The 40th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.
Performers Will Smith – Men In Black/Gettin' Jiggy Wit It Babyface, Stevie Wonder, and Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Choir - How Come, How Long R. Kelly – I Believe I Can Fly Fiona Apple – Criminal Fleetwood Mac – Rhiannon/Go Your Own Way/Don't Stop Celine Dion – My Heart Will Go On LeAnn Rimes – How Do I Live Lilith Fair Tribute: Paula Cole – Where Have All The Cowboys Gone, Shawn Colvin – Sunny Came Home & Sarah McLachlan – Building A Mystery Hanson – MMMBop Vince Gill – Pretty Little Adriana Tim McGraw & Faith Hill – It's Your Love Aretha Franklin – Nessun Dorma Franklin stepped in on this opera song when Luciano Pavarotti took sick after the broadcast had started Aretha Franklin & the cast of Blues Brothers 2000 – Respect Erykah Badu & Wyclef Jean – On & On/Gone 'Till November Bob Dylan – Love Sick
Presenters Chris Rock & Vanessa Williams – Best Rap Solo Performance Gloria Estefan & Dwight Yoakam – Best Female Country Vocal Performance Mike Myers & Jewel – Best R&B Album Erykah Badu & Wyclef Jean – Song of the Year; Presented the Trustees Award Missy Elliott & LL Cool J – Best Male R&B Vocal Performance; Presented Bo Diddley with the Lifetime Achievement Award Tim McGraw & Faith Hill – Best Male Country Vocal Performance Danny De Vito & Puff Daddy – Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals Deana Carter & Julio Iglesias – Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals; Presented the Mills Brothers with the Lifetime Achievement Award Aretha Franklin & Blues Brothers – Best New Artist Boyz II Men & Tara Lipinski – Best Pop Vocal Album Kelsey Grammer & Bette Midler – Record of the Year Usher, Sheryl Crow & John Fogerty – Album of the Year; Presented Roy Orbison with the Lifetime Achievement Award
Award winners Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss & Union Station, and R. Kelly were the main recipients with three awards each. Following R. Kelly's federal conviction of racketeering and violations of the Mann Act in New York on September 27, 2021, The Recording Academy declined to strip Kelly of his awards.
General Album of the Year Time Out of Mind – Bob Dylan; Daniel Lanois, producer The Day – Babyface; Babyface, producer This Fire – Paula Cole; Paula Cole, producer Flaming Pie – Paul McCartney; Jeff Lynne, George Martin & Paul McCartney, producers OK Computer – Radiohead; Nigel Godrich & Radiohead, producers
Record of the Year "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin; John Leventhal, producer "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" – Paula Cole; Paula Cole, producer "Everyday Is a Winding Road" – Sheryl Crow; Sheryl Crow, producer "MMMBop" – Hanson; The Dust Brothers, producers "I Believe I Can Fly" – R. Kelly; R. Kelly, producer
Song of the Year "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal, songwriters (Shawn Colvin) "Don't Speak" – Eric Stefani & Gwen Stefani, songwriters (No Doubt) "How Do I Live" – Diane Warren, songwriter (LeAnn Rimes & Trisha Yearwood) "I Believe I Can Fly" – R. Kelly, songwriter (R. Kelly) "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" – Paula Cole, songwriter (Paula Cole)
Best New Artist Paula Cole Fiona Apple Erykah Badu Puff Daddy Hanson
Pop Best Female Pop Vocal Performance "Building a Mystery" – Sarah McLachlan "Butterfly" – Mariah Carey "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" – Paula Cole "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin "Foolish Games" – Jewel
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "Candle in the Wind 1997" – Elton John "Every Time I Close My Eyes" – Babyface "Whenever Wherever Whatever" – Maxwell "Fly Like an Eagle" – Seal "Barely Breathing" – Duncan Sheik
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal "Virtual Insanity" – Jamiroquai "Silver Springs" – Fleetwood Mac "MMMBop" – Hanson "Don't Speak" – No Doubt "Anybody Seen My Baby?" – The Rolling Stones
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals "Don't Look Back" – John Lee Hooker with Van Morrison "How Come, How Long" – Babyface & Stevie Wonder "God Bless the Child" – Tony Bennett with Billie Holiday "I Finally Found Someone" – Barbra Streisand & Bryan Adams "Tell Him" – Barbra Streisand & Celine Dion
Best Pop Instrumental Performance "Last Dance" – Sarah McLachlan "Song for My Brother" – George Benson "An Gaoth Aneas" – The Chieftains "Havana" – Kenny G "Soulful Strut" – Grover Washington Jr.
Best Dance Recording "Carry On" – Donna Summer & Giorgio Moroder "Da Funk" – Daft Punk "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" – Gina G "To Step Aside" – Pet Shop Boys "Space Jam" – Quad City DJ's
Best Pop Album Hourglass – James Taylor; Frank Filipetti & James Taylor, producers This Fire – Paula Cole; Paula Cole, producer The Dance – Fleetwood Mac; Lindsey Buckingham & Elliot Scheiner, producers Travelling Without Moving – Jamiroquai; Jay Kay & Al Stone, producers Surfacing – Sarah McLachlan; Pierre Marchand, producer
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
Tony Bennett on Holiday – Tony Bennett Julie Andrews Broadway/Here I'll Stay – Julie Andrews Mothers & Daughters – Rosemary Clooney Sondheim, Etc., – Live at Carnegie Hall – Bernadette Peters Film Noir – Carly Simon
Alternative Best Alternative Music PerformanceOK Computer – RadioheadHomogenic – Björk Earthling – David Bowie Dig Your Own Hole – The Chemical Brothers The Fat of the Land – Prodigy
Blues Best Traditional Blues Album John Lee Hooker for Don't Look Back
Best Contemporary Blues Album Taj Mahal for Señor Blues
Children's
Best Musical Album for Children Roger Nichols, Kris O'Connor (producers) and John Denver (producer and artist) for All Aboard! Best Spoken Word Album for Children John McElroy (producer) and Charles Kuralt for Winnie-the-Pooh
Comedy
From 1994 through 2003, see "Best Spoken Comedy Album" under the "Spoken" field, below.
Classical
Best Orchestral Performance Pierre Boulez (conductor) and the Cleveland Orchestra for Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique; Tristia Best Classical Vocal Performance Cecilia Bartoli for An Italian Songbook (Works of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini) Best Opera Recording Michael Woolcock (producer), Georg Solti (conductor), José van Dam, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, Karita Mattila, Alan Opie, Rene Pape, Iris Vermillion and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Best Choral Performance Robert Shaw (conductor) and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for Adams: Harmonium/Rachmaninoff: The Bells Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) David Zinman (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma and the Philadelphia Orchestra for Premieres – Cello Concertos (Works of Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse) Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) János Starker for Bach: Suites for Solo Cello Nos. 1 – 6 Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without conductor) Claudio Abbado (conductor) for "Hindemith: Kammermusik No. 1 With Finale 1921, Op. 24 No. 1" performed by members of the Berlin Philharmonic Best Chamber Music Performance Emerson String Quartet for Beethoven: The String Quartets Best Classical Contemporary Composition John Adams (composer), Kent Nagano (conductor) and the Hallé Orchestra for "Adams: El Dorado" Best Classical Album Steven Epstein (producer), David Zinman (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma and the Philadelphia Orchestra for Premieres – Cello Concertos (Works of Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse)
Composing and arranging
Best Instrumental Composition Wayne Shorter (composer) for "Aung San Suu Kyi" performed by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television R. Kelly (songwriter) for "I Believe I Can Fly" (from Space Jam) Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television Gabriel Yared (composer) for The English Patient Best Instrumental Arrangement Bill Holman (arranger) for "Straight, No Chaser" performed by The Bill Holman Band Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) Slide Hampton (arranger) for "Cotton Tail" performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater
Country
Best Female Country Vocal Performance LeAnn Rimes for "How Do I Live" other nominees Deana Carter – "Did I Shave My Legs For This?" Patty Loveless – "The Trouble with the Truth" LeAnn Rimes – "How Do I Live" Pam Tillis – "All the Good Ones Are Gone"
Best Male Country Vocal Performance Vince Gill for "Pretty Little Adriana" Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Alison Krauss and Union Station for "Looking in the Eyes of Love" Best Country Collaboration with Vocals Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood for "In Another's Eyes" Best Country Instrumental Performance Alison Krauss and Union Station for "Little Liza Jane" Best Country Song Bob Carlisle and Randy Thomas (songwriters) for "Butterfly Kisses" performed by Bob Carlisle / Jeff Carson / the Raybon Brothers other nominees Bob McDill & Dean Dillon for "All the Good Ones Are Gone" (Pam Tillis) Deana Carter & Rhonda Hart for "Did I Shave My Legs For This?" (Deana Carter) Bobby Wood, John Peppard & Garth Brooks for "In Another's Eyes" (Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood) Stephony Smith for "It's Your Love" (Tim McGraw & Faith Hill)
Best Country Album Rick Rubin (producer) and Johnny Cash for Unchained Best Bluegrass Album Alison Krauss and Union Station for So Long So Wrong
Folk
Best Traditional Folk Album BeauSoleil for L'amour ou la Folie Best Contemporary Folk Album Bob Dylan for Time Out of Mind
Gospel
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album Jars of Clay for Much Afraid Best Rock Gospel Album dc Talk for Welcome to the Freak Show Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album The Fairfield Four for I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album Take 6 for Brothers Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album Peter York (producer) for Amazing Grace 2: A Country Salute to Gospel performed by various artists Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album Myron Butler, Kirk Franklin and Robert Searight II (choir directors) for God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation performed by God's Property
Historical
Best Historical Album Amy Horowitz, Jeff Place and Pete Reiniger (producers), David Glasser and Charlie Pilzer (engineers) for Anthology of American Folk Music (1997 Edition Expanded) performed by various artists
Jazz
Best Jazz Instrumental Solo Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton for "Stardust" Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny for Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories) Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance Joe Henderson for Big Band performed by the Joe Henderson Big Band Best Jazz Vocal Performance Dee Dee Bridgewater for Dear Ella Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Randy Brecker for Into the Sun Best Latin Jazz Performance Roy Hargrove's Crisol for Habana
Latin
Best Latin Pop Performance Luis Miguel for Romances Best Tropical Latin Performance Ry Cooder for Buena Vista Social Club Best Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance La Mafia for En Tus Manos Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance Los Fabulosos Cadillacs for Fabulosos Calavera
Musical show Best Musical Show Album Jay David Saks (producer) for Chicago the Musical performed by Various Artists featuring Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth, James Naughton and Joel Grey
New Age
Best New Age Album Michael Hedges for Oracle
Packaging and notes Best Recording Package Al Quattrocchi, Hugh Brown and Jeff Smith (art directors) for Titanic – Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage performed by Various Artists
Best Boxed Recording Package David Gorman, Hugh Brown and Rachel Gutek (art directors) for Beg Scream and Shout! The Big Ol' Box of '60s Soul performed by Various Artists
Best Album Notes