1968 Grammy Award Winners

Posted by Joe Hummel IIIPosted 57 years ago February 29, 1968

1968 Grammy Award Winners

Winners Announced: February 29, 1968
Televised: “Best On Record” May 8, 1968
Held at: Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York
Eligibility Year: November 2, 1966 – November 1, 1967

Table of Contents

Musical Highlights and Achievements

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Dominates: The Beatles’ groundbreaking album won four Grammys, including Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Album.
Hello, Dolly!: Louis Armstrong received the Grammy for Best Male Vocal Performance for the song Hello, Dolly!, becoming the oldest Grammy winner at that time.
Fifth Dimension’s Big Win: The Fifth Dimension won Record of the Year for their hit single Up, Up and Away, also taking home the Grammy for Best Performance by a Vocal Group.

Trivia

Beatles Making History: The Beatles became the first rock act to win Album of the Year, a landmark moment in Grammy history.
Bobbie Gentry’s Breakout: Bobbie Gentry, a relative newcomer, won Best New Artist, marking the start of her promising career.
Leap Year Ceremony: Interestingly, the awards ceremony occurred on a leap day—February 29.
Take our 1968 Quiz!

1968 Grammy Winners

Record of the Year:
Up, Up and Away – 5th Dimension

Album of the Year:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (Capitol)

Song of the Year:
Up, Up and Away – Jimmy L. Webb, songwriter

Best New Artist:
Bobbie Gentry

Best Vocal Performance, Male:
By the Time I Get to Phoenix – Glen Campbell

Best Vocal Performance, Female:
Ode to Billie Joe – Bobbie Gentry

Best Performance By a Vocal Group (Two to Six Persons):
Up, Up and Away – 5th Dimension

Best Performance By a Chorus (Seven or More Persons):
Up, Up and Away – Johnny Mann Singers

Best Contemporary Single:
Up, Up and Away – 5th Dimension

Best Contemporary Album:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (Capitol)

Best Contemporary Male Solo Vocal Performance:
By the Time I Get to Phoenix – Glen Campbell

Best Contemporary Female Solo Vocal Performance:
Ode to Billie Joe – Bobbie Gentry

Best Contemporary Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental:
Up, Up and Away – 5th Dimension

Best Rhythm and Blues Recording:
Respect – Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)

Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Male:
Dead End Street – Lou Rawls

Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female:
Respect – Aretha Franklin

Best Rhythm and Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental (Two or More):
Soul Man – Sam and Dave

Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Small Group or Soloist With Small Group:
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Cannonball Adderley Quintet

Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Large Group or Soloist With Large Group:
Far East Suite – Duke Ellington

Best Country and Western Song:
Gentle on My Mind John Hartford, songwriter

Best Country and Western Recording:
Gentle on My Mind – Glen Campbell (Capitol)

Best Country and Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male:
Gentle on My Mind – Glen Campbell

Best Country and Western Solo Vocal Performance, Female:
I Don’t Wanna Play House – Tammy Wynette

Best Country and Western Performance, Duet, Trio or Group (Vocal or Instrumental):
Jackson – Johnny Cash and June Carter

Best Gospel Performance:
More Grand Old Gospel, Porter Wagoner and the Blackwood Brothers

Best Sacred Performance:
How Great Thou Art, Elvis Presley

Best Folk Performance:
Gentle on My Mind – John Hartford

Best Instrumental Arrangement:
Alfie, Burt Bacharach, arranger

Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) or Instrumentalist(s):
Ode to Billie Joe – Jimmie Haskell, arranger

Best Instrumental Theme:
Mission: Impossible – Lalo Schifrin, composer

Best Instrumental Performance:
Chet Atkins Picks the Best – Chet Atkins

Best Score From an Original Cast Show Album:
Cabaret, Fred Ebb and John Kander, composers (Columbia)

Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show:
Mission: Impossible – Lalo Schifrin, composer

Album of the Year, Classical (tie):
Berg, Wozzeck, Pierre Boulez conducting Paris National Opera; solos: Berry, Strauss, Uhl and Doench (Columbia)
Mahler, Symphony No. 8 in E-Flat Major (Symphony of a Thousand ), Leonard Bernstein conducting London Symphony Orchestra (Columbia)

Best Classical Performance, Orchestra:
Stravinsky, Firebird and Petrouchka Suites, Igor Stravinsky conducting Columbia Symphony

Best Chamber Music Performance:
West Meets East, Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin

Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (With or Without Orchestra):
Horowitz in Concert, Vladimir Horowitz

Best Opera Recording:
Berg, Wozzeck, Pierre Boulez conducting Paris National Opera; solos: Berry, Strauss, Uhl and Doench (Columbia)

Best Classical Choral Performance (tie):
Mahler, Symphony No. 8 in E-Flat Major (Symphony of a Thousand ), Leonard Bernstein conducting London Symphony Orchestra
Orff, Catulli Carmina, Robert Page conducting Temple University Chorus; Eugene Ormandy conducting Philadelphia Orchestra

Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance:
Prima Donna, Vol. 2, Leontyne Price; Francesco Molinari-Pradelli conducting RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra

Best Comedy Recording:
Revenge, Bill Cosby (Warner Bros.-Seven Arts)

Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording:
Gallant Men, Sen. Everett M. Dirksen (Capitol)

Best Recording for Children:
Dr Seuss: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Boris Karloff (MGM)

Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, art directors (Capitol)

Best Album Cover, Photography:
Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits; Roland Scherman, photographer; John Berg and Bob Cato, art directors (Columbia)

Best Album Notes:
Suburban Attitudes in Country Verse, John O. Loudermilk, annotator (RCA)