dan Wilson
 United States "Not Ready to Make Nice" * Dixie Chicks [48]
2008 Amy Winehouse  United Kingdom "Rehab" * Amy Winehouse [49]
2009 Guy Berryman
Jonathan Buckland
Will Champion
Chris Martin
 United Kingdom "Viva la Vida" Coldplay [50]
2010 Thaddis Harrell
Beyoncé Knowles
Terius Nash
Christopher Stewart
 United States "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" Beyoncé [51]
2011 Dave Haywood
Josh Kear
Charles Kelley
Hillary Scott
 United States "Need You Now" * Lady Antebellum [52]
2012 TBD TBD TBD [53]

See also

References

General
Specific
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External links