The 13th Grammy Awards were held on 16 March 1971, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1970.

Award winners:

• Record of the Year
  • Roy Halee (producer), Art Garfunkel & Paul Simon (producers and artists) for "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

• Album of the Year
  • Roy Halee (producer), Art Garfunkel & Paul Simon (producers and artists) for Bridge Over Troubled Water performed by Simon & Garfunkel

• Song of the Year
  • Paul Simon (songwriter) for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" performed by Simon & Garfunkel

• Best New Artist
  • Carpenters

Children's

• Best Recording for Children
  • Joan Cooney & Thomas Z. Shepard (producers) for Sesame Street performed by The Muppets

Classical

• Best Classical Performance, Orchestra
  • Pierre Boulez (conductor) & the Cleveland Orchestra for Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
• Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance
  • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau for Schubert: Lieder
• Best Opera Recording
  • Erik Smith (producer), Colin Davis (conductor), the Royal Opera House Orchestra & Chorus & various artists for Berlioz: Les Troyens
• Best Choral Performance (other than opera)
  • Gregg Smith (choir director), the Gregg Smith Singers & the Columbia Chamber Ensemble for Ives: New Music of Charles Ives
• Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with or without orchestra)
  • George Szell (conductor), David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich & the Cleveland Orchestra for Brahms: Double Concerto (Concerto in A Minor for Violin and Cello)
• Best Chamber Music Performance
  • Eugene Istomin, Leonard Rose & Isaac Stern for Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios
• Album of the Year, Classical
  • Erik Smith (producer), Colin Davis (conductor), various artists & the Royal Opera House Orchestra & Chorus for Berlioz: Les Troyens

Comedy

• Best Comedy Recording
  • Flip Wilson for The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress

Composing and arranging

• Best Instrumental Composition
  • Alfred Newman (composer) for "Airport Love Theme"
• Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special
  • George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr (composers) for Let It Be performed by The Beatles
• Best Instrumental Arrangement
  • Henry Mancini (arranger) for "Theme From Z"
• Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
  • Larry Knechtel & Paul Simon (arrangers) for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" performed by Simon & Garfunkel

Country

• Best Country Vocal Performance, Female
  • Lynn Anderson for "Rose Garden"
• Best Country Vocal Performance, Male
  • Ray Price for "For the Good Times"
• Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
  • Johnny Cash & June Carter for "If I Were a Carpenter"
• Best Country Instrumental Performance
  • Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed for Me and Jerry
• Best Country Song
  • Marty Robbins (songwriter) for "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife"

Folk

• Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording (including traditional blues)
  • T-Bone Walker for Good Feelin'

Gospel

• Best Gospel Performance (other than soul gospel)
  • The Oak Ridge Boys for "Talk About the Good Times"
• Best Soul Gospel Performance
  • Edwin Hawkins for "Every Man Wants To Be Free" performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers
• Best Sacred Performance (Musical)
  • Jake Hess for "Everything Is Beautiful"

Jazz

• Best Jazz Performance - Small Group or Soloist with Small Group
  • Bill Evans for Alone
• Best Jazz Performance - Large Group or Soloist with Large Group
  • Miles Davis for Bitches Brew

Musical Show

• Best Score From an Original Cast Show Album
  • Stephen Sondheim (composer), Thomas Z. Shepard (producer) & the original cast (Dean Jones, Barbara Barrie, George Coe, Teri Rolston, John Cunningham & Beth Howland) for Company

Packaging and Notes

• Best Album Cover
  • Robert Lockart (graphic artist) & Ivan Nagy (photographer) for Indianola Mississippi Seeds performed by B.B. King
• Best Album Notes
  • Chris Albertson (notes writer) for The World's Greatest Blues Singer performed by Bessie Smith

Pop

• Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female
  • Dionne Warwick for I'll Never Fall in Love Again
• Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male
  • Ray Stevens for "Everything Is Beautiful"
• Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus
  • Carpenters for "Close to You"
• Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance
  • Henry Mancini for Theme From Z and Other Film Music
• Best Contemporary Song
  • Paul Simon (songwriter) for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" performed by Simon & Garfunkel

Production and engineering

• Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
  • Roy Halee (engineer) for Bridge Over Troubled Water performed by Simon & Garfunkel
• Best Engineered Recording, Classical
  • Arthur Kendy , Fred Plaut , Ray Moore (engineers), Pierre Boulez (conductor) & the Cleveland Orchestra for Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps

R&B

• Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
  • Aretha Franklin for "Don't Play That Song"
• Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male
  • B.B. King for "The Thrill Is Gone"
• Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group, Vocal or Instrumental
  • The Delfonics for "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"
• Best Rhythm & Blues Song
  • General Johnson & Ronald Dunbar (songwriters) for "Patches" performed by Clarence Carter

Spoken

• Best Spoken Word Recording
  • Martin Luther King Jr. for Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam