Soul man Charles hits right note from other side
The star-studded event, considered the music industry's version of the Oscars, featured an impressive slate of performers including James Brown, Green Day and newlyweds Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony who performed in Spanish.
The show kicked off with an explosion of controlled chaos featuring, across three stages, nominees The Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5 and Franz Ferdinand.
From there, the 47th annual soirée, hosted by Queen Latifah, launched into a wealth of exclusive live performances from LA's Staples Centre.
Charles won the coveted album and record of the year prizes, marking the first time the award went to a deceased artist since John Lennon (and widow Yoko Ono) won in 1982 for Double Fantasy.
Charles's career Grammy haul now stands at 17, tied with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss and U2 at Number 8 on the all-time list of Grammy winners.
"He's just made his career about another 50 years longer," said Phil Ramone, one of the producers of Genius Loves Company, which Charles worked on until a few months before his death last June at the age of 73.
The album had been a sentimental favourite, especially given the Oscar buzz surrounding Jamie's Foxx's electric turn as the "genius of soul" in the movie, Ray.
U2 won all three Grammy's for which they were nominated best rock song, best short-form video and best rock performance for Vertigo.
The band performed the song Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, a tribute to Bono's father, who died a few years ago.
The band's guitarist, the Edge, dedicated the latter award to his young daughter, Sian.
In a rare turn at the microphone, drummer Larry Mullen Jr apologised to fans for the recent debacle where many fan club members were unable to buy tickets for the shows, which quickly sold out.
Bono was later joined by an all-star cast including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Brian Wilson and Norah Jones to sing the Beatles' Across The Universe in aid of tsunami victims.
But the Grammy's also delivered some big shocks. Leading nominee, rapper Kanye West was snubbed in most categories, including best new artist. That prize went to clean-cut pop band Maroon5.
Grammy organisers, who have taken a lot of heat over the years for some dubious choices, have tightened up selection procedures. But the West oversight, after he released one of the most acclaimed albums of 2004, could prompt renewed criticism of the event's credibility.
West, who led the field with 10 nominations, ended up with three awards, including best rap album for The College Dropout and rap song for Jesus Walks. R&B singer Usher also won three from eight nominations.
Singer/songwriter John Mayer's haul of two included song of the year prize, while R&B singer Alicia Keys won four Grammy's.
Jazz pianist Norah Jones, one of Charles' collaborators, won two grammies. Other two-time winners included country veteran Loretta Lynn, funk musician Prince, roots rocker Ben Harper and punk rock trio Green Day, who had six nominations.
Genius Loves Company has become the biggest of Charles's career, selling 2.1 million copies since its release in September, despite a near-total lack of radio airplay.
In addition to album of the year, Charles won record of the year for Here We Go Again, a duet with Jones. They also won the Grammy for pop collaboration with vocals.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
