Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album
| Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album | |
|---|---|
 Preacher Kids by Robert Randolph is the current recipient. | |
| Awarded for | quality contemporary blues albums |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First award | 1988 |
| Currently held by | Robert Randolph – Preacher Kids (2026) |
| Website | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album was awarded from 1988 to 2011 and from 2017 onwards. Until 1992 the award was known as Best Contemporary Blues Performance and in 1989 was awarded to a song rather than to an album.
The award was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. From 2012 onwards, the category was merged with the Best Traditional Blues Album category to form the new Best Blues Album category. However, in 2016 the Grammy organisation decided to revert the situation back to the pre-2012 era, with two separate categories for traditional and contemporary blues recordings respectively.[1]
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for music released in the previous year. Buddy Guy and Keb' Mo hold the record of most wins in the category with four each, followed by Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Taj Mahal and Fantastic Negrito, all with three wins.
Recipients
.jpg)
1980s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | ||
| Strong Persuader | The Robert Cray Band | |
| After All | Bobby "Blue" Bland | |
| Glazed | Earl King | |
| On a Night Like This | Buckwheat Zydeco | |
| "Standing on the Edge of Love" | B. B. King | |
| 1989 | ||
| Don't Be Afraid of the Dark | The Robert Cray Band | |
| Blues You Can Use | Bobby "Blue" Bland | |
| "Low Commotion" | Ry Cooder | |
| Seven Year Itch | Etta James | |
| Talk to Your Daughter | Robben Ford |
1990s
2000s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | ||
| Take Your Shoes Off | The Robert Cray Band | |
| Continental Drifter | Charlie Musselwhite | |
| Live in Chicago | Luther Allison | |
| Wander This World | Jonny Lang | |
| Welcome to Little Milton | Little Milton | |
| 2001 | ||
| Shoutin' in Key | Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band | |
| Hoochie Man | Bobby Rush | |
| Royal Blue | Koko Taylor | |
| Shake Hands with Shorty | North Mississippi Allstars | |
| Wicked | Shemekia Copeland | |
| 2002 | ||
| Nothing Personal | Delbert McClinton | |
| Creole Moon | Dr. John | |
| The Door | Keb' Mo' | |
| Matriarch of the Blues | Etta James | |
| Sweet Tea | Buddy Guy | |
| 2003 | ||
| Don't Give Up on Me | Solomon Burke | |
| 51 Phantom | North Mississippi Allstars | |
| Burnin' Down the House | Etta James and The Roots Band | |
| One Night in America | Charlie Musselwhite | |
| Room to Breathe | Delbert McClinton | |
| 2004 | ||
| Let's Roll | Etta James | |
| Rediscovered | Howard Tate | |
| The Road We're On | Sonny Landreth | |
| So Many Rivers | Marcia Ball | |
| Wait for Me | Susan Tedeschi | |
| 2005 | ||
| Keep It Simple | Keb' Mo' | |
| I'm a Bluesman | Johnny Winter | |
| N'Awlinz Dis Dat or d'Udda | Dr. John | |
| Sanctuary | Charlie Musselwhite | |
| What's Wrong with This Picture? | Van Morrison | |
| 2006 | ||
| Cost of Living | Delbert McClinton | |
| Bring 'Em In | Buddy Guy | |
| Electric Blue Watermelon | North Mississippi Allstars | |
| Make Do with What You Got | Solomon Burke | |
| Twenty | The Robert Cray Band | |
| 2007 | ||
| After the Rain | Irma Thomas | |
| Hope and Desire | Susan Tedeschi | |
| Live from Across the Pond | The Robert Cray Band | |
| Sippiana Hericane | Dr. John and the Lower 911 | |
| Suitcase | Keb' Mo' | |
| 2008 | ||
| The Road to Escondido | J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton | |
| Into the Blues | Joan Armatrading | |
| Is It News | Doyle Bramhall | |
| The Scene of the Crime | Bettye LaVette | |
| Truth | Robben Ford | |
| 2009 | ||
| City That Care Forgot | Dr. John and the Lower 911 | |
| Like a Fire | Solomon Burke | |
| Maestro | Taj Mahal | |
| Peace, Love & BBQ | Marcia Ball | |
| Simply Grand | Irma Thomas |
2010s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 [2] | ||
| Already Free | The Derek Trucks Band | |
| Back to the River | Susan Tedeschi | |
| Live: Hope at the Hideout | Mavis Staples | |
| This Time | The Robert Cray Band | |
| The Truth According to Ruthie Foster | Ruthie Foster | |
| 2011 [3] | ||
| Living Proof | Buddy Guy | |
| Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook | Bettye LaVette | |
| Live! in Chicago | Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band featuring Hubert Sumlin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Bryan Lee and Buddy Flett | |
| Nothing's Impossible | Solomon Burke | |
| Tribal | Dr. John and the Lower 911 | |
| 2017 [4] | ||
| The Last Days of Oakland | Fantastic Negrito | |
| Bloodline | Kenny Neal | |
| Everybody Wants a Piece | Joe Louis Walker | |
| Give It Back to You | The Record Company | |
| Love Wins Again | Janiva Magness | |
| 2018 [5] | ||
| TajMo | Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo' | |
| Got Soul | Robert Randolph and the Family Band | |
| Live from the Fox Oakland | Tedeschi Trucks Band | |
| Recorded Live in Lafayette | Sonny Landreth | |
| Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm | Robert Cray and Hi Rhythm | |
| 2019 [6] | ||
| Please Don't Be Dead | Fantastic Negrito | |
| Cry No More | Danielle Nicole | |
| Here in Babylon | Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps | |
| Out of the Blues | Boz Scaggs | |
| Victor Wainwright and the Train | Victor Wainwright and the Train |
2020s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 [7] | ||
| This Land | Gary Clark Jr. | |
| Brighter Days | Robert Randolph and the Family Band | |
| Keep On | Southern Avenue | |
| Somebody Save Me | Sugaray Rayford | |
| Venom & Faith | Larkin Poe | |
| 2021 [8] | ||
| Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? | Fantastic Negrito | |
| Blackbirds | Bettye LaVette | |
| The Juice | G. Love | |
| Live at the Paramount | Ruthie Foster Big Band | |
| Up and Rolling | North Mississippi Allstars | |
| 2022 [9] | ||
| 662 | Christone "Kingfish" Ingram | |
| Delta Kream | The Black Keys featuring Eric Deaton and Kenny Brown | |
| Fire It Up | Steve Cropper | |
| Royal Tea | Joe Bonamassa | |
| Uncivil War | Shemekia Copeland | |
| 2023 [10] | ||
| Brother Johnny | Edgar Winter | |
| Bloodline Maintenance | Ben Harper | |
| Crown | Eric Gales | |
| Done Come Too Far | Shemekia Copeland | |
| Set Sail | North Mississippi Allstars | |
| 2024 [11] | ||
| Blood Harmony | Larkin Poe | |
| Death Wish Blues | Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton | |
| Healing Time | Ruthie Foster | |
| LaVette! | Bettye LaVette | |
| Live in London | Christone "Kingfish" Ingram | |
| 2025 [12] | ||
| Mileage | Ruthie Foster | |
| Blame It on Eve | Shemekia Copeland | |
| Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 | Joe Bonamassa | |
| Friendlytown | Steve Cropper and the Midnight Hour | |
| The Fury | Antonio Vergara | |
| 2026 [13] | ||
| Preacher Kids | Robert Randolph | |
| Breakthrough | Joe Bonamassa | |
| Family | Southern Avenue | |
| Paper Doll | Samantha Fish | |
| A Tribute to LJK | Eric Gales |
Artists with multiple wins
|
|
Artists with multiple nominations
|
|
|
References
- ^ "THE RECORDING ACADEMY ANNOUNCES RULE AMENDMENTS AND DATES". Grammy.com. June 16, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Complete List of Nominees for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards". E!Online. December 2, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 2011: Winners and nominees for 53rd Grammy Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ "Grammys 2017: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ Lynch, Joe (November 28, 2017). "Grammys 2018: See the Complete List of Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ "61st Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Winners List". Grammy.com. November 20, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy.com. December 15, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List". GRAMMY.com. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 2023: The Full List of Nominees". The New York Times. November 15, 2022. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ "2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ "2025 GRAMMYs: See The OFFICIAL Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ^ "2026 GRAMMYS: See The Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2025-11-12.