Wealth Is Spread Around

A soulful young chanteuse from New York City, a soundtrack that found musical riches buried in the Depression-era South and the rock band that has become Ireland’s most famous pop export were the disparate characters who became the story line of the 44th Annual Grammy Awards on Wednesday.

Alicia Keys, the singer-songwriter and pianist, won five Grammys, including best new artist and song of the year for her soaring debut hit, “Fallin,’” while the soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” took the prized album of the year trophy for its survey of bluegrass, folk and blues that was itself a vivid role in the quirky film.

“O Brother” also helped propel singer and fiddler Alison Krauss into the Grammy history book right beside Keys. Both won five Grammys, tying Lauryn Hill’s 2000 haul for most wins on a single Grammy night. Krauss got three of hers for her work on the soundtrack, the rest from her work with her band, Union Station.

Veteran rockers U2, meanwhile, walked away from the Staples Center gala with four Grammys, including the record of the year statue for “Walk On.” Those wins cap a revival for the band that has seen its return to the summit of the rock world with both a hit album and the top-grossing North American tour of 2001.

Accepting one award, lead singer Bono marveled that the quartet’s friendships could “survive commerce, being broke, not being broke, some really lousy haircuts, the ‘80s” and later called his mates “a punk band hearing mad tunes in their head.”

A more classical mind-set has informed the young career of Keys. She began playing piano at age 7, found an early fan’s passion for Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and then became a devotee of hip-hop--a blend that is clear in her music. Her album, “Songs in A Minor,” debuted at No. 1 on the pop charts last summer and she has been acclaimed by critics as a major new force in R&B.;

“I’d like to dedicate this to just thinking outside the box and not being afraid of who you are no matter what you do,” she told the audience.

Glitter coated Keys’ eyelids Wednesday and seemed appropriate for a young woman with every reason to have stars in her eyes. Her rise took the suspense out of the best new artist race--there was little doubt in any quarter that she would not win--but her competition with U2 in song and record of the year (the former honors songwriting, the latter is for the best single track) made those categories especially intriguing contests. In the end they split.

It was the second year in a row that U2 won record of the year; “Beautiful Day,” also from its “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” album, took the prize last year.

U2 was considered by many to also be a favorite in the best album competition, as was Bob Dylan, but in the end that Grammy went to “O Brother” in the night’s biggest surprise.

The soundtrack to the Coen brothers film won five Grammys in all, including a best producer trophy for its chief architect, T Bone Burnett. The album was an unexpected commercial sensation of 2001--its 4 million copies sold made it among the year’s top releases. It also inspired a tour, “Down From the Mountain,” that spawned a concert album that won in the category of best traditional folk album.

The “O Brother” soundtrack features such artists as Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss & Union Station, and creates the backdrop to the film’s updating of Homer’s “Odyssey” with a trio of hapless convicts on the loose in Southern backwoods. For many casual fans it provided a concise tour of an exotic musical landscape, in much the same way as the hit 1997 album by the Buena Vista Social Club became a portal to traditional Cuban pop music.

“We are filled with gratitude not only that you have chosen to honor this work in this way, but also because we were afforded the chance to make it in the first place,” Burnett said on stage. “And, for the great joy that making it was.”

Still, “O Brother” has been shunned by the nation’s country radio stations and Burnett encountered considerable resistance to the concept. “Everybody,” he said, “thought I was insane.”

While tradition-bound music is unwanted by country radio powers that prefer more pop-leaning fare, the music that looks to the past was celebrated with enthusiasm at the Grammys this year. Among the examples: “Timeless,” a tribute disc to Hank Williams featuring Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams and others, won best country album, while “The Lucky One,” by Krauss and Union Station, won best country song, although it was virtually ignored by mainstream country radio.

One of the awards for “O Brother” delivered the first Grammy ever to Ralph Stanley, an august figure in Appalachian music who won the award for best male country vocal for “O Death.” Stanley’s win came two days after he celebrated his 75th birthday. “I think,” he said, “this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

The Soggy Bottom Boys--whose song was memorably lip-synched by actor George Clooney in the film--took the award for best country collaboration with vocals for “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow.” While Stanley was new to Grammy ranks, others extended their lengthy relationship with the gramophone-shaped trophy. Conductor Pierre Boulez won his 24th career Grammy, moving him to No. 4 on the all-time list of winners, while producer Quincy Jones won his 27th Grammy (in the unexpected category of best spoken word album for a recording of his autobiography) and now trails only by four the all-time leader in Grammy wins, Sir Georg Solti.

In the category of disappointment, India.Arie was the name of the night. The neo-soul singer was nominated for seven albums, including album, song and record of the year, but was shut out. The wounds will be salved, though, by memories of her breakout year with the debut album “Acoustic Soul.”

The awards show brought the usual glut of limousines and media hordes to the downtown arena that became its West Coast home in 2000, but amid the usual celebration there was a grim backbeat. The business is beset by challenges that range from slumping sales to new technologies that threaten to spread music piracy. There is also a revolt of sorts underway by artists pushing for legislation for seismic changes in business practices that favor the record labels. (See related coverage in Calendar Weekend.)

Recordings released between Oct. 1, 2000, and Sept. 30, 2001, were eligible for the 101 categories of the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The recording academy has 13,000 voting members.