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Lonely Boys win Grammy; Charles takes 6
Rock group Los Lonley Boys won a Grammy for their song "Heaven" in the first award handed out during the telecast Sunday.
Ray Charles' final album, "Genius Loves Company," won a leading six Grammys in the pre-telecast. The late legend and sentimental favorite won for best pop album and best pop collaboration with vocals for "Here We Go Again" with Norah Jones. Charles also had nominations for album of the year and record of the year for "Here We Go Again."
Released after Charles' death in April, "Genius Loves Company" is the best-selling album of his career, with more than two million copies sold.
Alicia Keys and Usher, each nominated for eight Grammys, both won three. They shared an award for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for their No. 1 duet, "My Boo."
Keys was chasing a record Grammy haul — she could win more than any other woman in one evening. Three years ago, Keys won five Grammys for her debut album, "Songs in A Minor," becoming only the second woman to win that many in one night.
Usher was seeking to dominate the Grammys as he did the record charts in 2004. His "Confessions," the best-selling album of last year, is nominated for album of the year.
The most nominated artist of the year may be the most multifaceted — Kanye West, the songwriter-producer who made his rap debut in 2004 with the cutting-edge CD "The College Dropout. West was nominated for 10 Grammys, including album of the year. In the pre-telecast ceremony he won two, including best rap song for "Jesus Walks."
Stars ranging from nominated rapper Jadakiss to Rob Thomas of matchbox twenty and Lisa Marie Presley arrived at the downtown Staples Center under a mostly cloudy sky, but there was no rain.
Some veterans finally were honored by the Recording Academy. Steve Earle's left-leaning "The Revolution Starts ... Now" won for contemporary folk album. And Rod Stewart — who had complained in recent years how he'd never won a Grammy — won for traditional pop vocal album for his standards recording "Stardust ... The Great American Songbook Vol. III."
And the often-maligned Britney Spears finally won her first Grammy — best dance recording for "Toxic."
Among the other early winners were non-musicians. Former President Bill Clinton won for best spoken word album for his adaptation of his best-selling autobiography, "My Life"; another winner was "Scrubs" actor Zach Braff, whose movie "Garden State" garnered him best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, television or other televised media.
"Wow! I never thought I'd win a Grammy, that is pretty cool! Yeah!" the exuberant actor said.
West, Usher, Keys and Green Day were all slated to perform Sunday. Also planned was a special tribute to Charles, whose life was also the subject of the Oscar-nominated "Ray" last year. Other expected performers were Grammy-nominated acts such as U2; best-new artist nominees Maroon 5, Gretchen Wilson, and Joss Stone; and newlyweds Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez.
Also scheduled was a special performance to raise funds for tsunami victims, featuring Stevie Wonder, Bono, Keys, Brian Wilson and others.
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