U2, Paul Simon Winners of Major Grammy Awards

Irish rock band U2’s socially conscious “The Joshua Tree” was named album of the year Wednesday night in the 30th annual Grammy Awards ceremony.

In a nationally televised program at Radio City Music Hall, the quartet, however, was blocked in its attempt to become only the eighth record act ever to win both best album and single record awards in the same year.

Paul Simon’s “Graceland”--the title track from the album that was declared best album in last year’s Grammy ceremony--was the upset winner in the single competition over U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” which had been widely viewed by industry analysts as the favorite.

Accepting the album award, U2 lead singer Bono Hewson made a joking reference to occasional criticism that the group--whose themes range from decrying terrorism in its native country to U.S. policy in Central America--often takes itself too seriously.

“It really is hard to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders . . . (saving) the whales . . . organizing summit meetings between world leaders, but we enjoy our work,” he said sarcastically.

As the audience laughed, Hewson turned serious, saying:

“It’s hard, however, when 50 million people are watching not to take the opportunity to talk about things like South Africa, what’s happening there, and remarkable people like Bishop (Desmond) Tutu. . . .”

Switching his remarks to music, the singer added: “We set out to make music; soul music. . . . Soul music’s not about being black or white, or the type of instruments you play. It’s a decision to reveal, or to conceal.”

The evening’s biggest surprise was the failure of Michael Jackson, who won a single-night record of eight Grammys in the 1983 competition, to garner honors in any of the four categories in which he was nominated for his album “Bad.”

Even without a Grammy victory, however, Jackson--whose 1983 sweep included both album and single honors--had a strong presence on the three-hour telecast.

In his first live TV performance since a 1983 Motown Records special, Jackson--dressed in black trousers and a blue shirt over a white T-shirt--delivered dramatic, foot-stomping renditions of both his dance-oriented “The Way You Make Me Feel” and the more thoughtful, gospel-accented “Man in the Mirror.”

Commercial Shown

Jackson also was shown performing and acting in a $2-million Pepsi-Cola commercial, a nod to the old Saturday afternoon adventure serials. The 4 1/2-minute commercial was shown in four parts during the broadcast.

Simon’s “Graceland” single was a highly regarded reflection on the search for inner peace, but it was considered a long shot because Simon was honored last year for the “Graceland” album.

The single was eligible this year because it was released several months after the LP, thus it fell into the 1987 eligibility period, which ran from Oct. 1, 1986, to Sept. 30, 1987.

Besides U2, which was also honored for best rock group vocal, the multiple winners in the pop portion of the evening were Aretha Franklin and the songwriting team of James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. The latter’s “Somewhere Out There,” from the film “An American Tail,” was voted best song and best song written specifically for a motion picture or television program.

Franklin’s victories in the female R & B vocal and R & B vocal duo categories increased to 14 her number of career Grammys. The total moved her into sole possession of fifth place among all-time pop Grammy winners. She had previously shared the position with Ella Fitzgerald, who was nominated in the female jazz vocal field, but lost to Dianne Schuur.

Simon Makes It 12

The female R & B victory was Franklin’s 11th in the category. Simon’s album award gave him a total of 12 Grammys, tying him with Fitzgerald.

Composer-arranger Henry Mancini, with 20 Grammys, is the all-time leader among pop artists, followed by composer-producer Quincy Jones, with 19. Mancini and Jones were nominated in three and two categories, respectively, but were shut out in the final balloting.

The awards--the record industry’s version of the motion picture academy’s Oscars--are determined by a vote of the 6,000 members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

Other key winners Wednesday included Jody Watley, new artist; Sting, male pop vocal; Whitney Houston, female pop vocal; Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, pop vocal duo, and Bruce Springsteen, rock vocal. Narada Michael Walden was declared best pop producer.

In the R & B competition, Smokey Robinson was named best male vocalist, while David Sanborn won for best instrumental performance, and Bill Withers and Reggie Calloway were honored for best song (“Lean on Me”).

Ennio Morricone’s “The Untouchables” was voted best instrumental score for a motion picture, while Robin Williams earned his second comedy album award for “A Night at the Met.” The Grammy for best musical cast show album went to “Les Miserables.” Garrison Keillor’s “Lake Wobegon Days” was named best spoken word recording.

Country Artists

In the country field, Randy Travis and K.T. Oslin were honored as best male and female vocals, respectively, while the trio of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris shared the award for group vocal.

In winning rock instrumental performance for his “Jazz From Hell,” Frank Zappa defeated his son, Dweezil, who was nominated for “Wipe Out,” a track from the film “Back to the Beach.”

Professor Longhair’s “Houseparty New Orleans Style” was voted the best traditional blues recording, while Julio Iglesias’ “Un Hombre Solo” was named best Latin pop performance and Peter Tosh’s “No Nuclear War” was declared the best reggae recording.

For the hundreds of fans gathered outside Radio City Music Hall, however, the excitement seemed tied as much to the chance to see the dozens of recording stars enter the building as to who actually won the awards.

This was the first time in seven years that the Grammys had been held here, rather than at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and fans spent hours outside the theater, shrieking every time a limousine pulled up to the curb.

More than 200 fans were already in place by noon.

“New York is where the Grammys belong,” said Susan Heyward, 19, a college student who spent her lunch hour watching the activity outside the theater’s 51st Street entrance.

“This is the capital of the music business,” she said. “All people out in California do is sit in the sun and get a tan.”

Alfred W. Schlesinger, chairman of the academy board of trustees, said the Grammys will return to Los Angeles in 1989 with the future site determined on a year-by-year basis.

Grammy Awards Winners

Record of the Year: “Graceland,” Paul Simon; Album of the Year: “The Joshua Tree,” U2; Song of the Year: “Somewhere Out There,” James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil; Best New Artist: Jody Watley.

POP/ROCK

Female Pop Vocal: Whitney Houston, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”; Male Pop Vocal: Sting, “Bring on the Night”; Duo or Group Pop Vocal: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life”; Pop Instrumental: Larry Carlton, “Minute by Minute.”

Rock Vocal (Male or Female): Bruce Springsteen, “Tunnel of Love”; Duo or Group Rock Vocal: U2, “The Joshua Tree”; Rock Instrumental: Frank Zappa, “Jazz From Hell.”

COUNTRY

Female Country Vocal: K. T. Oslin, “ ‘80s Ladies”; Male Country Vocal: Randy Travis, “Always & Forever”; Duo or Group Country Vocal: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, “Trio”; Country Duet Vocal: Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers, “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine”; Country Instrumental: Asleep at the Wheel, “String of Pars”; Country Song: “Forever and Ever, Amen,” Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz.

R&B;

Female R&B; Vocal: Aretha Franklin, “Aretha”; Male R&B; Vocal: “Just to See Her,” Smokey Robinson; Duo or Group R&B; Vocal: Aretha Franklin and George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)”; R&B; Instrumental: David Sanborn, “Chicago Song”; R&B; Song: Bill Withers, “Lean on Me.”

JAZZ/BLUES

Female Jazz Vocal: Diane Schuur, “Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra”; Male Jazz Vocal: Bobby McFerrin, “What Is This Thing Called Love”; Jazz Instrumental, Soloist: Dexter Gordon, “The Other Side of Round Midnight”; Jazz Instrumental, Group: Wynton Marsalis, “Marsalis Standard Time--Volume I”; Jazz Instrumental, Big Band: The Duke Ellington Orchestra, conducted by Mercer Ellington, “Digital Duke”; Jazz Fusion: Pat Metheny Group, “Still Life”; Traditional Blues: Professor Longhair, “Houseparty New Orleans Style”; Contemporary Blues: Robert Cray, “Strong Persuader.”

GOSPEL

Female Gospel: Deniece Williams, “I Believe in You”; Male Gospel: Larnelle Harris, “The Father Hath Provided”; Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus Gospel: Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart, “Crack the Sky”; Female Soul Gospel: Cece Winans, “For Always”; Male Soul Gospel: Al Green, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”; Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus Soul Gospel: The Winans and Anita Baker, “Ain’t No Need to Worry.”

LATIN

Latin Pop Recording: Julio Iglesias, “Un Hombre Solo”; Tropical Latin Recording: Eddie Palmieri, “La Verdad (The Truth)”; Mexican-American Recording: Los Tigres Del Norte, “Gracias! America Sin Fronteras.”

VIDEO

Performance Music Video: Elton John, Tina Turner, Sting and others, “The Prince’s Trust All-Star Rock Concert”; Concept Music Video: Genesis, “Land of Confusion.”

MISCELLANEOUS

New Age Performance: Yusef Lateef, “Yusef Lateef’s Little Symphony”; Traditional Folk Recording: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, “Shaka Zulu”; Contemporary Folk Recording: Steve Goodman, “Unfinished Business”; Polka Recording: Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra, “A Polka Just for Me”; Reggae Recording: Peter Tosh, “No Nuclear War.”

Recording for Children: Jack Nicholson--narration, Bobby McFerrin--music, “The Elephant’s Child”; Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording: Garrison Keillor, “Lake Wobegon Days”; Comedy Recording: “A Night at the Met,” Robin Williams; Musical Cast Show Album: “Les Miserables.”

Instrumental Composition: Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins, “Call Sheet Blues”; Instrumental Score for Film or Television: Ennio Morricone, “The Untouchables”; Song for Film or TV: James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, “Somewhere Out There.”

Instrumental Arrangement: Bill Holman, “Take the ‘A’ Train,” performed by the “Tonight Show” band; Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal: Frank Foster, “Deedles’ Blues” (from “Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra”); Album Package (Art Directors): Bill Johnson, “King’s Record Shop”; Album Notes: Orrin Keepnews, “Thelonious Monk--The Complete Riverside Recordings.”

Historical Album (Producers): Orrin Keepnews, “Thelonious Monk--The Complete Riverside Recordings”; Engineering (Non-Classical): Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica, “Bad”; Producer of the Year (Non-Classical): Narada Michael Walden.

CLASSICAL

Classical Album: Vladimir Horowitz, “Horowitz in Moscow”; Classical Orchestral Recording: Sir Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, “Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor”; Opera Recording: James Levine conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, “Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos”; Choral Performance (Other than Opera): Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, “Hindemith: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d (A Requiem for Those We Love)”; Classical Instrumental Soloist(s) with Orchestra: Itzhak Perlman (James Levine conducting the Vienna Philharmonic), “Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 2 and 4 in D”; Classical Instrumental Soloist(s) without Orchestra: Vladimir Horowitz, piano, “Horowitz in Moscow.”

Chamber Music: Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell and Vladimir Ashkenazy, “Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios”; Classical Vocal Soloist: Kathleen Battle (James Levine, accomp.), “Kathleen Battle Salzburg Recital (Faure, Handel, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Purcell, Strauss, Spirituals)”; Contemporary Composition: Krzysztof Penderecki, “Penderecki: Cello Concerto No. 2”; Engineering (Classical): Faure: Requiem, Op. 48/Durufle: Requiem, Op. 9 (Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra), Jack Renner, engineer; Classical Producer of the Year: Robert Woods (Faure: Requiem and Durufle: Requiem).