1961 Grammy Awards
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff 
| “Moon River,” Henry Mancini | |
| Album of the Year | Judy at Carnegie Hall, Judy Garland (Capitol) | |
| Song of the Year | “Moon River,” Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, songwriters | |
| Best New Artist of 1961 | Peter Nero | |
| Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male | “Lollipops and Roses,” Jack Jones | |
| Best Solo Vocal Performance, Female | Judy at Carnegie Hall, Judy Garland | |
| Best Performance By a Vocal Group | High Flying, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross | |
| Best Performance By a Chorus | Great Band With Great Voices, Johnny Mann Singers and Si Zentner Orchestra | |
| Best Rock and Roll Recording | Let's Twist Again, Chubby Checker (Parkway) | |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Recording | Hit the Road Jack, Ray Charles (ABC/Paramount) | |
| Best Jazz Performance, Soloist or Small Group (Instrumental) | André Previn Plays Harold Arlen, André Previn | |
| Best Jazz Performance, Large Group | West Side Story, Stan Kenton | |
| Best Original Jazz Composition | “African Waltz,” Galt MacDermott, composer | |
| Best Country and Western Recording | Big Bad John, Jimmy Dean (Columbia) | |
| Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording | Everytime I Feel the Spirit, Mahalia Jackson (Columbia) | |
| Best Folk Recording | Belafonte Folk Singers at Home and Abroad, Belafonte Folk Singers (RCA) | |
| Best Performance By an Orchestra for Dancing | Up a Lazy River, Si Zentner | |
| Best Performance By an Orchestra for Other Than Dancing | Breakfast at Tiffany's, Henry Mancini | |
| Best Arrangement | “Moon River,” Henry Mancini, arranger | |
| Best Instrumental Theme or Instrumental Version of a Song | “African Waltz,” Galt MacDermott, composer | |
| Best Original Cast Show Album | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Frank Loesser, composer (RCA) | |
| Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Score From a Motion Picture or Television | Breakfast at Tiffany's, Henry Mancini (RCA) | |
| Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast From a Motion Picture or Television | West Side Story, Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal (Columbia) | |
| Album of the Year, Classical | Stravinsky Conducts, 1960: Le Sacre du Printemps; Petrouchka, lgor Stravinsky conducting Columbia Symphony (Columbia) | |
| Best Classical Performance, Orchestra | Ravel, Daphnis et Chloe, Charles Munch conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra | |
| Best Classical Performance, Chamber Music | Beethoven, Serenade, Op. 8; Kodaly, Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky and William Primrose | |
| Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist (With Orchestra) | Bartók, Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra, Isaac Stern; Eugene Ormandy conducting Philharmonic Orchestra | |
| Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist or Duo (Without Orchestra) | Reverie for Spanish Guitars, Laurindo Almeida | |
| Best Opera Recording | Puccini, Madame Butterfly, Gabriele Santini conducting Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra (Capitol) | |
| Best Classical Performance, Choral | Bach, B Minor Mass, Robert Shaw conducting Robert Shaw Chorale | |
| Best Classical Performance, Vocal Soloist | The Art of the Prima Donna, Joan Sutherland; Francesco Molinari-Pradelli conducting Royal Opera House Orchestra | |
| Best Contemporary Classical Composition (tie) | Discantus, Laurindo Almeida, composer | |
| Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, composer | ||
| Best Comedy Performance | An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Mike Nichols and Elaine May | |
| Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording (Other Than Comedy) | Humor in Music, Leonard Bernstein conducting New York Philharmonic Symphony (Columbia) | |
| Best Recording for Children | Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf, Leonard Bernstein conducting New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Columbia) | |
| Best Album Cover | Judy at Carnegie Hall, Jim Silke, art director (Capitol) | |
| Best Album Cover, Classical | Puccini, Madame Butterfly, Marvin Schwartz, art director (Angel) |
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