The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song was awarded between 1959 and 1971. The award had several minor name changes:
- In 1959 the award was known as Best Performance by a "Top 40" Artist
- In 1961 it was awarded as Best Performance by a Pop Single Artist
- From 1962 to 1965 it was awarded as Best Rock & Roll Recording
- In 1966 it was awarded as Contemporary (R&R) Single
- In 1967 it was awarded as Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording
- In 1968 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Single
- From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Song
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Awards from 1959 to 1968
|- style="background:#bebebe;"
! Year
! Musician
! Contemporary Song
! Ref
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1959
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Nat King Cole
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Midnight Flyer"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Elvis Presley
| "A Big Hunk o' Love"
|-
| The Coasters
| "Charlie Brown"
|-
| Floyd Robinson
| "Makin' Love"
|-
| Neil Sedaka
| "The Diary"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1961
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Ray Charles
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Georgia on My Mind"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Ella Fitzgerald
| "Mack the Knife"
|-
| Elvis Presley
| "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
|-
| Frank Sinatra
| "Nice 'N' Easy"
|-
| Peggy Lee
| "Heart"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1962
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Chubby Checker
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Let's Twist Again"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Chris Kenner
| "I Like It Like That"
|-
| Ike & Tina Turner
| "It's Gonna Work Out Fine"
|-
| James Darren
| "Goodbye Cruel World"
|-
| The Tokens
| "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
|-
| rowspan="6" align="center" | 1963
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Bent Fabric
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Alley Cat"
| rowspan="6" |
|-
| Mary Wells
| "You Beat Me to the Punch"
|-
| Neil Sedaka
| "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
|-
| Sam Cooke
| "Twistin' the Night Away"
|-
| The Drifters
| "Up on the Roof"
|-
| The Four Seasons
| "Big Girls Don't Cry"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1964
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | April Stevens & Nino Tempo
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Deep Purple"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Chet Atkins
| "Teen Scene"
|-
| Lesley Gore
| "It's My Party"
|-
| Peggy March
| "I Will Follow Him"
|-
| Ruby & the Romantics
| "Our Day Will Come"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1965
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Petula Clark
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Downtown"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Bobby Vinton
| "Mr. Lonely"
|-
| Roy Orbison
| "Oh, Pretty Woman"
|-
| The Beatles
| "A Hard Day's Night"
|-
| The Righteous Brothers
| "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1966
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Roger Miller
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "King of the Road"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Glenn Yarbrough
| "Baby the Rain Must Fall"
|-
| Jackie DeShannon
| "What the World Needs Now Is Love"
|-
| The Beatles
| "Yesterday"
|-
| Tom Jones
| "It's Not Unusual"
|-
| rowspan="6" align="center" | 1967
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | New Vaudeville Band
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Winchester Cathedral"
| rowspan="6" |
|-
| The Association
| "Cherish"
|-
| The Beach Boys
| "Good Vibrations"
|-
| The Beatles
| "Eleanor Rigby"
|-
| The Mamas & the Papas
| "Monday, Monday"
|-
| The Monkees
| "Last Train to Clarksville"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1968
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | The 5th Dimension, Johnny Rivers and Marc Gordon (producers)
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Up, Up and Away"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| Bobbie Gentry and Kelly Gordon (producers)
| "Ode to Billie Joe"
|-
| Glen Campbell and Al De Lory (producers)
| "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
|-
| Petula Clark and Tony Hatch (producers)
| "Don't Sleep in the Subway"
|-
| Ray Charles and Joe Adams (producers)
| "Yesterday"
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Awards in 1970 and 1971
|-
! Year
! Songwriter
! Performer
! Contemporary Song
! Ref
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1970
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Joe South
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Joe South
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Games People Play"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| David Clayton-Thomas
| Blood, Sweat & Tears
| "Spinning Wheel"
|-
| Hal David and Burt Bacharach
| B. J. Thomas
| "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
|-
| Mac Davis
| Elvis Presley
| "In the Ghetto"
|-
| Rod McKuen
| Oliver
| "Jean"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1971
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Paul Simon
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | Simon & Garfunkel
| style="background:#B0C4DE" | "Bridge over Troubled Water"
| rowspan="5" |
|-
| James Taylor
| James Taylor
| "Fire and Rain"
|-
| John Lennon and Paul McCartney
| The Beatles
| "Let It Be"
|-
| Paul Williams and Roger Nichols
| The Carpenters
| "We've Only Just Begun"
|-
| Ray Stevens
| Ray Stevens
| "Everything Is Beautiful"
|}