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| Grammy Award for Best Album Notes | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Quality albumliner notes |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First award | 1964 |
| Currently held by | Ricky Riccardi – Centennial (2025) |
| Website | grammy |
TheGrammy Award –Best Album Notes has been presented since 1964. From 1973 to 1976 (the 15th through 18th Awards), a second award was presented for Best Album Notes – Classical. Those awards are listed under those years below. The award recognizes albums with excellent album notes, sometimes referred to asliner notes.[1] It is presented to the album notes author or authors, not to the artists or performers on the winning work, except if the artist is also the album notes author.[2]
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.
| Year | Recipients(s) | Work | Performing artist(s) | Nominees Performers in parentheses / Labels in brackets | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Leonard Feather andStanley Dance | The Ellington Era · Columbia | Duke Ellington |
| [3] |
| 1965 | Stanton Catlin and Carleton Beals | Mexico (Legacy Collection) · Columbia/Legacy | Carlos Chávez |
| [4] |
| 1966 | Stan Cornyn | September of My Years · Reprise | Frank Sinatra |
| [5] |
| 1967 | Stan Cornyn | Sinatra at the Sands · Reprise | Frank Sinatra |
| [6] |
| 1968 | John D. Loudermilk | Suburban Attitudes in Country Verse · RCA Victor | John D. Loudermilk |
| [7] |
| 1969 | Johnny Cash | At Folsom Prison · Columbia | Johnny Cash |
| [8] |
| 1970 | Johnny Cash | Nashville Skyline · Columbia | Bob Dylan |
| [9] |
| 1971 | Chris Albertson | The World's Greatest Blues Singer · Columbia | Bessie Smith |
| [10] |
| 1972 | Sam Samudio | Sam, Hard and Heavy · Atlantic | Sam the Sham |
| [11] |
| 1973 | |||||
| Best Album Notes | [12] | ||||
| Tom T. Hall | Tom T. Hall's Greatest Hits · Mercury | Tom T. Hall |
| ||
| Best Album Notes – Classical | |||||
| James Lyons | Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 2 ("A London Symphony") · RCA Red Seal | André Previn conducting theLondon Symphony Orchestra |
| ||
| 1974 | |||||
| Best Album Notes | [13] | ||||
| Dan Morgenstern | God Is in the House · Onyx | Art Tatum |
| ||
| Best Album Notes – Classical | |||||
| Glenn Gould | Hindemith: Sonatas for Piano Complete · Columbia Masterworks | The Villa Musica Ensemble |
| ||
| 1975 | |||||
| Best Album Notes | [14] | ||||
| Charles R. Townsend | For the Last Time · United Artists | Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys |
| ||
| Dan Morgenstern | The Hawk Flies · Milestone | Coleman Hawkins | |||
| Best Album Notes – Classical | |||||
| Rory Guy | The ClassicErich Wolfgang Korngold · Angel | Willy Mattes (conductor) with a solo byUlf Hoelscher |
| ||
| 1976 | |||||
| Best Album Notes | [15] | ||||
| Pete Hamill | Blood on the Tracks · Columbia | Bob Dylan |
| ||
| Best Album Notes – Classical | |||||
| Gunther Schuller | Footlifters: A Century of American Marches · Columbia | Gunther Schuller conducting the All-Star Band |
| ||
| 1977 | Dan Morgenstern | The Changing Face of Harlem: Savoy Sessions · Savoy | Various Artists |
| [16] |
| 1978 | George T. Simon | Bing Crosby: A Legendary Performer · RCA | Bing Crosby |
| [17] |
| 1979 | Michael Brooks | A Bing Crosby Collection, Volumes 1 and 2 · Columbia | Bing Crosby |
| [18] |
| 1980 | Bob Porter & James Patrick | Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy Sessions · Savoy | Charlie Parker |
| [19] |
| 1981 | David McClintock | Trilogy: Past Present Future · Reprise | Frank Sinatra |
| [20] |
| 1982 | Dan Morgenstern | Erroll Garner: Master of the Keyboard · Book of the Month Records | Erroll Garner |
| [21] |
| 1983 | John Chilton and Richard Sudhalter | Giants of Jazz: Bunny Berigan · Time-Life | Bunny Berigan |
| [22] |
| 1984 | Orrin Keepnews | The "Interplay" Sessions · Milestone | Bill Evans |
| [23] |
| 1985 | Gunther Schuller andMartin Williams | Big Band Jazz · Smithsonian | Various Artists |
| [24] |
| 1986 | Peter Guralnick | Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 · RCA | Sam Cooke |
| [25] |
| 1987 | Gary Giddins,Wilfrid Sheed,Jonathan Schwartz,Murray Kempton,Andrew Sarris,Stephen Holden, andFrank Conroy | The Voice: The Columbia Years 1943–1952 · Columbia/CBS | Frank Sinatra |
| [26] |
| 1988 | Orrin Keepnews | The Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings · Riverside | Thelonious Monk |
| [27] |
| 1989 | Anthony DeCurtis | Crossroads · Polydor | Eric Clapton |
| [28] |
| 1990 | Phil Schaap | Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve · Verve | Charlie Parker |
| [29] |
| 1991 | Dan Morgenstern | Brownie: The Complete Emarcy Recordings of Clifford Brown · EmArcy | Clifford Brown |
| [30] |
| 1992 | James Brown, Cliff White, Harry Weinger,Nelson George, andAlan M. Leeds | Star Time · Polydor | James Brown |
| [31] |
| 1993 | Dave Marsh,Jerry Wexler,David Ritz,Thulani Davis,Ahmet Ertegun, Tom Down, andArif Mardin | Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings · Rhino | Aretha Franklin |
| [32] |
| 1994 | Buck Clayton,Phil Schaap, andJoel E. Siegel | The Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945–1959 · Verve | Billie Holiday |
| [33] |
| 1995 | Dan Morgenstern andLoren Schoenberg | Louis Armstrong: Portrait of the Artists as a Young Man, 1923–1934 · Columbia/Legacy/Smithsonian | Louis Armstrong |
| [34] |
| 1996 | Rob Bowman | The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 3: 1972–1975 · Stax | Various Artists |
| [35] |
| 1997 | George Avakian,Bob Belden, Bill Kirchner, andPhil Schaap | Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings · Columbia | Miles Davis andGil Evans |
| [36] |
| 1998 | John Fahey,Luis Kemnitzer, Jon Pankake, Chuck Pirtle, Jeff Place, Neil V. Rosenberg,Lucy Sante,Peter Stampfel, andEric Von Schmidt | Anthology of American Folk Music · Smithsonian Folkways | Various Artists |
| [37] |
| 1999 | Bob Belden,Todd Coolman, andMichael Cuscuna | Miles Davis Quintet 1965–1968 · Columbia/Legacy | Miles Davis Quintet |
| [38] |
| 2000 | Bob Blumenthal | The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Recordings · Impulse | John Coltrane |
| [39] |
| 2001 | Bob Blumenthal | The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955–1961 · Columbia/Legacy | Miles Davis andJohn Coltrane |
| [40] |
| 2002 | Walter Mosley | ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992) · Warner Archives/Rhino | Richard Pryor |
| [41] |
| Elijah Wald | Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Collection: 1960–2000 The Journey of Chris Strachwitz · Arhoolie | Various Artists | |||
| 2003 | David Evans | Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton · Revenant | Charlie Patton |
| [42] |
| 2004 | Tom Piazza | Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey · Hip-O | Various Artists |
| [43] |
| 2005 | Loren Schoenberg | The Complete Columbia Recordings of Woody Herman and His Orchestra & Woodchoppers (1945–1947) · Mosaic | Woody Herman and His Orchestra |
| [44] |
| 2006 | Alan Lomax andJohn Szwed | The Complete Library of Congress Recordings · Rounder | Jelly Roll Morton |
| [45] |
| 2007 | Dan Morgenstern | If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It! · Bluebird/Legacy | Fats Waller |
| [46] |
| 2008 | Bruce Nemerov | John Work III: Recording Black Culture · Spring Fed | Various Artists |
| [47] |
| 2009 | Francis Davis | Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition · Columbia/Legacy | Miles Davis |
| [48] |
| 2010 | Dan Morgenstern | The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935–1946) · Mosaic | Louis Armstrong |
| [49] |
| 2011 | Robert Gordon | Keep an Eye on the Sky · Rhino | Big Star |
| [50] |
| 2012 | Adam Machado | Hear Me Howling!: Blues, Ballads & Beyond as Recorded by the San Francisco Bay byChris Strachwitz in the 1960s · Arhoolie | Various Artists |
| [51] |
| 2013 | Billy Vera | Singular Genius: The CompleteABC Singles · Concord | Ray Charles |
| [52] |
| 2014 | Neil Tesser | Afro Blue Impressions (Remastered and Expanded) · Pablo/Concord | John Coltrane |
| [53] |
| 2015 | Ashley Kahn | Offering: Live at Temple University · Resonance/Impulse | John Coltrane |
| [54] |
| 2016 | Joni Mitchell | Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced · Rhino | Joni Mitchell |
| [55] |
| 2017 | Ken Bloom & Richard Carlin | Sissle and Blake Sing Shuffle Along · Harbinger/Musical Theater Project | Eubie Blake &Noble Sissle |
| [56] [57] |
| 2018 | Lynell George | Live at the Whisky a Go Go: The Complete Recordings · Stax | Otis Redding |
| [58] |
| 2019 | David Evans | Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris · Dust-to-Digital | Various Artists |
| [59] |
| 2020 | Steve Greenberg | Stax '68: A Memphis Story · Craft /Stax/Concord | Various Artists |
| [60] |
| 2021 | Bob Mehr | Dead Man's Pop · Warner | The Replacements |
| [61] |
| 2022 | Ricky Riccardi | The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions, 1946-1966 · Mosaic | Louis Armstrong |
| [62] |
| 2023 | Bob Mehr | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) · Rhino | Wilco |
| [63] |
| 2024 | Robert Gordon & Deanie Parker | Written In Their Soul: TheStax Songwriter Demos · Stax/Craft | Various Artists |
| |
| 2025 | Ricky Riccardi | Centennial · Archeophone | King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band & Various Artists |
| [64] |
| 2026 | Winner TBA on 1 February 2026 |
| [65] | ||