NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - The GRAMMY Awards rang in its 50th show with a wide-ranging, celebratory telecast that honored the old, the new and everything in between as The Recording Academy paid tribute to its legacy as well as the exciting list of this year's honorees and performers.
Amy Winehouse won five awards, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for her now-prophetic "Rehab," while Kanye West took home four, including the Best Rap Album award for Graduation, though Album Of The Year eluded him for the third time. That award went to longtime jazz great Herbie Hancock for his tribute to Joni Mitchell, River: The Joni Letters. Other top winners included gospel star Karen Clark-Sheard and Bruce Springsteen with three trophies each.
But the talk of the night was a live satellite performance by Winehouse, whose troubled personal life has been the talk of the music industry. She received a visa to enter the United States too late to perform on the show in Los Angeles, and was beamed in live from a London studio.
Winehouse rose above the stories and speculation with a confident performance. Dressed in a flowing black party dress (accented by tattoos), Winehouse partied seriously on "You Know I'm No Good," and followed it up with the megahit "Rehab." Her presence and panache blew the roof off with her prancing moves, knowing winks and emotive vocals. Perhaps never before has a singer's current circumstances so mirrored her music - one more element in Winehouse's success.
The moment was a highlight in a show packed with surprise performances from the start.
Following a prerecorded video clip of the great Frank Sinatra from the 5th GRAMMY Awards helping introduce the TV audience to the GRAMMY (a needed but now quaint moment as GRAMMY celebrates its 50th show), mighty soul songstress Alicia Keys opened the telecast with a triumphant shout. Singing Ol' Blue Eyes' classic "Learnin' The Blues," Keys united past with present, singing a duet with Sinatra as the master of vocalese joined her via a large screen presentation (thanks to modern digital technology). Keys ushered in the next 50 years with style and soul.
Joined by an incredible backing band that included Kodo-inspired drummers and chain-wearing dancers, Carrie Underwood delivered her GRAMMY-winning hit, "Before He Cheats," with the ferocious delivery that has become her trademark.
Resurrecting a blast from the 1980's past, Prince prote'ge's the Time hit the stage running with hip-hop diva Rihanna joining in the fun. First up, the Time - featuring Morris Day, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis - blasted into their mighty funk workout "Jungle Love," the trio's first performance in 15 years. Rihanna then entered stage left singing her smash hit "Umbrella," taking command like a conquering diva. Walking the catwalk with a bevy of umbrella toting dancers, Rihanna kept the fire hot with "Don't Stop The Music." The Time brought up the rear, reprising "Jungle Love" like they'd never left.
Surreal, dynamic, impressionistic and at times frightening, Cirque du Soleil's incredible interpretative performance of the Beatles' classic "A Day In The Life" was an early highlight of the evening. Introduced by Tom Hanks (who proclaimed, "we honor the power of the Beatles"), the dance troupe performed over the Liverpudlian's original track with a performance that was nothing short of sensational. Equally stunning was "Let It Be," performed by youngsters Timothy T. Mitchum and Carol Woods.
Hip-hop graduate Kanye West and German techno twins Daft Punk offered an ominous slab of anthemic techno-hop with a rousing rendition of "Stronger." As flames blasted skyward like surreal geysers, West and the Punks clamored and paraded. While West retired backstage for a costume change, Daft Punk scratched video screens - all the while providing a lesson in modern DJ production values. West then returned with a tear-jerking version of "Hey Mama," delivered over soaring strings. Singing with emotion and an obvious heavy heart, West left the stage with nary a dry eye in the house.
John Legend is known for his sheer musical talent and, together with the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie, he gave extra dimension to Fergie's epic ballad, "Finally." Fergie proved her talent is just as mighty, singing with power and purpose.
After an introduction by a resplendent Cher, Beyonce' then took control. Name-checking a litany of masterful female singers (Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan…), Beyonce' set the house on fire by introducing none other than Tina Turner. Looking like a million bucks, Turner launched into a masterful "What's Love Got To Do With It." Soon, Beyonce' returned and the pair teamed for the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic, "Proud Mary." From a slow grind groove to a double-barrel steamroller tempo (recalling Turner's days with the legendary Ike And Tina Turner Revue), Beyonce' and Turner commanded the audience with fine figures, fantastic singing, and stunning moves to match.
Loud, proud and powerful, the Foo Fighters joined with the GRAMMY Philharmonic Orchestra - led by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones - for "The Pretender," played on an outdoor stage. Dave Grohl rallied the troops, who quickly responded to his shouts (and drummer Taylor Hawkins' double-time fury) with hands in the air.
Super country guitar slinger Brad Paisley launched into "Ticks" like a good ol' boy possessed. Armed with patented white hat and custom Fender Telecaster, Paisley made the case for country in presenting his modern hybrid of Hank Williams and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Introduced by Ludacris, who described the upcoming performance as "holy rolling [and] soul sanctifying," a special gospel performance included a mighty cavalcade of spiritual power. Aretha Franklin and BeBe Winans got it started with "Never Gonna Break My Faith," bathed in a light beaming from a glowing cross overhead. The million trombone band Madison Bumble Bees added their brass shouts to the proceedings on "You Brought The Sunshine," followed by the Clark Sisters and Trin-I-Tee 5:7, whose mighty vocal harmonies recalled the glory days of Earth, Wind & Fire. Just when you thought the Holy Ghost had left the building, Israel & New Breed summoned the spiritual forces with the soaring "With Long Life." To bring it all back home, Franklin and the whole gospel cast united to sing "Old Landmark."
Following an archival film clip of big-band singer Keely Smith and the late great Louis Prima, Smith joined with Kid Rock and GRAMMY-nominated Dave Koz to perform "That Old Black Magic." A true meeting of talents, genres and eras, the collaboration proved to have eternal swing currency in these gifted hands.
Following Stevie Wonder's President's Merit Award to Industry Icons presentation to Motown founder Berry Gordy, Alicia Keys performed her impassioned song "No One." Beginning with just a vocal and piano accompaniment, her band would join in freeing Keys to roam the stage, lifting the audience higher as the song's intensity increased. Playing a second keyboard near the stage's edge, Keys continued to raise the temperature before giving way to John Mayer and his frenetic, melodic guitar solo.
After a brief film tribute to jazz innovator Max Roach and classical icon Itzhak Perlman, pianists Lang Lang and Herbie Hancock joined forces for George Gershwin's masterpiece "Rhapsody In Blue." Accompanied by a full orchestra, the pianists took turns stating the song's melodic themes with beguiling flair. The song's majestic middle section included brief solos from various orchestra members before the focus returned to Lang Lang and Hancock, whose declarative and gentle notes set the stage - literally and figuratively - for the fireworks that concluded the performance.
After an In Memoriam segment that paid honor to musicians lost in 2007, Andrea Bocelli appeared on stage. "I'm here to honor the memory of Luciano Pavarotti," he said, and then with Josh Groban performed Bocelli's signature "The Prayer" for "all those who we have lost this year." As Bocelli sang with warmth, Groban followed with steely energy and immense power, lifting the dramatic song to dramatic heights.
To cap the raucous evening, John Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard took the stage to form the latest rock supergroup. Beginning with a new Fogerty composition, "Comin' Down The Road," the band stormed the stage like Creedence Clearwater Revival circa 1972. The Icons of Rock performance continued with the spotlight on Lewis, singing his classic boogie-woogie blowout, "Great Balls Of Fire." Then all eyes were on a dazzling Little Richard, who cut into the instantly recognizable falsetto vocals of "Good Golly Miss Molly." The crowd exploded for Richard, who returned the love with high-pitched vocal wails full of glee. Joined again by Fogerty - who belted out an appropriately classic solo - the segment certainly set a new standard for future GRAMMY performances.
It was also an energetic send-off for a remarkable show that somehow fit the drama, tradition and music of 50 years worth of GRAMMYs into a single night. And an entertaining night it was.
Winners at Sunday's 50th Annual Grammy Awards:
-Album of the Year: "River: The Joni Letters," Herbie Hancock.
-Record of the Year: "Rehab," Amy Winehouse.
-Song of the Year: "Rehab," Amy Winehouse (Amy Winehouse).
-New Artist: Amy Winehouse.
-Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Mark Ronson.
-Pop Vocal Album: "Back to Black," Amy Winehouse.
-Female Pop Vocal Performance: "Rehab," Amy Winehouse.
-Male Pop Vocal Performance: "What Goes Around...Comes Around," Justin Timberlake.
-Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "Makes Me Wonder," Maroon 5.
-Pop Collaboration With Vocals: "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.
-Pop Instrumental Album: "The Mix-Up," Beastie Boys.
-Pop Instrumental Performance: "One Week Last Summer," Joni Mitchell.
-Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "Call Me Irresponsible," Michael Buble.
-Alternative Music Album: "Icky Thump," The White Stripes.
-Rock Album: "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," Foo Fighters.
-Rock Song: "Radio Nowhere," Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen).
-Solo Rock Vocal Performance: "Radio Nowhere," Bruce Springsteen.
-Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "Icky Thump," The White Stripes.
- Hard Rock Performance: "The Pretender," Foo Fighters. Metal Performance: "Final Six," Slayer.
-Rock Instrumental Performance: "Once Upon a Time in The West," Bruce Springsteen.
-Rap Album: "Graduation," Kanye West.
-Rap Solo Performance: "Stronger," Kanye West.
-Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "Southside," Common, featuring Kanye West.
-Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Umbrella," Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z.
-Rap Song: "Good Life," Aldrin Davis, Mike Dean, Faheem Najm & Kanye West, songwriters (J. Ingram & Q. Jones, songwriters) (Kanye West Featuring T-Pain).
-Country Album: "These Days," Vince Gill.
-Country Song: "Before He Cheats," Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood).
-Female Country Vocal Performance: "Before He Cheats," Carrie Underwood.
-Male Country Vocal Performance: "Stupid Boy," Keith Urban.
-Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "How Long," Eagles.
-Country Collaboration With Vocals: "Lost Highway," Willie Nelson & Ray Price.
-Country Instrumental Performance: "Throttleneck," Brad Paisley.
-R&B Album: "Funk This," Chaka Khan.
-R&B Song: "No One," Dirty Harry, Kerry Brothers & Alicia Keys, songwriters (Alicia Keys).
-Contemporary R&B Album: "Because of You," Ne-Yo.
-Female R&B Vocal Performance: Alicia Keys.
-Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Future Baby Mama," Prince. R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals:
"Disrespectful," Chaka Khan, featuring Mary J. Blige.
-Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: "In My Songs," Gerald Levert.
-Urban/Alternative Performance: "Daydreamin'," Lupe Fiasco, featuring Jill Scott.
-Dance Recording: "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows," Justin Timberlake, Nate (Danja) Hills, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake, producers; Jimmy Douglass & Timbaland, mixers.
-Electronic/Dance Album: "We Are the Night," The Chemical Brothers.
-Bluegrass Album: "The Bluegrass Diaries," Jim Lauderdale.
-Traditional Blues Album: "Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas," Henry James Townsend, Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, Robert Lockwood Jr. & David "Honeyboy" Edwards.
-Contemporary Blues Album: "The Road to Escondido," JJ Cale & Eric Clapton.
-New Age Album: "Crestone," Paul Winter Consort.
-Contemporary Jazz Album: "River: The Joni Letters," Herbie Hancock.
-Jazz Vocal Album: "Avant Gershwin," Patti Austin.
-Jazz Instrumental Solo: "Anagram," Michael Brecker, soloist.
-Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group: "Pilgrimage," Michael Brecker.
-Large Jazz Ensemble Album: "A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)," Terence Blanchard.
-Latin Jazz Album: "Funk Tango," Paquito D'Rivera Quintet.
-Latin Pop Album: "El Tren De Los Momentos," Alejandro Sanz.
-Latin Rock or Alternative Album: "No Hay Espacio," Black:Guayaba.
-Latin Urban Album: "Residente O Visitante," Calle 13.
-Tropical Latin Album: "La Llave De Mi Corazon," Juan Luis Guerra.
-Mexican/Mexican-American Album: "100 (Percent) Mexicano," Pepe Aguilar.
-Tejano Album: "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," Little Joe & La Familia.
-Norteno Album: "Detalles Y Emociones," Los Tigres Del Norte.
-Banda Album: "Te Va A Gustar," El Chapo.
-Traditional Folk Album: "Dirt Farmer," Levon Helm.
-Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: "Washington Square Serenade," Steve Earle.
-Native American Music Album: "Totemic Flute Chants," Johnny Whitehorse.
-Hawaiian Music Album: "Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar," Various Artists, Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku Jr., Paul Konwiser & Wayne Wong, producers.
-Zydeco or Cajun Music Album: "Live! Worldwide," Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience.
-Reggae: "Mind Control," Stephen Marley. Traditional World Music Album: "African Spirit," Soweto Gospel Choir.
-Contemporary World Music Album: "Djin Djin," Angelique Kidjo.
-Polka Album: "Come Share the Wine," Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra.
-Gospel Performance: "Blessed & Highly Favored," The Clark Sisters; "Never Gonna Break My Faith," Aretha Franklin & Mary J. Blige (Featuring The Harlem Boys Choir). (Tie.)
-Gospel Song: "Blessed & Highly Favored," Karen Clark-Sheard, songwriter (The Clark Sisters).
-Rock or Rap Gospel Album: "Before the Daylight's Shot," Ashley Cleveland.
-Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: "A Deeper Level," Israel and New Breed.
-Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: "Salt of the Earth," Ricky Skaggs & The Whites.
-Traditional Gospel Album: "Live - One Last Time," The Clark Sisters.
-Contemporary R&B Gospel Album: "Free to Worship," Fred Hammond.
-Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Love (The Beatles) George Martin & Giles Martin, producers (Apple Records/Capitol Records).
-Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino, composer.
-Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Love You I Do (From Dreamgirls)," Siedah Garrett & Henry Krieger, songwriters (Jennifer Hudson).
-Musical Show Album: "Spring Awakening," Duncan Sheik, producer; Duncan Sheik, composer; Steven Sater, lyricist (Original Broadway Cast With Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele & Others).
-Musical Album for Children: "A Green and Red Christmas," The Muppets.
-Spoken Word: "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream," Barack Obama.
-Spoken Word Album for Children: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Jim Dale.
-Comedy Album: "The Distant Future," Flight of the Conchords. Instrumental Composition: "Cerulean Skies," Maria Schneider, composer (Maria Schneider Orchestra).
-Instrumental Arrangement: "In a Silent Way," Vince Mendoza, arranger (Joe Zawinul).
-Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die," John Clayton, arranger (Queen Latifah).
-Engineered Album, Non-Classical: "Beauty & Crime," Tchad Blake, Cameron Craig, Emery Dobyns & Jimmy Hogarth, engineers (Suzanne Vega).
-Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: "Bring the Noise (Benny Benassi Sfaction Remix)," Benny Benassi, remixer (Public Enemy).
-Surround Sound: "Love," Paul Hicks, surround mix engineer; Tim Young, surround mastering engineer; George Martin & Giles Martin, surround producers (The Beatles).
-Classical Album: "Tower: Made in America," Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Tim Handley, producer; Tim Handley, engineer/mixer (Nashville Symphony).
-Orchestral Performance: "Tower: Made in America," Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Nashville Symphony).
-Producer of the Year, Classical: Judith Sherman.
-Engineered Album, Classical: "Grechaninov: Passion Week," John Newton, engineer (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix Bach Choir & Kansas City Chorale).
-Opera Recording: "Humperdinck: Hansel & Gretel," Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor; Rebecca Evans, Jane Henschel & Jennifer Larmore; Brian Couzens, producer (Sarah Coppen, Diana Montague & Sarah Tynan; New London Children's Choir; Philharmonia Orchestra).
-Choral Performance: "Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem," Simon Rattle, conductor; Simon Halsey, chorus master (Thomas Quasthoff & Dorothea Roschmann; Rundfunkchor Berlin; Berliner Philharmoniker).
-Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With Orchestra): "Barber/Korngold/Walton: Violin Concertos," Bramwell Tovey, conductor; James Ehnes (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra).
-Instrumental Soloist Performance (Without Orchestra): "Beethoven Sonatas, Vol. 3," Garrick Ohlsson.
-Chamber Music Performance: "Strange Imaginary Animals," Eighth Blackbird.
-Small Ensemble Performance: "Stravinsky: Apollo, Concerto in D; Prokofiev: 20 Visions Fugitives," Yuri Bashmet, conductor; Moscow Soloists.
-Classical Vocal Performance: "Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs," Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (James Levine; Boston Symphony Orchestra).
-Classical Contemporary Composition: "Made in America," Joan Tower (Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Nashville Symphony Orchestra). Classical Crossover Album: "A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane," Turtle Island Quartet.
-Short Form Music Video: "God's Gonna Cut You Down," Johnny Cash.
-Long Form Music Video: "The Confessions Tour," Madonna. Recording Package: "Cassadaga," Zachary Nipper, art director (Bright Eyes).
-Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: "What It Is!: Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (1967-1977)," Masaki Koike, art director. Album Notes: "John Work, III: Recording Black Culture," Bruce Nemerov, album notes writer.
-Historical Album: "The Live Wire - Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949," Nora Guthrie & Jorge Arevalo Mateus, compilation producers; Jamie Howarth, Steve Rosenthal, Warren Russell-Smith & Dr. Kevin Short, mastering engineers (Woody Guthrie).
