Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song


The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song was awarded between 1959 and 1971. The award had several minor name changes:
  • In 1959 the award was known as Best Performance by a "Top 40" Artist
  • In 1961 it was awarded as Best Performance by a Pop Single Artist
  • From 1962 to 1965 it was awarded as Best Rock & Roll Recording
  • In 1966 it was awarded as Contemporary Single
  • In 1967 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Recording
  • In 1968 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Single
  • From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Song
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.
YearMusicianContemporary SongRef
1959Nat King Cole"Midnight Flyer"
1959Elvis Presley"A Big Hunk o' Love"
1959The Coasters"Charlie Brown"
1959Floyd Robinson"Makin' Love"
1959Neil Sedaka"The Diary"
1961Ray Charles"Georgia on My Mind"
1961Ella Fitzgerald"Mack the Knife"
1961Elvis Presley"Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
1961Frank Sinatra"Nice 'N' Easy"
1961Peggy Lee"Heart"
1962Chubby Checker"Let's Twist Again"
1962Chris Kenner"I Like It Like That"
1962Ike & Tina Turner"It's Gonna Work Out Fine"
1962James Darren"Goodbye Cruel World"
1962The Tokens"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
1963Bent Fabric"Alley Cat"
1963Mary Wells"You Beat Me to the Punch"
1963Neil Sedaka"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
1963Sam Cooke"Twistin' the Night Away"
1963The Drifters"Up on the Roof"
1963The Four Seasons"Big Girls Don't Cry"
1964April Stevens & Nino Tempo"Deep Purple"
1964Chet Atkins"Teen Scene"
1964Lesley Gore"It's My Party"
1964Peggy March"I Will Follow Him"
1964Ruby & the Romantics"Our Day Will Come"
1965Petula Clark"Downtown"
1965Bobby Vinton"Mr. Lonely"
1965Roy Orbison"Oh, Pretty Woman"
1965The Beatles"A Hard Day's Night"
1965The Righteous Brothers"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"
1966Roger Miller"King of the Road"
1966Glenn Yarbrough"Baby the Rain Must Fall"
1966Jackie DeShannon"What the World Needs Now Is Love"
1966The Beatles"Yesterday"
1966Tom Jones"It's Not Unusual"
1967New Vaudeville Band"Winchester Cathedral"
1967The Association"Cherish"
1967The Beach Boys"Good Vibrations"
1967The Beatles"Eleanor Rigby"
1967The Mamas & the Papas"Monday, Monday"
1967The Monkees"Last Train to Clarksville"
1968The 5th Dimension, Johnny Rivers and Marc Gordon "Up, Up and Away"
1968Bobbie Gentry and Kelly Gordon "Ode to Billie Joe"
1968Glen Campbell and Al De Lory "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
1968Petula Clark and Tony Hatch "Don't Sleep in the Subway"
1968Ray Charles and Joe Adams "Yesterday"

YearSongwriterPerformerContemporary SongRef
1970Joe SouthJoe South"Games People Play"
1970David Clayton-ThomasBlood, Sweat & Tears"Spinning Wheel"
1970Hal David and Burt BacharachB. J. Thomas"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
1970Mac DavisElvis Presley"In the Ghetto"
1970Rod McKuenOliver"Jean"
1971Paul SimonSimon & Garfunkel"Bridge over Troubled Water"
1971James TaylorJames Taylor"Fire and Rain"
1971John Lennon and Paul McCartneyThe Beatles"Let It Be"
1971Paul Williams and Roger NicholsThe Carpenters"We've Only Just Begun"
1971Ray StevensRay Stevens"Everything Is Beautiful"