Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
Encyclopedia
The Grammy Award
for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. As of 2010 the category was split into two categories; Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Americana Album
.
An award for Best Traditional Folk Album
was also presented. Prior to 1987 contemporary and traditional folk were combined as the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
.
The award will be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. From 2012, this category will merge with the Best Traditional Folk Album
category to form the new Best Folk Album category.
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.
At three wins, Bob Dylan is the category's biggest winner.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. As of 2010 the category was split into two categories; Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Americana Album
Grammy Award for Best Americana Album
The Grammy Award for Best Americana Album is an honor presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Americana music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
.
An award for Best Traditional Folk Album
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording.An award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was also presented...
was also presented. Prior to 1987 contemporary and traditional folk were combined as the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording was awarded from 1960 to 1986. During this time the award had several minor name changes:*From 1960 to 1961 the award was known as Best Performance - Folk...
.
The award will be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. From 2012, this category will merge with the Best Traditional Folk Album
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording.An award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was also presented...
category to form the new Best Folk Album category.
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.
At three wins, Bob Dylan is the category's biggest winner.
2010s
- Grammy Awards of 2011
- Ray LaMontagneRay LaMontagneRaymond "Ray" Charles Jack LaMontagne is a Grammy-award winning American singer-songwriter. LaMontagne has released four studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain and God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after...
& The Pariah Dogs for God Willin' and the Creek Don't RiseGod Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise- Musicians :Ray LaMontagne collaborated with the following musicians in this album:* Jennifer Condos - Bass* Jay Bellerose - Drums* Eric Heywood - Guitar* Greg Leisz - Guitar, Banjo* Patrick Warren - Keyboard* Ryan Freeland - Accordion- Personnel :...
- Ray LaMontagne
- Grammy Awards of 2010
- Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
for TownesTownes (album)Townes is a 2009 Steve Earle album on which he pays tribute to his friend and mentor, the late singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt by covering his songs. According to a New West Records press release, "The songs selected for Townes were the ones that meant the most to Earle and the ones he...
- Steve Earle
2000s
- Grammy Awards of 2009
- Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
& Alison KraussAlison KraussAlison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
for Raising SandRaising SandRaising Sand is a collaboration album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released on October 23, 2007 by Rounder Records...
- Robert Plant
- Grammy Awards of 2008
- Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
for Washington Square SerenadeWashington Square SerenadeWashington Square Serenade is an album by alternative country singer Steve Earle. The album features the singer's wife, Allison Moorer on the track "Days Aren't Long Enough," and the Brazilian group Forro in the Dark on the track "City of Immigrants." The track "Way Down in the Hole," by Tom...
- Steve Earle
- Grammy Awards of 2007Grammy Awards of 2007The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning September 15, 2005 and ending September 14, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dixie Chicks...
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
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- Bob Dylan
- Grammy Awards of 2006Grammy Awards of 2006The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Irish rock band U2 were the big winners, winning five awards including Album of the Year. Mariah Carey, John Legend, and Kanye West each were nominated for eight awards and won three,...
- John PrineJohn PrineJohn Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
for Fair & SquareFair & SquareFair & Square is an album by American folk singer-songwriter John Prine, released on Oh Boy Records in 2005. Three versions were released: a standard CD, an Extended Play CD with four bonus tracks, and a vinyl version with the same four bonus tracks....
- John Prine
- Grammy Awards of 2005Grammy Awards of 2005The 47th Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were hosted by Queen Latifah , and televised in the United States by CBS. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year...
- Ray KennedyRay Kennedy (country singer)Ray Kennedy is an American country music artist. He has recorded three studio albums: one on Columbia Records and two on Atlantic Records...
(engineer/mixer/producer) & Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
for The Revolution Starts... NowThe Revolution Starts Now (album)The Revolution Starts Now is an album by alternative country singer Steve Earle, released in 2004.Earle received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for this album at the 47th Grammy Awards held February 13, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.-Track listing:All...
- Ray Kennedy
- Grammy Awards of 2004Grammy Awards of 2004The 46th Grammy Awards were held on the February 8, 2004. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The big winners were Outkast, who won three awards including Album of the Year & Beyoncé Knowles, who won 5 Awards...
- Warren ZevonWarren ZevonWarren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
for The WindThe Wind (album)The Wind is the last studio album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 2003. Zevon began recording the album shortly after he was diagnosed with inoperable pleural mesothelioma , and it was released just two weeks before his death on September 7, 2003 .The album was awarded the...
- Warren Zevon
- Grammy Awards of 2003Grammy Awards of 2003The 45th Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003. Musicians accomplishments from the previous year were recognized. Norah Jones was the night's big winner winning five awards including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal...
- Alison KraussAlison KraussAlison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
(producer), Gary Paczosa (engineer/mixer) & Nickel CreekNickel CreekNickel Creek was an American progressive acoustic music trio consisting of Chris Thile , Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins . The band was founded in 1989 and released 6 albums between 1993 and 2006...
for This SideThis SideThis Side is the Grammy-winning fourth album by the progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek, released on Sugar Hill in the summer of 2002. It gained some notoriety in indie rock circles due to the group's recording of a Pavement song, Spit on a Stranger...
- Alison Krauss
- Grammy Awards of 2002Grammy Awards of 2002The 44th Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 2002. The biggest was Alicia Keys, winning 5 Grammys, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". U2 won 4 awards including Record of the Year and Best Rock Album.-Award winners:...
- Chris Shaw (engineer) & Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
(producer & artist) for Love and Theft
- Chris Shaw (engineer) & Bob Dylan
- Grammy Awards of 2001Grammy Awards of 2001The 43rd Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001. Steely Dan was the biggest winner winning three awards including Album of the Year for Two Against Nature. U2 was also a big winner winning three awards as well; including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Beautiful Day. Dr...
- Malcolm BurnMalcolm BurnMalcolm Burn is a Canadian-born music producer, recording engineer and musician. In 2001, he won a Grammy Award with Jim Watts and Emmylou Harris for his work on Harris's Red Dirt Girl. -Biography:...
(engineer & producer), Jim Watts (engineer) & Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
for Red Dirt GirlRed Dirt GirlRed Dirt Girl is an Emmylou Harris album from 2000, which reached #3 on the Billboard country album charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2001. The album was a significant departure for Harris, as eleven of the twelve tracks were written or co-written by her. She was...
- Malcolm Burn
- Grammy Awards of 2000Grammy Awards of 2000The 42nd Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2000. During the show, Santana won 8 Grammys, tying Michael Jackson's record for most awards won in a single night. Santana's album Supernatural was awarded a total of nine awards....
- Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
for Mule VariationsMule Variations-Related promo CD:As a promotional limited offer, an EP titled Hold On was later released with two of the tracks from the Mule Variations album plus two previously unreleased tracks...
- Tom Waits
1990s
- Grammy Awards of 1999Grammy Awards of 1999The 41st Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill was the nights big winner winning a total of 5 awards including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Madonna won three awards while country musicians the Dixie...
- Lucinda WilliamsLucinda WilliamsLucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
for Car Wheels on a Gravel RoadCar Wheels on a Gravel RoadCar Wheels on a Gravel Road is the 1998 album by singer-songwriter and guitarist Lucinda Williams, her fifth professional release. Issued by Mercury/Polygram Records, it was recorded in Nashville and Canoga Park, California...
- Lucinda Williams
- Grammy Awards of 1998Grammy Awards of 1998The 40th Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Rock icon Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, and R...
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
for Time Out of MindTime out of MindTime Out of Mind is the 30th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 30, 1997 on Columbia Records. It is his first double studio album since 1970's Self Portrait...
- Bob Dylan
- Grammy Awards of 1997Grammy Awards of 1997The 39th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Babyface & Eric Clapton for "Change the World"*Album of the Year...
- Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
for The Ghost of Tom JoadThe Ghost of Tom JoadThe Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1995 . The album was recorded and mixed at Thrill Hill during the spring and summer of 1995. Musically and lyrically reminiscent of Springsteen's 1982 critically acclaimed album Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad...
- Bruce Springsteen
- Grammy Awards of 1996Grammy Awards of 1996The 38th Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the night's big winner, scoring four trophies, including Album of the Year.-Award winners:...
- Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
for Wrecking BallWrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album)Wrecking Ball is a 1995 album by Emmylou Harris in which she moves away from the traditional acoustic sound for which she had become known, to team up with rock producer Daniel Lanois and engineer Mark Howard...
- Emmylou Harris
- Grammy Awards of 1995Grammy Awards of 1995The 37th Grammy Awards were presented March 1, 1995. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Bill Bottrell & Sheryl Crow for "All I Wanna Do"*Album of the Year...
- Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
for American RecordingsAmerican Recordings (album)American Recordings is a Grammy Award-winning album by the country singer Johnny Cash. It was released in April 1994 , the first album issued by American Recordings after its name change from Def American...
- Johnny Cash
- Grammy Awards of 1994Grammy Awards of 1994The 36th Grammy Awards were held in 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston is the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
- Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
for Other Voices, Other Rooms
- Nanci Griffith
- Grammy Awards of 1993Grammy Awards of 1993The 35th Grammy Awards were held in 1993. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Eric Clapton was the night's big winner, winning 6 awards including Album of the Year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
- The ChieftainsThe ChieftainsThe Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
for Another CountryAnother Country (Chieftains album)Another Country is a 1992 album by The Chieftains. It is a collaboration between the Irish band and many top country music musicians including Ricky Skaggs, Don Williams, Colin James, Emmylou Harris, members from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins and Sam Bush...
- The Chieftains
- Grammy Awards of 1992Grammy Awards of 1992The 34th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1992. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year . Natalie Cole was the big winner winning three awards including Album of the Year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
- John PrineJohn PrineJohn Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
& Joe RomersaJoe RomersaJoseph M. Romersa is an American song writer, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, sound engineer and vocalist....
(engineer) for The Missing Years
- John Prine
- Grammy Awards of 1991Grammy Awards of 1991The 33rd Grammy Awards were held on February 20, 1991. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Quincy Jones was the night's big winner winning a total of six awards including Album of the Year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
- Shawn ColvinShawn ColvinShawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
for Steady OnSteady On (Shawn Colvin album)Steady On is the 1989 debut album by singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin. In addition to launching Colvin's career the album won the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 33rd Grammy Awards in February 1991...
- Shawn Colvin
- Grammy Awards of 1990Grammy Awards of 1990The 32nd Grammy Awards were held in 1990. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.-General:*Record of the Year**Arif Mardin & Bette Midler for "Wind Beneath My Wings"*Album of the Year...
- Indigo GirlsIndigo GirlsThe Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
for Indigo GirlsIndigo Girls (album)Indigo Girls is the second studio album by Indigo Girls. It was released in 1989 on Epic Records.The album received excellent critical reviews, and went gold after six months and eventually went platinum. The duo was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy , and won one for Best Contemporary Folk...
- Indigo Girls
1980s
- Grammy Awards of 1989Grammy Awards of 1989The 31st Grammy Awards were held in 1989. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Linda Goldstein & Bobby McFerrin for "Don't Worry, Be Happy"*Album of the Year...
- Tracy ChapmanTracy ChapmanTracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
for Tracy ChapmanTracy Chapman (album)Tracy Chapman is the self-titled debut album by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released in 1988.-History:Tracy Chapman hit #1 on both the US & UK album charts. The album was critically acclaimed and helped to launch the 1990s female singer-songwriter movement, which included artists like Tori...
- Tracy Chapman
- Grammy Awards of 1988Grammy Awards of 1988The 30th Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Paul Simon for "Graceland"*Album of the Year...
- Steve GoodmanSteve GoodmanSteve Goodman was an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. The writer of "City of New Orleans", made popular by Arlo Guthrie, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
for Unfinished Business
- Steve Goodman
- Grammy Awards of 1987Grammy Awards of 1987The 29th Grammy Awards were held in 1987. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Russ Titelman , Steve Winwood for "Higher Love"*Album of the Year...
- Al Bunetta, Dan Einstein & Hank Neuberger (producers) for Tribute to Steve Goodman performed by various artists