The 3rd Grammy Awards were held in 1961. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.

Award winners:

• Record of the Year
  • Percy Faith for "Theme From A Summer Place"

• Album of the Year
  • Bob Newhart for The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart

• Song of the Year
  • Ernest Gold for "Theme From Exodus"

• Best New Artist
  • Bob Newhart

Children's

• Best Album Created for Children
  • Ross Bagdasarian Sr. for Let's All Sing With the Chipmunks performed by David Seville & the Chipmunks

Classical

• Best Classical Performance - Orchestra
  • Fritz Reiner (conductor) & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste
• Best Classical Performance - Vocal Soloist
  • Leontyne Price for A Program of Song - Leontyne Price Recital
• Best Classical Opera Production
  • Erich Leinsdorf (conductor), Birgit Nilsson, Giorgio Tozzi , Jussi Bjoerling, Renata Tebaldi & the Rome Opera Orchestra for Puccini: Turandot
• Best Classical Performance - Choral (including oratorio)
  • Thomas Beecham (conductor) & the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus for Handel: Messiah
• Best Classical Performance - Concerto or Instrumental Soloist
  • Erich Leinsdorf (conductor), Sviatoslav Richter & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat
• Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or Duo (other than with orchestral accompaniment)
  • Laurindo Almeida for The Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Alemida
• Best Classical Performance - Vocal or Instrumental - Chamber Music
  • Laurindo Almeida for Conversations With the Guitar
• Best Contemporary Classical Composition
  • Aaron Copland (composer & conductor) & the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Orchestral Suite From Tender Land Suite

Comedy

• Best Comedy Performance - Spoken Word
  • Bob Newhart for The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!
• Best Comedy Performance - Musical
  • Jo Stafford & Paul Weston for Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris performed by Jo Stafford & Paul Weston and as "Jonathan & Darlene Edwards"

Composing and arranging

• Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Music Score from Motion Picture or Television
  • Ernest Gold (composer) for Exodus
• Best Arrangement
  • Henry Mancini (arranger) for Mr. Lucky

Country

• Best Country & Western Performance
  • Marty Robbins for "El Paso"

Folk

• Best Performance - Folk
  • Harry Belafonte for "Swing Dat Hammer"

Jazz

• Best Jazz Performance Solo or Small Group
  • Andre Previn for West Side Story
• Best Jazz Performance Large Group
  • Henry Mancini for Blues and the Beat
• Best Jazz Composition of More Than Five Minutes Duration
  • Gil Evans & Miles Davis (composers) for Sketches of Spain

Musical Show

• Best Show Album (Original Cast)
  • Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers (composers), Mary Martin & the original cast for The Sound of Music
• Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Original Cast From a Motion Picture or Television
  • Cole Porter (composer), Frank Sinatra & the original cast for Can Can

Packaging and Notes

• Best Album Cover
  • Marvin Schwartz (art director) for Latin a la Lee performed by Peggy Lee

Pop

• Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Single or Track
  • Ella Fitzgerald for "Mack the Knife"
• Best Vocal Performance Album, Female
  • Ella Fitzgerald Mack the Knife - Ella in Berlin
• Best Vocal Performance Single Record or Track, Male
  • Ray Charles for "Georgia on My Mind"
• Best Vocal Performance Album, Male
  • Ray Charles for Genius of Ray Charles
• Best Performance by a Vocal Group (2 to 6)
  • Eydie Gorme & Steve Lawrence for "We Got Us"
• Best Performance by a Chorus (7 or More Persons)
  • Norman Luboff for Songs of the Cowboy performed by the Norman Luboff Choir
• Best Performance by a Band for Dancing
  • Count Basie for Dance With Basie
• Best Performance by an Orchestra
  • Henry Mancini for Mr. Lucky
• Best Performance by a Pop Single Artist
  • Ray Charles for "Georgia on My Mind"

Production and engineering

• Best Engineering Contribution - Popular Recording
  • Luis P. Valentin (engineer) for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook performed by Ella Fitzgerald
• Best Engineering Contribution - Classical Recording
  • Hugh Davies (engineer) & Laurindo Almeida for The Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Almeida
• Best Engineering Contribution - Novelty Recording
  • John Kraus (engineer) for "The Old Payola Roll Blues" performed by Stan Freberg

R&B

• Best Rhythm & Blues Performance
  • Ray Charles for "Let the Good Times Roll"

Spoken

• Best Performance - Documentary or Spoken Word (other than comedy)
  • Robert Bialek (producer) for FDR Speaks