Grammy Award: Album of the Year 2011 Odds

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer. In 1962, the award name was extended to Album of the Year (other than classical) but, in 1965, the shorter name returned. It was not until 1968, 1969, 1999, and 2011 that the award was won by a rock, country, hip hop, or indie album respectively.

Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon are the biggest winners in this category with 3 victories each. Paul McCartney leads all performers with nine nominations: five as a member of The Beatles, three for solo albums, and one as a member of Wings. Frank Sinatra leads solo performers with eight nominations, seven for solo albums and one for a duet album. Paul McCartney and Paul Simon are the only artists with nominations in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s.

The Peasall Sisters, Sarah, Hannah and Leah, are the category's youngest winners, winning for their contributions to the album O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack at the ages of 13, 9, and 7 respectively. Leah Peasall is the youngest winner of any Grammy in any category. The youngest person to make an appearance on an Album of the Year is Stevie Wonder's daughter Aisha Morris who, at age 2, appeared on "Isn't She Lovely?" off the album Songs in the Key of Life.

The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Bandwas the first album by a rock 'n' roll artist to win.

Only two artists have ever been awarded the Grammy for "Album of the Year" in two consecutive years. Frank Sinatra had wins in 1966 and 1967, and Wonder followed with wins in 1974 and 1975. Wonder also won the most Grammys for Album of the Year within a decade, with three in the 1970s.

To date, there have been two "live" albums to win the award: Judy At Carnegie Hall and The Concert For Bangladesh, though two "MTV Unplugged" albums (Eric Clapton's and Tony Bennett's) have won the award as well, which were performed in front of an intimate, live audience. One television soundtrack recording was also the very first recipient: The Music from Peter Gunn. Two comedy albums have also triumphed in this same category: The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart and The First Family. There has been three soundtrack compilation albums that have been successful, as well: Saturday Night Fever, The Bodyguard and O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

From 2012, classical albums will also be eligible for this category. The separate award for Best Classical Album will be discontinued.

Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were awarded, for music released in the previous year.

Many wonder what the difference is between Record of the Year and Album of the Year. Record of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes to the performing artist, the producer, recording engineer, and/or mixer for that song. Album of the Year is awarded for a whole album, and the award is presented to the artist, producer, recording engineer, and mastering engineer for that album. So, "record" means one song and "album" means the whole collection of songs on a CD or LP. In essence, "record" really just means single, but the winners/nominees do not need to be released as a single to be considered.

Odds on Grammy Award: Album of the Year 2011