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 Entertainment | February 2005 
Ray Charles Wins Album, Record of the Year at Grammys
 Todd Leopold - CNN
 The late singer and pianist's presence was everywhere Sunday night at the 47th annual Grammy Awards, from performance tributes to wins in two of the biggest categories - album of the year and record of the year.
Charles was highlighted early in the show with a performance by Jamie Foxx and Alicia Keys, who played the song "Georgia on My Mind," a Hoagy Carmichael tune strongly identified with Charles. Foxx is nominated for an Oscar for playing the musician in the movie "Ray."
Then, just before the final award was announced, Bonnie Raitt and Billy Preston performed a duet of another Charles song, "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind."
That final award was for "Genius Loves Company," an album of duets that - even after a career of more than 50 years - stands as Charles' best-selling album, overtaking classics such as "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" and "The Genius Hits the Road."
The record of the year honor went to Charles and Norah Jones for "Here We Go Again," a duet from "Genius Loves Company."
"What can I say? Ray Charles," Jones said.
"I think it just shows how wonderful music can be. It's at a hundred percent with Ray Charles."
Charles and his album were represented on eight Grammy awards, including three prizes that went to the album's engineers, producers and arrangers.
The late singer was the most triumphant of the album of the year nominees, but all five did well.
Kanye West won best rap album for "The College Dropout," Green Day won best rock album for "American Idiot," Alicia Keys won best R&B album for "The Diary of Alicia Keys" and Usher, though shut out for his album "Confessions," won three Grammys for his songs.
West brought the crowd to its feet.
Fresh off a performance of his "Jesus Walks" - a church-set turn he shared with Mavis Staples, who sang "I'll Take You There," and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, who did "I'll Fly Away" - West took the stage to accept a Grammy for his album "The College Dropout," named best rap album.
Warning the director that his speech was going to be long, West alluded to his car accident - a mishap that almost cost him his life - and described how the event changed his focus.
"I plan to celebrate and scream and pop Champagne every chance I get because I'M AT THE GRAMMYS, BABY!" he exclaimed.
His emotional speech earned a standing ovation. West had been the leading Grammy nominee, with 10 nods. He won three.
Loretta Lynn also received a big round of applause for winning best country album, for "Van Lear Rose." She accepted the award with her producer, an abashed-looking Jack White of the rock band the White Stripes.
White observed that Lynn had told him that country radio stations had a hard time getting behind some of her more controversial material, and yet it was those songs that went to No. 1.
"Country radio wouldn't play this record either," White said, "and look who's No. 1 now."
Song of the year, a songwriter's award, went to John Mayer for "Daughters."
Praise from U2
Green Day's "American Idiot," a "punk rock opera" about a disenchanted suburban kid, earned the best reviews of the band's career and hit No. 1 to boot.
"Rock 'n' roll can be dangerous and fun at the same time, so thanks a lot," lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said as he accepted the award.
U2, upon winning best rock performance for a duo or group with vocal for "Vertigo," praised the other nominees - "This may be the best Grammys ever," said Bono - and took time to pay tribute to its fans, who had hoped to see the band on tour.
The group hadn't been sure if it would play at the Grammys or for the rest of the year, but "Live is where we live," said Larry Mullen Jr. He apologized to fans who had queued up for tickets but failed to get them because of technical problems with ticket sales.
The group won three Grammys overall.
In a surprise earlier in the show, Maroon 5 beat out some tough competition to win best new artist.
The quintet, whose album "Songs About Jane" came out in 2002 but only started catching fire last year, defeated West (who led all Grammy nominees with 10 nods), Los Lonely Boys, Joss Stone and Gretchen Wilson to take home the trophy.
Maroon 5's Adam Levine accepted the award almost meekly.
"Kanye West, I want to thank you so much for being wonderful," he said. West had lost a new artist award at the American Music Awards as well.
But Los Lonely Boys, for one, aren't going home empty-handed.
The trio won the first Grammy of the night - for best performance by a pop duo or group with vocals - for the song "Heaven." The group had performed the tune a few minutes earlier in the Grammy Awards ceremony's opening segment.
Different moods
Despite some energetic performances - most notably an Usher-James Brown duet, a Melissa Etheridge-Joss Stone tribute to Janis Joplin, Green Day's rousing punk performance of "American Idiot" (complete with pyrotechnics), the West medley and the "Let's Get It Started" kickoff with the Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani and Eve, Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5 and Franz Ferdinand - the Grammy ceremony was often a fairly low-key affair, particularly during its first two hours.
U2 performed its song "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," which lead singer Bono dedicated to his late father. Queen Latifah, who is hosting the show, offered the audience a slinky version of "Baby Get Lost," from her "Dana Owens Album."
Late in the show, an all-star group of musicians, led by Bono, Stevie Wonder, Jones and Keys, performed the Beatles' "Across the Universe." The performance will benefit tsunami victims.
But most of the musicians accepted their awards with a few quick words, and some of the presenters - particularly Adam Sandler, who looked like a suburban father who'd just picked the Sunday paper off his lawn - seemed less than excited to be at the Staples Center. (Nobody was helped by the awkward script.)
Presenters also announced lifetime achievement winners - including Pinetop Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Led Zeppelin, Morton Gould, the Staples Singers and the Carter Family - at odd intervals. Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun and soul music entrepreneur Don Cornelius were also recognized by the Recording Academy.
Other Grammy winners included U2 (best video); the "Lord of the Rings" theme "Into the West" (best song for a motion picture, TV or other visual medium); Jon Stewart and the cast of "The Daily Show" (best comedy album); and Bill Clinton (best spoken word album).
Clinton's win helps him even a tally with his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who won a spoken word Grammy in 1997 for her book "It Takes a Village."
And three veterans - with vastly different musical backgrounds - won their first Grammys.
Rod Stewart picked up an award for traditional pop vocal album for his collection of standards, "Stardust ... The Great American Songbook: Volume III." Brian Wilson won best rock instrumental performance for a track on his "Smile" CD.
And Britney Spears earned a Grammy for best dance recording for her song "Toxic."
The show was broadcast on CBS. |
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