Steely Dan and U2 win Grammys - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby Gil

It was a night of the ’80s pop icon as rockers Steely Dan and U2 bagged the plum prizes in the 2001 Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last Wednesday. Steely Dan won the Album of the Year trophy for the duo’s Two Against Nature, plus the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group and the Best Pop Vocal Album. The Irish group U2 got the Record of the Year and Song of the Year trophies for its sparkling song to life Beautiful Day. And joining in to form another part of the comeback triangle is Sting who won Best Pop Male Vocal Performance for his She Walks The Earth.

For a while there I thought that Joni Mitchell would round out the circle. With this master of the pop tune in the running, there definitely was no chance that either Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears would have a chance of bringing home the year’s Grammy Award for Female Pop Performance. More so the quiet Aimee Mann. Madonna though had a lot going for her. Music is by far her, best. But Macy Gray’s I Try came on very strong and it was she who won the trophy.

Country singer Faith Hill was the top girl of the evening as she tied with Steely Dan and U2 for the most number of trophies. Hill won for Female Country Vocal Performance, Country Vocals Collaboration with her husband Tim McGraw and Best Country Album, Breathe.

The biggest winner of the night though was Eminem. The rapper has lately been the object of flack from many sectors for his controversial lyrics, including his alleged homophobia. Well, to show its respect for independent thinkers, the music industry came out in his defense by giving him the chance to perform his song, Stan with no less than the openly gay Elton John.

The elder statesman of pop music sang Dido’s Thank You, which Eminem sampled in his creepy hit Stan. Unlike Dido though, Elton did not end up drowning in the trunk of a car. Instead he and Eminem gave each other a hug at the end of their number. That told the world that all is forgiven and Eminem has finally won the acceptance of his peers. Incidentally, the rapper also went home with two Grammys. Best Rap Album for The Marshall Mathers LP and Best Rap Performance for The Real Slim Shady.

Of course, televiewers all over the world also turned out to be winners as the Grammys put out a spectacular show of scintillating performances from the likes of Madonna who once more opened the show riding a limo driven by kid rapper Little Bow Wow. There were also numbers by Faith Hill, Shelby Lynne, U2, Macy Gray, Destiny’s Child and teen diva Christina Aguilera who truly wowed the audience with her song and dance although she failed to bring home a trophy.

Here are some of the other winners:

New Artist: Shelby Lynne

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Dr. Dre

Pop Colla-boration Vocal: B.B. King & Dr. John Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t (My Baby)

Dance: Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men

Pop Instrumental Album: Symphony No. 1 by Joe Jackson

Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

Rock Vocal Female: Sheryl Crow There Goes the Neighborhood

Rock Vocal Male: Lenny Kravitz Again

Hard Rock Performance: Rage Against the Machine Guerrilla Radio

Metal Performance: Deftones Elite

Alternative Music Album: Kid A by Radiohead

R&B Female Vocal: Toni Braxton He Wasn’t Man Enough

R&B Male Vocal: D’Angelo Untitled (How Does It Feel)

R&B Duo or Group Vocal: Destiny’s Child Say My Name

R&B Traditional Album: Ear-Resistible by The Temptations.

Rap Solo: Eminem The Real Slim Shady

Rap Album: The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem

Latin Pop Album: Shakira MTV Unplugged by Shakira

Musical Show Album: Aida

Music Video (Short Form): Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters

Music Video (Long Form): Gimme Some Truth, the Making of John Lennon’s Imagine Album

Jazz Vocal: In the Moment – Live in Concert Diane Reeves

Classical Album: Shostakovich, The String Quartets The Emerson String Quartet.

Musical Album for Children: Woody’s Roundup by Riders in the Sky