Forget the strike, the 50th Annual Grammy Awards had more melodrama than any writer would have dared script -- Herbie Hancock staged an upset that rivaled this year's Super Bowl, Amy Winehouse beamed in from rehab, Kanye West demanded stage time to mourn his mother and, just to toss in some politics, even Barack Obama took home a trophy.
While most awards shows struggle to seem topical, the golden anniversary of the Grammys will be remembered as one that was jammed full of nostalgia (and pairings of veteran icons with young superstars) but also overwritten by tabloid headlines and drenched in stage sweat.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 54 words Type of Material: Correction
Sinatra at the Grammys: An article on Monday's Page One about the 50th Annual Grammy Awards stated that Sunday's broadcast used vintage footage of Frank Sinatra from "the very first Grammys gala," which was in 1959. That footage was actually from the first Grammy-related television broadcast, a 1963 show titled "The Best on Record."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, February 14, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 88 words Type of Material: Correction
Sinatra at the Grammys: An article in Section A on Monday about the 50th annual Grammy Awards said Sunday's broadcast used vintage footage of Frank Sinatra from "the very first Grammys gala." A correction published on Tuesday said the footage was actually from "the first Grammy-related television broadcast" in 1963. In fact, the Sinatra footage was from 1963, but the first Grammy-related telecast was in 1959. The Tuesday correction also said that the first Grammys gala was in 1959. The first Grammy Awards were handed out in 1958.
The threat of a picket line was averted after a late deal with the Writers Guild of America, but producers acknowledge that the turmoil probably scared off some key performers.
In the end, the biggest bang of the night belonged to the Grammy voters who shocked the world by giving 67-year-old Hancock the trophy for album of the year for "River: The Joni Letters," a CD that has sold fewer than 40,000 copies in the U.S. The win joins the surprise victories by Steely Dan and the T Bone Burnett-produced "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack in the same category in 2001 and 2002, respectively, showing that veteran virtuosos can pull in more votes than younger pop stars.
"This is the first time a jazz artist has won in this category in 43 years," an emotional Hancock said as he fumbled with his notes. The album is a tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell, one of the great lyricists (who, in a wry twist, happened to win a Grammy on Sunday for best pop instrumental).
Backstage, Hancock said his victory was anything but the conservative choice.
"What's conservative about me?" he said. "The way I dress? I think I play music further out than any of these [other nominated] artists have heard. What's conservative about that?"
The most compelling subplot of the night came courtesy of a troubled young British singer at the center of a media frenzy. Winehouse, 24, dominated the marquee categories, winning best new artist, song and record of the year. She performed her life-imitating-art songs "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good" via satellite from England where she has been in drug rehab since Jan. 24.
"Sometimes life trumps awards shows," actor Cuba Gooding Jr. said as he introduced Winehouse, who performed in front of a small crowd that chanted her name at London's Riverside Studios. The singer celebrated her win with her parents at her side but her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was behind bars on a case-tampering charge, yet another subplot. "My Blake, incarcerated," the retro-soul singer fairly moaned during her acceptance speech.
