U2, Jackson Top Grammy Nominees : Simon, Winwood Seek Reprise of ’87 Wins

Michael Jackson, who won a record eight Grammys in 1984, picked up four nominations Thursday for his “Bad” album in the 30th annual Grammy Awards competition.

The nominations--for best album, pop vocal, R & B vocal and record producer--tied him with the Irish rock band U2 and country singer Emmylou Harris for the most nominations by a pop performer. Soprano Kathleen Battle received five nominations in the classical field.

In picking up its first Grammy nominations, U2 was saluted for best album (“The Joshua Tree”), best single and song (both titled “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”) and best rock group vocal.

Harris, a three-time Grammy winner, shared nominations with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt for best album (“Trio”) and best country group vocal. She was also nominated for female country vocal and country duet (with Glen Campbell).

“I guess these Paddies did all right for themselves,” said U2 drummer Larry Mullen in a statement from Dublin.

Jackson, Harris and U2 will compete against Whitney Houston’s “Whitney” and Prince’s “Sign ‘O’ the Times” in the best album category.

The other best record nominees are Los Lobos’ “La Bamba,” Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” Suzanne Vega’s “Luka” and Steve Winwood’s “Back in the High Life Again.”

Both Simon and Winwood will be trying to repeat victories. Simon won best album last year for “Graceland,” while Winwood was honored for best single for “Higher Love.” Though both of the new singles were part of 1986 albums, they were released during the 1987 eligibility period, which ran from Oct. 1, 1986 to Sept. 30, 1987.

The winners in these and 71 other pop and classical categories will be determined by a vote of the more than 5,000 members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. The awards will be announced March 2 during a nationally televised ceremony in New York City.

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who’s been a winner in both jazz and classical catagories in recent years, is again nominated in both fields: jazz solo and group instrumental, and classical solo instrumental. In the jazz soloist catagory, he’s once again competing with his brother Branford, who plays saxophone.

Competing against U2 for best song will be Suzanne Vega (for “Luka”), Michael Masser and Will Jennings (“Didn’t We Almost Have it All”) James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (“Somewhere Out There”) and the late Ritchie Valens, who adapted “La Bamba.”

Best new artist nominees: Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew, Terence Trent D’arby, Swing Out Sister and Jody Watley.

In other key categories, Jackson and Bruce Springsteen will compete against Sting, Elton John and Al Jarreau for best male pop vocal, while Houston and Vega will be challenged by Carly Simon, Belinda Carlisle and Barbra Streisand for female pop vocal honors.

In rock, the vocal catagory is now co-ed because the academy ruled there weren’t enough recordings eligible in the female rock category to have a separate competition (see Paul Grein story, page xx). The rock vocal finalists are Tina Turner, Springsteen, Richard Marx, Bob Seger and Joe Cocker. U2’s competitors for the rock group vocal award are Heart, Yes, Los Lobos and the Georgia Satellites.

The female R&B; vocal nominees are Houston, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Nancy Wilson and Jody Watley, while the contenders for the R&B; male vocal award are Jackson, Wilson Pickett, Smokey Robinson, Jonathan Butler and Stevie Wonder.

There is definitely precedent for the classical nominees--just take last year’s list and shuffle. In ’87 in the Best Album category, Robert Shaw was named for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Horowitz for “The Studio Recordings.” This year, it’s Sir Georg Solti for the Beethoven, and “Horowitz in Moscow.”

Andras Schiff was nominated last year for Book I of “The Well-Tempered Clavier”--surprised to find his recording of Book II on the new list? Other encores include John Eliot Gardiner, conductor of the B-minor Mass cited last year and the current St. John Passion, and Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy, who were nominated for Brahms’ Violin Sonatas a year ago and Beethoven’s Trios now, with Lynn Harrell.

In opera, Mozart garnered three of the five nominations, as did productions based around the Vienna Philharmonic. Only sopranos and mezzos were nominated for the vocal soloist award, including Marni Nixon singing Copland, backed by Keith Clark and members of the Pacific Symphony, and Arleen Auger for Villa-Lobos with the Yale Cellos.

Kathleen Battle’s received nominations in the areas of best opera recording for the three Mozart works and Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos”U, and a fifth nomination for classical vocal soloist (“Saltzburg Recital”).

The following is a partial list of the nominees for the 30th annual Grammy Awards.

Male Pop Vocal: “Bad” (album), Michael Jackson. “Brilliant Disguise,” Bruce Springsteen. “Bring On the Night” (album), Sting. “Candle in the Wind,” Elton John. “Moonlighting,” Al Jarreau.

Pop Vocal by Duo or Group: “Alone,” Heart. “Breakout,” Swing Out Sister. “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. “La Bamba,” Los Lobos. “Somewhere Out There,” Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram.

New Age Performance: “Between Two Worlds,” Patrick O’Hearn. “The Field,” Kitaro. “Reconciliation,” Liz Story. “Sweet Intentions,” Montreux. “Traveler,” Paul Horn. “Yusef Lateef’s Little Symphony.”

Male, Female Rock Vocal: “Better Be Good to Me,” Tina Turner. “Don’t Mean Nothing,” Richard Marx. “Shakedown,” Bob Seger. “Tunnel of Love” (album) Bruce Springsteen. “Unchain My Heart,” Joe Cocker.

Rock Vocal by Group or Duo: “Bad Animals,” Heart. “Big Generator,” Yes. “By the Light of the Moon,” Los Lobos. “The Joshua Tree,” U2. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” Georgia Satellites.

Female R&B; Vocal: “Aretha,” Aretha Franklin. “Everlasting,” Natalie Cole. “For the Love of You,” Whitney Houston. “Forbidden Lover,” Nancy Wilson. “Looking For a New Love,” Jody Watley.

Male R&B; Vocal: “Bad” (single), Michael Jackson. “In the Midnight Hour,” Wilson Pickett. “Just to See Her,” Smokey Robinson. “Lies,” Jonathan Butler. “Skeletons,” Stevie Wonder.

R&B; Vocal by Group or Duo: “Casanova,” Levert. “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” Aretha Franklin and George Michael. “Lean on Me,” Club Nouveau. “Rock Steady,” Whispers. “U Got the Look,” Prince and Sheena Easton.

R&B; Song: “Casanova,” Reggie Calloway. “Just to See Her,” Jimmy George and Lou Padrini. “Lean on Me,” Bill Withers. “Skeletons” Stevie Wonder. “U Got the Look,” Prince.

Jazz Fusion Performance: “A Change of Heart,” David Sanborn. “Collaboration,” George Benson and Earl Klugh. “Discovery,” Larry Carlton. “Four Corners,” Yellowjackets. “Still Life (Talking),” Pat Metheny Group.

Female Jazz Vocal: “Any Old Time,” Carmen McRae. “At Home,” Janis Siegel. “Brazilian Romance,” Sarah Vaughan. “Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra,” “Easy Living,” Ella Fitzgerald.

Male Jazz Vocal: “Billy Eckstine Sings With Benny Carter.” “Can’t Take You Nowhere,” Dave Frishberg. “Every Night,” Joe Williams. “This Guy’s in Love With You,” Arthur Prysock. “What Is This Thing Called Love,” Bobby McFerrin.

Jazz Solo Instrumental: “Cottontail,” Branford Marsalis. “Marsalis Standard Time--Volume I,” Wynton Marsalis. “Michael Brecker.” “The Other Side of Round Midnight,” Dexter Gordon. “To Bird With Love,” Eddie Daniels.

Jazz Group Instrumental: “Last Nite,” Larry Carlton. “Marsalis Standard Time--Volume I,” Wynton Marsalis. “Michael Brecker” “To Bird With Love,” Eddie Daniels. “Trio Music, Live in Europe,” Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes.

Female Country Vocal: “Angel Band,” Emmylou Harris. “80’s Ladies,” K.T. Oslin. “King’s Record Shop,” Rosanne Cash. “The Last One to Know,” Reba McEntire. “Love Me Like You Used To,” Tanya Tucker.

Male Country Vocal: “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,’ George Strait. “Always & Forever,” Randy Travis. “Born to Boogie,” Hank Williams Jr. “Exit 0,” Steve Earle. “Hillbilly Deluxe,” Dwight Yoakam.

Music Video, Short Form: “Cyndi Lauper in Paris.” “Horowitz in Moscow” (disc), Vladimir Horowitz. “One Voice,” Barbra Streisand. “The Prince’s Trust All-Star Rock Concert.” “Spontaneous Inventions,” Bobby McFerrin.

Music Video, Long Form: “Control--The Videos--Part II,” Janet Jackson. “David Lee Roth.” “Day In, Day Out,” David Bowie. “Kate Bush: The Whole Story.” “Land of Confusion,” Genesis.

Classical Album: “The Chairman Dances,” other pieces (John Adams), Edo de Waart cond.; Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven), Sir Georg Solti, cond.; Requiems (Faure and Durufle), Robert Shaw, cond.; Symphony No. 2 (Hanson), Violin Concerto (Barber), Leonard Slatkin, cond.; “Horowitz in Moscow.”

Opera Recording: “Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail,” Solti, cond.; “Don Giovanni,” Herbert von Karajan, cond.; “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Riccardo Muti, cond.; “Ariadne auf Naxos,” James Levine, cond.; “Macbeth,” Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

Classical Performance--Vocal Soloist: “Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson” (Copland), Marni Nixon; “Salzburg Recital,” Kathleen Battle; “Soiree Francaise,” Elly Ameling; Lieder (Strauss), Jesseye Norman; “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5” (Villa-Lobos), Arleen Auger.

Classical Performance--Instrumental Soloist (without orchestra): “The Well-Tempered Clavier” Book II (Bach), Andras Schiff; Sonatas Nos. 17, 18, 26 (Beethoven), Murray Perahia; “Horowitz in Moscow;” “My Favorite Kreisler,” Itzhak Perlman; Piano Pieces (Stravinsky, Wolpe, Lieberson), Peter Serkin.

Chamber Music Performance: Piano Trios (Beethoven), Perlman, Lynn Harrell and Vladimir Ashkenazy; Piano Quartet No. 1 (Brahms) Murray Perahia, Amadeus Quartet; Piano Trios (Dvorak, Mendelssohn), Beaux Arts Trio; Flute Quartets (Mozart), Jean-Pierre Rampal, Isaac Stern, Salvatore Accardo, Mstislav Rostropovich; “White Man Sleeps,” Kronos Quartet.

Choral Performance: St. John Passion (Bach), John Eliot Gardiner, cond.; “Old American Songs,” “Canticle of Freedom,” Four Motets (Copland), Michael Tilson Thomas, cond.; “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” (Hindemith), Shaw, cond.; “Glagolitic Mass” (Janacek), Sir Charles Mackerras, cond.; Symphony No. 8 (Mahler), Klaus Tennstedt, cond.; “A Child of Our Time” (Tippett), Andre Previn, cond.

Contemporary Composition: “The Chairman Dances” (Adams); Piano Concerto (Babbitt); Cello Concerto No. 2 (Penderecki); “A Sudden Rainbow” (Schwanter); Symphony No. 5 (Sessions); “The Mask of Time” (Tippett).

Orchestra Recording: Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven), Solti, cond.; “Orchestral Pieces” (Berg, Webern, Schoenberg), Levine, cond.; Symphony No. 3, “Quiet City” (Copland), Bernstein, cond.; Symphony No. 2 (Hanson), Slatkin, cond.; “The Planets” (Holst), Charles Dutoit, cond.

Classical Performance--Instrumental Soloist (with orchestra): Violin Concerto (Barber), Elmar Oliveira; “Emperor” Concerto (Beethoven), Murray Perahia; “Carnaval,” Wynton Marsalis; Horn Concertos (Mozart), Dale Clevenger; Violin Concertos (Mozart), Perlman.

John Henken contributed to this story.