Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album is an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony 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".
The award has been presented every year since 1992, though the award has had two name changes throughout its history. In 1992 the award was known as Best Traditional Pop Performance, from 1993 to 2000 the award was known as Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, and since 2001 it has been awarded as Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Apart from the first year it was presented, the award has been designated for "albums containing 51% or more playing time of vocal tracks", with "traditional" referring to the "composition, vocal styling, and the instrumental arrangement" of the body of music known as the Great American Songbook.
The 1992 award was presented to Natalie Cole for the "spliced-together" duet of her and her father, Nat King Cole, performing his original recording of "Unforgettable". This is the only instance in which the traditional pop award was awarded for a song, as opposed to an album. Prior to 2001, the Grammy was presented to the performing artists only; since then the award has been given to the performing artists, the engineers/mixers, as well as the producers, provided they worked on more than 51% of playing time on the album. Producers and engineers who worked on less than 50% of playing time of the album, as well as mastering eningeers do not win an award, but can apply for a Winners Certificate.
, Tony Bennett holds the record for the most wins in this category, with thirteen. Natalie Cole, Michael Bublé, and Willie Nelson are the only other recipients to receive the award more than once.
Recipients
Year | Performing artist | Work | Nominees | Ref. |
1992 | ||||
1993 | Perfectly Frank | |||
1994 | Steppin' Out | |||
1995 | MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett | |||
1996 | Duets II | |||
1997 | Here's to the Ladies | |||
1998 | Tony Bennett on Holiday | |||
1999 | ' | |||
2000 | ' | |||
2001 | Both Sides Now | |||
2002 | Songs I Heard | |||
2003 | ' | |||
2004 | and k.d. lang | A Wonderful World | ||
2005 | ' | |||
2006 | The Art of Romance | |||
2007 | ' | |||
2008 | Call Me Irresponsible | |||
2009 | Still Unforgettable | |||
2010 | Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden | |||
2011 | ||||
2012 | Tony Bennett | Duets II | ||
2013 | Paul McCartney | Kisses on the Bottom | ||
2014 | Michael Bublé | To Be Loved | ||
2015 | Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga | Cheek to Cheek | ||
2016 | Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap | ' | ||
2017 | Willie Nelson | |||
2018 | Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 | |||
2019 | Willie Nelson | My Way | ||
2020 | Elvis Costello & The Imposters | Look Now |
- Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
- Award only went to a producer of the album, not the performing artist.
Artists with multiple wins
- Tony Bennett
- Michael Bublé
- Natalie Cole
- Willie Nelson
Artists with multiple nominations
- Tony Bennett
;8 nominations
- Michael Bublé
;6 nominations
;5 nominations
;4 nominations
;3 nominations
- Natalie Cole
- Bob Dylan
- Josh Groban
- Seth MacFarlane
- Bette Midler
- Willie Nelson
- Bernadette Peters