The Grammy went to Schwartz, who was not only the composer/lyricist of the smash musical set in the land of Oz, but also produced the Decca Broadway recording. The other nominees in the Best Musical Show Album category were:
In the field of Traditional Pop in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album(for albums containing 51 percent or more playing time of vocal tracks), the Rod Stewart's "Stardust...The Great American Songbook Volume III" on J Records triumphed over "Only You" (Harry Connick) on the Columbia label; "Count Your Blessings" (a disc of holiday songs by Barbara Cook) on the DRG label; "Ultimate Mancini" (Monica Mancini) on Concord Records and "Just For a Thrill" ( Ronnie Milsap) on the Image Music Corp.
In the category of Best Spoken Word Album For Children (for albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song), "The Train They Call the City of New Orleans" (Tom Chapin on Live Oak Media) beat fellow nominees "The Best Halloween Ever" (Elaine Stritch on Harper Children's Audio); "Carnival of the Animals" (John Lithgow on Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers); "The Emperor's New Clothes" (Peter Schickele on Newport Classic); "Green Eggs and Ham and Other Servings of Dr. Seuss" (Various Artists, John McElroy, producer, on Listening Library) and "The Story of Classical Music" (Marin Alsop on Naxos Audio Books).
In the category of Best Opera Recording, Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro (Harmonia Mundi) won over Monteverdi: L'Orféo (Virgin Classics); Montsalvatge: El Gato Con Botas (Columna Música); ; Purcell Dido And Aeneas (Virgin Classics) and Scarlatti, A.: Griselda (Harmonia Mundi).
The Grammys celebrate excellence in the recording industry.
The above nominees are for recordings released during the eligibility year Oct. 1, 2003 through Sept. 30, 2004.
The nominees were announced Dec. 7, 2004.
The Grammy Award winners were announced on CBS in a broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles Sunday Feb. 13. Visit www.grammy.org.
