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Jones, Dixie Chicks, Springsteen dominate Grammys
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Monday, February 24, 2003
NEW YORK (REUTERS) — The mellow voice of newcomer Norah Jones inviting listeners to “Come Away With Me” and the three-women country band Dixie Chicks held sway at the Grammy Awards in New York Sunday night.
Bruce Springsteen’s familiar brand of rock music on his Sept. 11-influenced album “The Rising,” released in July, won the Best Rock Album award and two awards for the title song.
Jones, 23, won Best Pop Vocal Album in the opening minutes of the CBS network live broadcast of the 45th annual presentation of the music industry’s top prizes, bringing the total for her personally or her debut collection to four for the day.
The show opened at Madison Square Garden with the reunion on stage of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel of Simon & Garfunkel with their Vietnam-era song “The Sounds of Silence.”
Asked whether they chose the song as an anti-war protest against a U.S. buildup to possible war in Iraq, Garfunkel said, “We’re aware that it has a resonance for the time, yes. We chose it because it’s the first hit we had and sort of bookends on our career.”
Dixie Chicks won Grammys for Best Country Album for “Home” and Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, “Long Time Gone,” and Best Country Instrumental Performance, “Lil’ Jack Slade” and Best Recording Package on “Home” went to art director Kevin Reagan.
Singer John Mayer with “Your Body is a Wonderland” won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and rapper Eminem won the Grammy for Best Rap Album for his “The Eminem Show.”
In the pre-telecast segment veteran rocker Springsteen, 53, won three Grammys from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in rock categories for the first all-new recording with his famous E Street band since 1984.
“Thank you so much, Wow!” Jones, daughter of Indian music master Ravi Shankar, 82, and former promoter Sue Jones, said on stage after being presented with the gold gramophone statuette for Best Pop Vocal Album.
“I never ever thought the music I made would be considered popular music,” added Jones, whose album “Come Away With Me” on the Blue Note jazz label with its mix of jazz, soft rock and country has sold millions of records across all age groups.
THE RISING
The Springsteen album includes the track “Into the Fire,” which he wrote after the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on New York that destroyed the World Trade Center and killed almost 2,800 people.
Another track was “My City of Ruins,” an earlier song about down-on-its-luck Asbury Park, New Jersey, that the musician dedicated to New York after the attacks.
In another echo of the attacks on New York, country singer Alan Jackson’s emotional “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” won in the category of Best Country tune.
Jones won her first personal Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album in the hours before the performances and presentations broadcast live on CBS. The album collected two others — for Best Engineered Album, Non-classical category and Producer of the Year, non-classical.
Springsteen and Jones are vying for the coveted Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year statuettes. Jones is also nominated for Best New Artist.
The awards honor artists in 104 categories, ranging from pop, rock, soul and jazz to classical music, spoken word and polka.
Music industry watchers are expecting protests to the U.S. buildup to possible war against Iraq and in the hours before the telecast there were two references to the turmoil of the times.
Wayne Coyne, leader of The Flaming Lips, which won Best Rock Instrumental Performance for “Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)” was wearing a blue Band-Aid under his right eye and explained it was “to draw attention to the fact that we are not supposed to talk about the war and peace. Stop the war. Let’s find other ways. Hey, no black eyes.”
In accepting two awards, R&B star India Arie said, “It’s my wish in these days of political upheaval to make the music that says something.” She won Best R&B Album for “Voyage to India” and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for “Little Things” from “Voyage to India.”
Eight musicians received five nominations each when they were announced last month — Springsteen, Jones, Canadian teen-age sensation Avril Lavigne, Rhythm and Blues singer/songwriter Ashanti, R&B’s Raphael Saadiq, singer/guitarist Sheryl Crow and rappers Eminem and Nelly.
The Grammys returned to New York for the first time since 1998. The awards were moved to Los Angeles in 1999 after then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had a much-publicized dispute with Academy executives.
