“THE 29TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS,” Tuesday, 8-11...

“THE 29TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS,” Tuesday, 8-11 p.m. (2)(8)--The Grammy telecast is usually one of TV’s snappier awards shows, reflecting a broad diversity of pop, jazz, rock, classical, country, soul, blues, Latin, reggae, folk and just about every type of music short of bagpipes. And this year’s host, Billy Crystal, is a terrific comic.

Which probably means that Tuesday’s program will be awful.

Be optimistic, though. Among those scheduled to appear as performers or presenters are the Bangles, Miles Davis, Whitney Houston, B. B. King, Beastie Boys, Reba McEntire, Robert Palmer, Julia Migenes and Bruce Willis.

Originating from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the scheduled three-hour telecast will disclose the results of secret balloting by members of the National Academy of Recording Artists.

Singer-songwriter Steve Winwood topped the nominees with five, followed by four each for singer-songwriters Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, instrumentalist Wynton Marsalis and classical record producer Thomas Frost.

Special honors will go to Johnny Mercer, who will receive the academy’s trustees award, and to Billie Holiday, named recipient of the lifetime achievement award.