NASHVILLE, TENN. (Feb.14, 2005) — Last year, the world said farewell to the late soul legend, Ray Charles. This year, the world recognized his phenomenal talent and the talents of many other artists at the 47th annual Grammy Awards.
Charles' album, "Genius Loves Company," won multiple trophies for Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and a few technical prizes for the album's engineers and producers. Charles and fellow Yamaha musician,
Norah Jones, also picked up a Record of the Year Grammy for "Here We Go Again." Jones also won for Pop Female Vocal (Sunrise) and Pop Collaboration (Here We Go Again with Charles). The night also marked an outstanding victory for Yamaha as Yamaha instruments and artists took center stage.
Alicia Keys, won four awards including, Best R&B Album, Best R&B song (You Don't Know My Name), Female R&B Vocal (If I Ain't Got You) and R&B Performance (My Boo with Usher). Keys Yamaha partner,
Usher, also picked up three Grammys for Contemporary R&B Album (Confessions), R&B Collaboration (Yeah with Ludacris and Lil Jon), and R&B Performance by Duo/Group (My Boo with Keys).
Yamaha talent spent more time onstage than the host, Queen Latifah, as they racked up awards and performed onstage in front of millions of viewers. The highlight of the show was the performance by Keys and Jamie Foxx (who portrays Charles in the Oscar-nominated biopic, Ray). Foxx and Keys performed a tribute to Charles on two Yamaha DC3 White Yamaha
Grand Pianos.
Jones also took to the stage between her wins to perform the Beatles hit, "Across the Universe," with Stevie Wonder, Bono, Velvet Revolver and Steven Tyler. This special performance was dedicated to the support of tsunami relief.
The night was full of surprises and big performances. However, the night's biggest honors went to one of music's brightest stars, who was not there physically, but his music plays on in the hearts of his fans. Charles tied the Grammy record with eight wins and found a new legion of listeners.
For more information on Yamaha Corporation of America's Artist Affairs division, please contact Tiffany Napper at
tnapper@yamaha.com. Yamaha's ever-growing list of artists can be viewed by going to
www.yamahaartists.com
