Mixed Bag Of Winners At This Year’s Grammys

It was one of the strangest Grammy Awards in recent memory. What else can you say about an honors ceremony where Andy Griffith, the first lady and the Beatles took home statuettes?

Despite changes in the nominating process to make the Grammys - known in past years as the Grannys - more relevant, the recording academy again missed the boat in some of the most visible categories Wednesday.

Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” named Record of the Year and Song of the Year, may be a pleasant enough ditty, but it held little of the power of contender “1979” by Smashing Pumpkins.

As for the Album of the Year, Celine Dion’s “Falling Into You,” it was clearly the weakest effort in a category that included the Fugees’ “The Score,” Beck’s “Odelay” and the Pumpkins’ “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.”

Sometimes, however, the voters got it right, although in the lesser categories. Beck clearly deserved his Best Male Rock Vocal Performance award for “Where It’s At.” And Sheryl Crow certainly worked hard for her Best Rock Album statuette for her self-titled current disc.

As for the Grammy ceremony itself - which was televised for the first time from New York’s Madison Square Garden - it could have used some judicious editing or at least some Scottish sheep cloning jokes. The TV show seemed to drag on endlessly, weighed down in the middle by recording academy president Michael Greene’s predictable speech.

And, of course, there was Dion’s acceptance speech, which may still be ongoing even as you read this. She seemed oblivious to the efforts of Grammy producers to get her to curtail her telephone book-long list of names to thank.

There were still more weird scenes inside the gold mine, as Jim Morrison of the Doors once sang. It was jarring to see the long-defunct Beatles grab three honors, while Hillary Rodham Clinton took a Grammy for “It Takes a Village,” named Best Spoken Word Album. Comic actor Griffith got the nod for Best Southern Gospel Album for his record of hymns.

Again, though, the awards occasionally went to the right people. Enrique Iglesias deserved the Best Latin Pop Performance honor. Bluesman James Cotton’s fine “Deep in the Blues” disc correctly got the Best Traditional Blues Album nod, and Bunny Wailer’s double-CD tribute to Bob Marley was the right choice for Best Reggae Album.

Some years the Grammys show some consistency. This year was a mixed bag.

Complete list of winner from the Associated Press:

Record of the Year - “Change The World,” Eric Clapton.

Album of the Year - “Falling Into You,” Celine Dion.

Song of the Year - “Change The World,” Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Tommy Sims.

Male Pop Vocal Performance - “Change The World,” Eric Clapton.

Female Pop Vocal Performance - “Un-break My Heart,” Toni Braxton.

New Artist - LeAnn Rimes.

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group - “Free As A Bird,” The Beatles.

Pop Collaboration With Vocals - “When I Fall In Love,” Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole.

Pop Instrumental Performance for an Orchestra, Group or Soloist - “The Sinister Minister,” Bela Fleck and The Flecktones.

Pop Album - “Falling Into You,” Celine Dion.

Traditional Pop Vocal Performance for Solos, Duos or Groups - “Here’s To The Ladies,” Tony Bennett.

Producer of the Year - Babyface.

Male Rock Vocal Performance - “Where It’s At,” Beck.

Female Rock Vocal Performance - “If It Makes You Happy,” Sheryl Crow.

Rock Performance by a Duo or Group - “So Much To Say,” Dave Matthews Band.

Metal Performance - “Tire Me,” Rage Against The Machine, Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper.

Hard Rock Performance - “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” The Smashing Pumpkins.

Rock Instrumental Performance - “SRV Shuffle,” Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Dr. John and Art Neville.

Rock Song - “Give Me One Reason,” Tracy Chapman.

Rock Album - “Sheryl Crow,” Sheryl Crow.

Alternative Music Performance - “Odelay,” Beck.

Female R&B Performance - “You’re Makin’ Me High,” Toni Braxton.

Male R&B Vocal Performance - “Your Secret Love,” Luther Vandross.

R&B Performance by a Duo or Group - “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” Fugees.

R&B Song - “Exhale (Shoop Shoop),” Babyface.

R&B Album - “Words,” The Tony Rich Project.

Rap Album - “The Score,” Fugees.

Rap Solo Performance - “Hey Lover,” LL Cool J.

Rap Performance by a Duo or Group - “Tha Crossroads,” Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

Country Album - “The Road To Ensenada,” Lyle Lovett.

Female Country Vocal Performance - “Blue,” LeAnn Rimes.

Male Country Vocal Performance - “Worlds Apart,” Vince Gill.

Country Performance by a Duo or Group - “My Maria,” Brooks and Dunn.

Country Collaboration - “High Lonesome Sound,” Vince Gill featuring Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Country Instrumental Performance - “Jam Man,” Chet Atkins.

Country Song - “Blue,” Bill Mack.

Bluegrass Album - “True Life Blues: The Songs Of Bill Monroe.”

New Age Album - “The Memory Of Trees,” Enya.

Contemporary Jazz Performance Album - “High Life,” Wayne Shorter.

Jazz Vocal Performance - “New Moon Daughter,” Cassandra Wilson.

Jazz Instrumental Solo - “Cabin Fever,” Michael Brecker.

Jazz Instrumental, Individual or Group - “Tales From The Hudson,” Michael Brecker.

Large Jazz Ensemble - “Live At Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild,” Count Basie Orchestra.

Latin Jazz Performance - “Portraits Of Cuba,” Paquito D’Rivera.

Rock Gospel Album - “Jesus Freak,” DC Talk.

Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album - “Tribute: The Songs Of Andrae Crouch,” Various Artists.

Southern Gospel, Country Gospel Or Bluegrass Gospel Album - “I Love To Tell The Story: 25 Timeless Hymns,” Andy Griffith.

Traditional Soul Gospel Album - “Face To Face,” Cissy Houston.

Contemporary Soul Gospel Album - “Whatcha Lookin’ 4,” Kirk Franklin and The Family.

Gospel Album By A Choir Or Chorus - “Just A Word,” Shirley Caesar’s Outreach Convention Choir.

Latin Pop Performance - “Enrique Iglesias,” Enrique Iglesias.

Tropical Latin Performance - “La Rosa De Los Vientos,” Ruben Blades.

Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance - “Un Millon De Rosas,” La Mafia.

Traditional Blues Album - “Deep In The Blues,” James Cotton.

Contemporary Blues Album - “Just Like You,” Keb’ Mo’.

Traditional Folk Album - “Pete,” Pete Seeger.

Contemporary Folk Album - “the Ghost Of Tom Joad,” Bruce Springsteen.

Reggae Album - “Hall Of Fame: A Tribute To Bob Marley’s 50th Anniversary,” Bunny Wailer.

World Music Album - “Santiago,” The Chieftains.

Polka Album - “Polka! All Night Long,” Jimmy Sturr.

Musical Album for Children - “Dedicated To The One I Love,” Linda Ronstadt.

Spoken Word Album for Children - “Stellaluna,” Virginia Callaway.

Spoken Word or Nonmusical Album - “It Takes A Village,” Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Spoken Comedy Album - “Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot,” Al Franken.

Instrumental Composition - “Manhattan (Island Of Lights and Love),” Herbie Hancock and Jean Hancock.

Instrumental Composition for a Motion Picture or Television - “Independence Day,” David Arnold.

Musical Show Album - “Riverdance.”

Song Written for a Motion Picture or for Television - “Because You Loved Me (theme From ‘Up Close and Personal’),” Diane Warren.

Instrumental Arrangement - “An American Symphony,” Michael Kamen.

Instrumental Arrangement With Vocals - “When I Fall In Love,” Alan Broadbent, David Foster and Gordon Jenkins.

Recording Package - “Ultra-lounge (Leopard Skin Sampler),” Andy Engel and Tommy Steele.

Recording Package, Boxed - “The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (Miles Davis and Gil Evans),” Chika Azuma and Arnold Levine.

Album Notes - “The Complete Capitol Singles Collection (Frank Sinatra),” Will Friedwald.

Historical Album - “The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings,” Miles Davis and Gil Evans.

Engineered Album, Non-classical - “Q’s Jook Joint,” Francis Buckley, Al Schmitt, Bruce Swedien and Tommy Vicari.

Classical Engineered Recording - “Copland: Dance Symphony; Short Symphony; Organ Symphony, Etc.,” William Hoekstra and Lawrence Rock.

Classical Producer Of The Year - Joanna Nickrenz.

Classical Album - “Corigliano: Of Rage and Remembrance (Sym. No. 1, Etc.),” Leonard Slatkin, Conductor.

Orchestral Performance - “Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (scenes from the ballet),” Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the San Francisco Symphony.

Opera Recording - “Britten: Peter Grimes,” Richard Hickox, Conductor.

Choral Performance - “Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast” a track from the album “Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast; Suite From Henry V, Etc.”

Instrumental Soloist Performance With Orchestra - “Bartok: The Three Piano Concertos,” Yefim Bronfman.

Instrumental Soloist Performance Without Orchestra - “The Romantic Master,” Earl Wild.

Chamber Music Performance - “Corigliano: String Quartet,” Cleveland Quartet.

Small Ensemble Performance (with Or Without Conductor) - “Boulez: …

Explosante-Fixe …,” Pierre Boulez, Conductor.

Classical Vocal Performance - “Opera Arias (works of Mozart, Wagner, Borodin, etc.),” Bryn Terfel.

Classical Contemporary Composition - “Corigliano: String Quartet,” John Corigliano.

Music Video, Short Form - “Free As A Bird,” The Beatles.

Music Video, Long Form - “The Beatles Anthology,” The Beatles.