1988 Grammy Award Winners

Winners Announced: March 2, 1988
Held at: Radio City Music Hall, New York
Host: Billy Crystal
Eligibility Year: October 1, 1987 – September 30, 1988

In-Depth Details and Trivia

East Coast Venue: After being mostly hosted in Los Angeles, the Grammys took a bite of the Big Apple by hosting the event at New York’s iconic Radio City Music Hall.
Crystal Clear Hosting: Comedian Billy Crystal was back as the host, bringing his unique style of humor to the stage.
U2’s Big Night: The Irish rock band U2 stole the show with their album The Joshua Tree, winning Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Michael Jackson Thrills Again: The King of Pop won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Bad.
Jazzy Lady: Jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall made her Grammy debut, though she wouldn’t win until later years.
Country Crossovers: Trio by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris won Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, highlighting the genre’s versatile appeal.
New Age Arrival: This was the first year that the New Age category was introduced, with Andreas Vollenweider winning for Down to the Moon.
A Cappella Excellence: Manhattan Transfer bagged the Best Jazz Fusion Performance Vocal or Instrumental for their album Brasil.

1988 Grammy Winners

Record of the Year:
Graceland – Paul Simon

Album of the Year:
Joshua Tree, U2 (Island)

Song of the Year:
Somewhere Out There – James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, songwriters

Best New Artist:
Jody Watley

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male:
Bring on the Night, Sting

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female:
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston

Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal:
(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes

Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist):
Minute by Minute – Larry Carlton

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo:
Tunnel of Love, Bruce Springsteen

Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal:
The Joshua Tree, U2

Best Rock Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist):
Jazz From Hell, Frank Zappa

Best Rhythm and Blues Song:
Lean on Me – Bill Withers, songwriter

Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Male:
Just to See Her – Smokey Robinson

Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Female:
Aretha, Aretha Franklin

Best Rhythm and Blues Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal:
I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) – Aretha Franklin and George Michael

Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist):
Chicago Song – David Sanborn

Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male:
What Is This Thing Called Love – Bobby McFerrin

Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female:
Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra, Diane Schuur

Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist:
The Other Side of Round Midnight, Dexter Gordon

Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group:
Marsalis Standard Time, Volume 1, Wynton Marsalis

Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band:
Digital Duke, Duke Ellington Orchestra conducted by Mercer Ellington

Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental:
Still Life (Talking), Pat Metheny Group

Best Country Song:
Forever and Ever, Amen – Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, songwriters

Best Country Vocal Performance, Male:
Always and Forever, Randy Travis

Best Country Vocal Performance, Female:
’80’s Ladies – K.T. Oslin

Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal:
Trio, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris

Best Country Vocal Performance, Duet:
Make No Mistake, She’s Mine – Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers

Best Country Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist):
String of Pars – Asleep at the Wheel

Best Gospel Performance, Male:
The Father Hath Provided, Larnelle Harris

Best Gospel Performance, Female:
I Believe in You – Deniece Williams

Best Gospel Performance By a Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus:
Crack the Sky, Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart

Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male:
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright – Al Green

Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female:
For Always – CeCe Winans

Best Soul Gospel Performance By a Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus:
Ain’t No Need to Worry – Winans and Anita Baker

Best Latin Pop Performance:
Un Hombre Solo, Julio Iglesias

Best Tropical Latin Performance:
La Verdad?The Truth, Eddie Palmieri

Best Mexican/American Performance:
Gracias! America sin Fronteras, Los Tigres Del Norte

Best Traditional Blues Recording:
Houseparty New Orleans Style, Professor Longhair (Rounder)

Best Contemporary Blues Recording:
Strong Persuader, Robert Cray Band (Mercury/Hightone)

Best Traditional Folk Recording:
Shaka Zulu, Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Warner Bros.)

Best Contemporary Folk Recording:
Unfinished Business, Steve Goodman (Red Pajamas)

Best Reggae Recording:
No Nuclear War, Peter Tosh (EMI-America)

Best New Age Performance:
Yusef Lateef’s Little Symphony, Yusef Lateef

Best Polka Recording:
A Polka Just for Me, Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra (Starr)

Best Arrangement on an Instrumental:
Take the A Train – Bill Holman, arranger

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s):
Deedle’s Blues – Frank Foster, arranger

Best Instrumental Composition:
Call Sheet Blues – Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins, composers

Best Musical Cast Show Album:
Les Miserables (Geffen)

Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television:
The Untouchables (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Ennio Morricone, composer (A&M)

Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television:
Somewhere Out There (From the animated movie An American Tale), James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, songwriters

Best Contemporary Composition:
Cello Concerto No. 2, Krzysztof Penderecki, composer

Best Classical Album:
Horowitz in Moscow, Vladimir Horowitz (Deutsche Grammophon)

Best Orchestral Recording:
Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Choral), Sir Georg Solti conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra (London)

Best Chamber Music Performance, Instrumental or Vocal:
Beethoven, The Complete Piano Trios, Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell and Vladimir Ashkenazy

Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (With Orchestra):
Mozart, Violin Concertos nos. 2 and 4 in D, Itzhak Perlman; James Levine conducting Vienna Philarmonic

Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (Without Orchestra):
Horowitz in Moscow, Vladimir Horowitz, piano

Best Opera Recording:
Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos, James Levine conducting Vienna Philharmonic; solos: Tomowa-Sintow, Battle, Baltsa, Lakes and Prey (Deutsche Grammophon)

Best Choral Performance (Other Than Opera):
Hindemith, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d (A Requiem for Those We Love); Robert Shaw conducting Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra

Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance:
Kathleen Battle, Salzburg Recital, Kathleen Battle; James Levine, accompanist

Best Comedy Recording:
A Night at The Met, Robin Williams (Columbia/CBS)

Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording:
Lake Wobegon Days, Garrison Keillor (PHC)

Best Recording for Children:
The Elephant’s Child, Jack Nicholson, narrator; Bobby McFerrin, music (Windham Hill)

Best Album Package:
King’s Record Shop, Bill Johnson, art director (Columbia/CBS)

Best Album Notes:
Thelonious Monk, the Complete Riverside Recordings, Orrin Keepnews, annotator (Riverside)

Best Historical Album:
Thelonious Monk, the Complete Riverside Recordings, Thelonious Monk (Riverside)

Best Performance Music Video:
The Prince’s Trust All-Star Rock Concert, Elton John, Tina Turner, Sting and others

Best Concept Music Video:
Land of Confusion – Genesis

Producer of the Year (Non-Classical):
Narada Michael Walden

Classical Producer of the Year:
Robert Woods