Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, musician and songwriter. Described as "the consummate DIY writer and producer", Kurstin has been associated with releases which have cumulatively sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. He has won five Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in 2017 and 2018.[1][2][3][4][5] Kurstin co-wrote, produced and played most of the instruments on the record-breaking 2015 Adele
Adele single, "Hello". Among others, he has worked with Sia, Beck, Kelly Clarkson, Ellie Goulding, Pink, the Shins, Tegan and Sara, Lily Allen, and the Foo Fighters. He often plays guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, and engineers and programs the records he produces.[3][6][7][2] An "exceptionally accomplished" musician, Kurstin began his career as a jazz pianist and later co-founded Geggy Tah. He has collaborated with Inara George
Inara George in The Bird and the Bee
The Bird and the Bee since 2004.[8]

Contents

1 Early life and education 2 Career

2.1 1994–2004: Geggy Tah, studio and session work 2.2 2004–2010: The Bird and the Bee, Lily Allen, Sia 2.3 2011–2016: Kelly Clarkson, the Shins, Pink, Adele 2.4 2016–present: Producer of the Year, Liam Gallagher, Foo Fighters, No Expectations

3 Discography 4 Awards and nominations

4.1 Golden Globe Awards 4.2 Grammy Awards 4.3 Ivor Novello Awards

5 References 6 External links

Early life and education[edit] Kurstin was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California. He started playing piano at age 5; soon after, he picked up guitar and bass. Kurstin joined his first band at the age of 11, and co-wrote "Crunchy Water", the b-side to classmate Dweezil Zappa's "My Mother Is a Space Cadet" at 12.[9] Kurstin is Jewish.[10] In high school, Kurstin focused on jazz piano. After graduation, he moved to New York to study with Charles Mingus' pianist Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In addition to coursework, as a student Kurstin played with prominent jazz artists including Bobby Hutcherson, George Coleman, and Charles McPherson.[11] He returned to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to finish his degree, and graduated from the California
California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in 1992.[9] In a 2013 interview, Kurstin said that his education in jazz had played a vital role in his pop success. "It's still something I carry over into my pop music work. It's really important to me that the notes I'm choosing strike the right emotional chord."[12][13] Career[edit] 1994–2004: Geggy Tah, studio and session work[edit] Kurstin continued to perform with Hutcherson, Coleman, McPherson and others following his graduation. In 1994, he formed Geggy Tah with Tommy Jordan, whom he had met at an LA jam. A friend passed a demo they recorded on to David Byrne, who signed them to his label, Luaka Bop. "They incorporate so many disparate elements into their sound that one senses a new sensibility afoot", Byrne said in 1997.[14] Geggy Tah released their debut album Grand Opening in 1994; Kurstin played bass, clavinet, guitar, organ, piano, synthesizers and drums, and was credited as a songwriter, producer, programmer, and backup vocalist. In 1996 the band released Sacred Cow. It included the song "Whoever You Are", which became a hit in 2001, after it was used in a television spot for Mercedes Benz. As the song ascended the charts, Geggy Tah released their final album, Into the Oh.[15][16][17] In addition to playing with Geggy Tah, Kurstin did session work, one-offs and tours with artists including Beck, Ben Harper, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 2001, he released an album under the name Action Figure Party on the Verve-affiliated label Blue Thumb Records. Flea, Sean Lennon, Soul Coughing's Yuval Gabay as well as musicians who performed with Beck, Air, Gil-Scott Heron
Gil-Scott Heron and Garbage appeared on the record.[18][19] Kurstin signed a worldwide publishing deal with EMI (now Sony/ATV) in 2002. While he had consistently written songs since the age of 12, he intensified his efforts, working "day and night, pumping out songs". In addition to writing on his own, he collaborated with songwriters and artists including Sia, whom he met through Beck
Beck in 2003.[20][21] 2004–2010: The Bird and the Bee, Lily Allen, Sia[edit] In 2004, Kurstin was introduced to singer Inara George
Inara George by a mutual friend, Mike Andrews. Then producing George's solo debut, Andrews hired Kurstin as a pianist for the album. Kurstin and George clicked musically in the studio and together they formed The Bird and the Bee (stylized as "the bird and the bee"). Shortly thereafter, they were signed by Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records chairman Bruce Lundvall.[22] Described by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly as "space-age pop that cunningly combines bossa nova languidity with Beach Boys-style lushness", they have since released four albums and an EP. Kurstin was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album for the Bird and the Bee's 2015 release, Recreational Love.[23] [24][25] After working on tracks with artists including Peaches, All Saints, Pink, the Flaming Lips, and Kylie Minogue, Kurstin was introduced to Lily Allen. Along with other musicians, co-writers, producers and engineers, he worked on her 2006 debut, Alright, Still, which went on to achieve platinum status. For her second album It's Not Me, It's You, Allen worked exclusively with Kurstin; he co-wrote every song and played all of the instruments on the record, which he also engineered and produced. The album's first single, "The Fear", spent four weeks at number 1 in the UK, and the album hit number 5 in the US and charted in the top 10 in eight other countries. With Allen, Kurstin won three Ivor Novello Awards for his work on the double-platinum It's Not Me, It's You. Based in part on the album's success, as well as his work on a bird and the bee record, Kurstin was nominated for his first Producer of the Year Grammy in 2010.[26] Kurstin's first commercially available collaboration with Sia was "Death by Chocolate", released on her 2008 album Some People Have Real Problems. In 2010, he produced Sia's fifth album, We Are Born. It reached number 2 in Australia and number 37 in the US. It won ARIA Music Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Independent Release.[27] 2011–2016: Kelly Clarkson, the Shins, Pink, Adele[edit] In 2012, Kurstin earned his first number 1 song in the United States and two Grammy Award nominations for Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", which he co-wrote and produced. He reunited with Clarkson in 2013 (on Wrapped in Red) and in 2015 (on Piece by Piece). "I think what makes him stand out as a producer is his skill as a musician", Clarkson said. "He can play anything phenomenally. His abilities as a musician give him an advantage, because he doesn’t have to rely on anyone else to interpret his vision."[28] In 2012 Kurstin produced and wrote or co-wrote five songs for the Grammy-nominated Pink album, The Truth About Love, including its first single, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)". The album was Pink's first number 1 in the United States; it charted in the Top 10 in 31 countries, and as of 2016 had been certified seven-times platinum. Later in 2012, he began production on Tegan & Sara's Heartthrob and worked closely with the Shins' James Mercer on Port of Morrow, which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200.[29]

Kurstin in 2013

In addition to Clarkson, in 2013 and 2014 Kurstin wrote and produced songs which appeared on albums by Lana Del Rey, Foster the People, Ellie Goulding, Lykke Li, Katy Perry, and Charli XCX. He co-wrote and produced Ellie Goulding's "Burn", which was the number 1 single in the UK for three consecutive weeks, teamed again with Allen, and collaborated with Sia on 1000 Forms of Fear. Her most successful album to date, 1000 Forms of Fear
1000 Forms of Fear debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and charted at number 1 in Australia and Canada and reached the top five charts in Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. 1000 Forms of Fear
1000 Forms of Fear earned three ARIA Music Awards. Kurstin was nominated for a Record of the Year Grammy for the album's lead single, "Chandelier", and once again nominated as Producer of the Year.[7] Kurstin scored the 2014 adaptation of the film Annie and served as the soundtrack's executive producer. With Sia, he created new arrangements for the Broadway musical's original tracks and co-wrote several new songs for the film, including "Opportunity", for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.[30][31] Kurstin began working with Beck
Beck on his follow up to the Grammy-winning Morning Phase
Morning Phase in 2015. He co-wrote and produced "Dreams", the first single from the album "Colors".[32] Kurstin co-wrote and produced three songs on Adele's 2015 album, 25, including its first single, "Hello". In an interview with Rolling Stone, Adele
Adele said: "This song was a massive breakthrough for me with my writing because it'd been pretty slow up to this point, and I felt after I worked with Greg [Kurstin] on this, it all poured right out of me." Kurstin also played bass, guitar, drums, piano and keyboards on "Hello", which reached number one in 28 countries. It was the first record to exceed 1 million in digital sales over a 7-day period. As of February 2016, the album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.[33][34][35] 2016–present: Producer of the Year, Liam Gallagher, Foo Fighters, No Expectations[edit] Kurstin's fourth album with Sia, This Is Acting, was released in January 2016.[36] In February 2017, Kurstin won four Grammy Awards. For Adele's 25, he won Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year for his work on Adele's 25. He won Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in recognition of his work with Tegan and Sara, Sia and Ellie Goulding.[37] In March 2017, the BBC reported that Kurstin was working with Paul McCartney on a new studio album.[38] Kurstin co-produced the song "Love" on Kendrick Lamar's album Damn, released in March 2017.[39] On June 1, 2017, a single by Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher entitled "Wall of Glass" was released.[40] The track was written by Gallagher and Kurstin. Kurstin produced the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters album, Concrete and Gold, which released on September 15, 2017. In an interview with Music Week, Dave Grohl said: “If you want to survive you have to kind of push a little bit. I just imagined the sound moving outwards. Not necessarily alternative instrumentation and shit like that, just sonically to push it out. Greg is a fucking genius. He’s a brilliant producer and he has this sonic intuition that I have never seen in anybody else."[41] In 2017, Kurstin launched No Expectations, a publishing joint venture with Sony/ATV. The first artists signed to No Expectations were Jesse Shatkin and Wendy Wang.[42] Discography[edit] Main article: Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin production discography Awards and nominations[edit] Golden Globe Awards[edit]

Year Nominee/work Award Result

2014 "Opportunity" with Sia Furler
Sia Furler and Will Gluck
Will Gluck (from Annie) Best Original Song Nominated

Grammy Awards[edit]

Year Nominee/work Award Result

2010 Body of work during eligible year Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Nominated

2013 "Stronger" (Kelly Clarkson) Song of the Year Nominated

Record of the Year Nominated

2015 "Chandelier" (Sia) Nominated

Body of work during eligible year Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Nominated

2016 Recreational Love
Recreational Love (The Bird and the Bee) Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Nominated

2017 25 (Adele) Album of the Year Won

"Hello" (Adele) Song of the Year Won

Record of the Year Won

Body of work during eligibility year Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Won

2018 Won

"Never Give Up" Best Song Written for Visual Media Nominated

Ivor Novello Awards[edit]

Year Nominee/work Award Result

2010 Greg Kurstin, Lily Allen Songwriter of the Year Won

"The Fear" (Lily Allen) Best Song Won

Most Performed Work Won

References[edit]

^ "Grammys, Complete Winners List". Billboard. February 12, 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.  ^ a b Tingen, Paul (March 20, 2015). "Wigging Out". Audio Technology. Retrieved 29 January 2016.  ^ a b "Adele's Producer Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin Says it Wasn't Easy Keeping Mum on Adele". Billboard. AP. October 27, 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2016.  ^ "Billboard Year End Charts 2009-2015". Billboard. January 1, 2009. Adele, Sia, Katy Perry, Rita Ora, the Shins, Santigold, Lana Del Rey, Britney Spears, Tegan & Sarah, Dido, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Ellie Goulding  access-date= requires url= (help) ^ Weiss, David (March 28, 2016). "Writing and Recording a Huge #1". SonicScoop. Retrieved 15 April 2016.  ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (February 3, 2015). "Ladies' man: Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin on producing for Clarkson, Sia". Associated Press. Retrieved 27 January 2016.  ^ a b " Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin production credits". Allmusic. Allmusic.  ^ Sara, Quinn (February 29, 2012). " Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin - Behind the Scenes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 February 2016.  ^ a b Wood, Mikael. " Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin is an in-demand songwriter-producer – and not crazy". December 4, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2013.  ^ Bloom, Nate (December 22, 2014). "All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!". Jewish World Review.  ^ Gallant, Michael (May 1, 2013). "GREG KURSTIN Blazing his own trail from jazz scholar to pop hit-maker". Music and Musicians. Retrieved 26 January 2016.  ^ Harcourt, Nic. "Greg Kurstin: Turn It Up". July 2009. Los Angeles Times Magazine. Retrieved December 23, 2013.  ^ "New School Press Release, 2008". Retrieved February 3, 2013.  ^ Harrington, Jim (February 21, 1997). "Going Geggy Over Tah". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved 28 January 2016.  ^ Sawdey, Evan (July 16, 2015). "The Lovey Dovey Return of the Bird and the Bee". Pop Matters. Retrieved 27 January 2016.  ^ Roos, John (January 3, 1997). "Whoever They Are : Geggy Tah's Members Defy Conventional Labels, Yet One of Their Singles Is Climbing the Charts". Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 January 2016.  ^ " Geggy Tah album credits". Allmusic. Allmusic. Retrieved 28 January 2016.  ^ Kreikbergs, John (September 6, 2001). "Action Figure Party". The Pitch. Retrieved 29 January 2016.  ^ Henderickson, Ted (July 1, 2001). "Action Figure Party". CMJ. Retrieved 29 January 2016.  ^ Unterberger, Andrew. "From Geggy Tah to the Grammys: The Wild Ride of "Pop Impersario" Greg Kurstin". February 8, 2013. Pop Dust. Retrieved December 23, 2013.  ^ " Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin extends global publishing agreement with EMI Music Publishing". May 11, 2010. EMI Music Publishing. Retrieved December 23, 2013.  ^ Chinen, Nate. "At 70, a Legendary Jazz Label Asks, 'Now What?'". February 6, 2009. New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2013.  ^ Endelman, Michael. "the bird and the bee". January 19, 2007. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 23, 2013.  ^ "bird and the bee at AllMusic". 2013. AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.  ^ "Best Engineered Album Grammy, Non-Classical". cbs.com. CBS. Retrieved 14 February 2016.  ^ Tingen, Paul (May 1, 2009). "Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Greg Kurstin". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 29 January 2016.  ^ "ARIA Chart Awards" (PDF). ARIA.  ^ Hits staff, 18, 2016 (January 18, 2016). "Meet the Grammy Class: Kelly Clarkson". Hits. Retrieved 29 January 2016.  ^ Sisario, Ben (March 16, 2012). "The Second Act Of an Indie Success Story". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2013.  ^ Rigby, Sam. "Sia and Beck
Beck Join Stars on Annie Movie Soundtrack". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 3, 2014.  ^ Via RocNation. "ANNIE Soundtrack Press Release". Nuke The Fridge. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.  ^ Reed, Ryan (June 15, 2015). " Beck
Beck Looks to Dance Floor With Funky New Song, 'Dreams'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 June 2015.  ^ "Radio on Adele's 'Hello': 'She Can Make You Feel What She Feels'". Billboard.  ^ Searjeant, Jill (November 2, 2015). "Adele's 'Hello' breaks 1 million digital sales in record". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 2 January 2016.  ^ Kreps, Daniel (October 23, 2015). " Adele
Adele Talks '25,' 'Hello' Origins and 'Darkness' in New Interviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 January 2016.  ^ Gardner, Elysa (January 28, 2016). "Sia hides in plain sight (and big sound) on 'This Is Acting'". USA Today. Retrieved 9 February 2016.  ^ Coscarelli, Joe (February 14, 2017). "Greg Kurstin, Adele's No. 2, on the Grammys, Beyoncé
Beyoncé and Getting Cut Off". New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2017.  ^ "Sir Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney talks to 6 Music about collaborations, Chuck Berry, his new album and his own musical legacy., Rhys Thomas joins Shaun, Shaun Keaveny - BBC Radio 6 Music". BBC. Retrieved 2017-03-27.  ^ Wood, Mikael (April 14, 2017). "Our 3 instant reactions to Kendrick Lamar's startling new album". Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 April 2017.  ^ " Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher Debuts His First Solo Song Wall of Glass
Wall of Glass - Noise11.com". www.noise11.com. Retrieved 2017-06-01.  ^ Trendall, Andrew (July 10, 2017). " Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters explain why they chose Adele's producer for their new album". NME. Retrieved 5 August 2017.  ^ Newman, Melinda (September 19, 2017). "Adele, Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters Producer Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin Launches Publishing Joint Venture With Sony/ATV: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 10 October 2017. 

External links[edit]

Official website the bird and the bee

v t e

Geggy Tah

Daren Hahn Tommy Jordan Greg Kurstin

Studio albums

Grand Opening Sacred Cow Into the Oh

Singles

"Giddy Up" (Split 7" with Zap Mama) "No Problem" (Split 7" with A. R. Kane) "Go" "Whoever You Are" "Lotta Stuff" "One Zero" "Dumb Submarine"

Related articles

Luaka Bop The Bird and the Bee

v t e

Grammy Award for Album of the Year

1959–1979

The Music from Peter Gunn
The Music from Peter Gunn – Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini (1959) Come Dance with Me! – Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra (1960) The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart
The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart – Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart (1961) Judy at Carnegie Hall
Judy at Carnegie Hall – Judy Garland
Judy Garland (1962) The First Family – Vaughn Meader
Vaughn Meader (1963) The Barbra Streisand Album
The Barbra Streisand Album – Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand (1964) Getz/Gilberto
Getz/Gilberto – Stan Getz, João Gilberto
João Gilberto (1965) September of My Years – Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra (1966) A Man and His Music – Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra (1967) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles
The Beatles (1968) By the Time I Get to Phoenix – Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell (1969) Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears (1970) Bridge over Troubled Water
Bridge over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel (1971) Tapestry – Carole King
Carole King (1972) The Concert for Bangladesh – Various (1973) Innervisions
Innervisions – Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder (1974) Fulfillingness' First Finale
Fulfillingness' First Finale – Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder (1975) Still Crazy After All These Years
Still Crazy After All These Years – Paul Simon
Paul Simon (1976) Songs in the Key of Life
Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder (1977) Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac (1978) Saturday Night Fever – Bee Gees/Various (1979)

1980–2000

52nd Street – Billy Joel
Billy Joel (1980) Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross – Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (1981) Double Fantasy
Double Fantasy – John Lennon
John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono (1982) Toto IV
Toto IV – Toto (1983) Thriller – Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson (1984) Can't Slow Down – Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie (1985) No Jacket Required
No Jacket Required – Phil Collins
Phil Collins (1986) Graceland – Paul Simon
Paul Simon (1987) The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree – U2 (1988) Faith – George Michael
George Michael (1989) Nick of Time – Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt (1990) Back on the Block
Back on the Block – Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones and various artists (1991) Unforgettable... with Love – Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole (1992) Unplugged – Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton (1993) The Bodyguard – Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston (1994) MTV Unplugged – Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett (1995) Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette (1996) Falling into You
Falling into You – Celine Dion
Celine Dion (1997) Time Out of Mind – Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (1998) The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill (1999) Supernatural – Santana (2000)

2001–present

Two Against Nature
Two Against Nature – Steely Dan
Steely Dan (2001) O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack (2002) Come Away with Me
Come Away with Me – Norah Jones
Norah Jones (2003) Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below – Outkast
Outkast (2004) Genius Loves Company
Genius Loves Company – Ray Charles
Ray Charles and various artists (2005) How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb – U2 (2006) Taking the Long Way
Taking the Long Way – Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks (2007) River: The Joni Letters – Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock (2008) Raising Sand
Raising Sand – Robert Plant
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss (2009) Fearless – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift (2010) The Suburbs
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire (2011) 21 – Adele
Adele (2012) Babel – Mumford & Sons (2013) Random Access Memories
Random Access Memories – Daft Punk
Daft Punk (2014) Morning Phase
Morning Phase – Beck
Beck (2015) 1989 – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift (2016) 25 – Adele
Adele (2017) 24K Magic – Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars (2018)

v t e

Grammy Award for Record of the Year

1959−1980

"Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno (1959) "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (1960) "Theme from A Summer Place" by Percy Faith
Percy Faith (1961) "Moon River" by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini (1962) "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett (1963) "Days of Wine and Roses" by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini (1964) "The Girl from Ipanema" by Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz
Stan Getz (1965) "A Taste of Honey" by Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (1966) "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra (1967) "Up, Up and Away" by The 5th Dimension
The 5th Dimension (Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamont McLemore, Ron Townson) (1968) "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel (Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon) (1969) "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension
The 5th Dimension (Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamont McLemore, Ron Townson) (1970) "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel (Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon) (1971) "It's Too Late" by Carole King
Carole King (1972) "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack (1973) "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack (1974) "I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John (1975) "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille (Daryl Dragon, Toni Tennille) (1976) "This Masquerade" by George Benson
George Benson (1977) "Hotel California" by Eagles (Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Joe Walsh) (1978) "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel
Billy Joel (1979) "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers (Jeffrey Baxter, John Hartman, Keith Knudsen, Michael McDonald, Tiran Porter, Patrick Simmons) (1980)

1981−2000

"Sailing" by Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (1981) "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes (1982) "Rosanna" by Toto (Bobby Kimball, Steve Lukather, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate, Steve Porcaro) (1983) "Beat It" by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson (1984) "What's Love Got to Do with It" by Tina Turner
Tina Turner (1985) "We Are the World" by USA for Africa
USA for Africa (1986) "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood (1987) "Graceland" by Paul Simon
Paul Simon (1988) "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin (1989) "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler
Bette Midler (1990) "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins
Phil Collins (1991) "Unforgettable" by Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole (1992) "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton (1993) "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston (1994) "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow (1995) "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal (1996) "Change the World" by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton (1997) "Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin (1998) "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion
Celine Dion (1999) "Smooth" by Santana (Rodney Holmes, Tony Lindsay, Karl Perazzo, Raul Rekow, Benny Rietveld, Carlos Santana, Chester Thompson) featuring Rob Thomas (2000)

2001−present

"Beautiful Day" by U2 (Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr.) (2001) "Walk On" by U2 (Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr.) (2002) "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones
Norah Jones (2003) "Clocks" by Coldplay
Coldplay (Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will Champion, Phil Harvey, Chris Martin) (2004) "Here We Go Again" by Ray Charles
Ray Charles and Norah Jones
Norah Jones (2005) "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day
Green Day (Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Frank Edwin Wright III) (2006) "Not Ready to Make Nice" by Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks (Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison) (2007) "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse (2008) "Please Read the Letter" by Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
Robert Plant (2009) "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon (Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill, Nathan Followill) (2010) "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum (Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood) (2011) "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
Adele (2012) "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye
Gotye featuring Kimbra
Kimbra (2013) "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers (2014) "Stay with Me" (Darkchild version) by Sam Smith (2015) "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars (2016) "Hello" by Adele
Adele (2017) "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars (2018)

v t e

Grammy Award for Song of the Year

1959−1980

"Volare" – Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno (songwriter) (1959) "The Battle of New Orleans" – Jimmy Driftwood
Jimmy Driftwood (songwriter) (1960) "Theme from Exodus" – Ernest Gold (songwriter) (1961) "Moon River" – Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1962) "What Kind of Fool Am I?" – Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley (songwriters) (1963) "Days of Wine and Roses" – Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1964) "Hello, Dolly!" – Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman (songwriter) (1965) "The Shadow of Your Smile" – Paul Francis Webster & Johnny Mandel (songwriters) (1966) "Michelle" – John Lennon
John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney (songwriters) (1967) "Up, Up, and Away" – Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb (songwriter) (1968) "Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (songwriter) (1969) "Games People Play" – Joe South
Joe South (songwriter) (1970) "Bridge over Troubled Water" – Paul Simon
Paul Simon (songwriter) (1971) "You've Got a Friend" – Carole King
Carole King (songwriter) (1972) "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Ewan MacColl (songwriter) (1973) "Killing Me Softly with His Song" – Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox (songwriters) (1974) "The Way We Were" – Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Marvin Hamlisch (songwriters) (1975) "Send in the Clowns" – Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim (songwriter) (1976) "I Write the Songs" – Bruce Johnston (songwriter) (1977) "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" – Barbra Streisand & Paul Williams (songwriters) / "You Light Up My Life" – Joe Brooks (songwriter) (1978) "Just the Way You Are" – Billy Joel
Billy Joel (songwriter) (1979) "What a Fool Believes" – Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald (songwriters) (1980)

1981−2000

"Sailing" – Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (songwriter) (1981) "Bette Davis Eyes" – Donna Weiss & Jackie DeShannon (songwriters) (1982) "Always on My Mind" – Johnny Christopher, Mark James & Wayne Carson (songwriters) (1983) "Every Breath You Take" – Sting (songwriter) (1984) "What's Love Got to Do with It" – Graham Lyle & Terry Britten (songwriters) (1985) "We Are the World" – Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie (songwriters) (1986) "That's What Friends Are For" – Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager (songwriters) (1987) "Somewhere Out There" – James Horner, Barry Mann
Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (songwriters) (1988) "Don't Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin (songwriter) (1989) "Wind Beneath My Wings" – Larry Henley & Jeff Silbar (songwriters) (1990) "From a Distance" – Julie Gold
Julie Gold (songwriter) (1991) "Unforgettable" – Irving Gordon
Irving Gordon (songwriter) (1992) "Tears in Heaven" – Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1993) "A Whole New World" – Alan Menken
Alan Menken & Tim Rice
Tim Rice (songwriters) (1994) "Streets of Philadelphia" – Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen (songwriter) (1995) "Kiss from a Rose" – Seal (songwriter) (1996) "Change the World" – Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick & Tommy Sims (songwriters) (1997) "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal
John Leventhal (songwriters) (1998) "My Heart Will Go On" – James Horner
James Horner & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1999) "Smooth" – Itaal Shur
Itaal Shur & Rob Thomas (songwriters) (2000)

2001−present

"Beautiful Day" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2001) "Fallin'" – Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys (songwriter) (2002) "Don't Know Why" – Jesse Harris (songwriter) (2003) "Dance with My Father" – Richard Marx
Richard Marx & Luther Vandross (songwriters) (2004) "Daughters" – John Mayer
John Mayer (songwriter) (2005) "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2006) "Not Ready to Make Nice" – Emily Burns Erwin, Martha Maguire, Natalie Maines
Natalie Maines Pasdar & Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2007) "Rehab" – Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse (songwriter) (2008) "Viva la Vida" – Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion & Christopher Martin (songwriters) (2009) "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart (songwriters) (2010) "Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley
Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2011) "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele
Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth (songwriters) (2012) "We Are Young" – Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost
Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess (songwriters) (2013) "Royals" – Joel Little & Ella Yelich O'Connor (songwriters) (2014) "Stay with Me" (Darkchild version) – James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith (songwriters) (2015) "Thinking Out Loud" – Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge
Amy Wadge (songwriters) (2016) "Hello" – Adele
Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin (songwriters) (2017) "That's What I Like" – Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles
Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip (songwriters) (2018)

Authority control

WorldCat Identities VIAF: 43953815 LCCN: no2001070918 GND: 135236010 MusicBrainz: ef2a8c11-a35a-4c61