NEW YORK -- In a night of serious shutouts, longtime rock 'n' roller Little Richard summed up the surprise victories in the 30th annual Grammy Awards with two words of condolence for the big loser: 'Oooh, Michael!'
In one of the biggest upsets in Grammy history, Michael Jackson's 'Bad' album -- the biggest selling record of the year -- failed to capture one major award, falling victim to Irish rock band U2, Smokey Robinson and Sting along the way.
The only trophy 'Bad' took home was for best engineered recording, a non-televised award.
U2 rolled over Jackson and captured album of the year for 'The Joshua Tree,' which also garnered a Grammy earlier in the evening for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal.
Jackson lost to Robinson in the category of best R&B vocal-male with Robinson taking the honors for his single 'Just to See Her.' He forced a small smile when the camera turned on him as Robinson's name was announced.
Sting won the award for best pop vocal performance for the single 'Bring on the Night,' beating out a bevy of heavy contenders - Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Al Jarreau.
Little Richard, who tore up the audience with his antics in presenting the award for best new artist, commented on the Jackson shutout after the show.
'I'm shocked. I'm stunned,' he said. 'I think a lot of people are. Oooh, Michael!'
Springsteen walked off with a singular honor, as best rock vocal performance-solo for the 'Tunnel of Love' album.
Jackson's losses were a far cry from his earlier Grammy successes in 1980 and 1984. The 1980 album 'Off the Wall' sold 7 million copies and won a Grammy. In 1984, the phenomenal album 'Thriller,' had an unprecedented seven singles in the Top 10 music charts, sold more than 25 million copies and won several Grammys.
Paul Simon's single 'Graceland' was named record of the year. Simon's album of the same name took the Grammy for album of the year last year, but due to a complicated set of rules on what dates records must be released to qualify for Grammys in a certain year, the single was eligible this year.
One Grammy winner who did not seem surprised with his victory over Jackson was Narada Michael Walden who bested Jackson and Quincy Jones in the producer of the year category. Walden won for his work on the Whitney Houston album, 'Whitney.'
'I'm not surprised,' Walden said backstage after picking up his trophy, 'because I think the world wants to see new faces. Quincy has won so many awards. He came over to me privately and told me that he'd voted for me.'
In accepting their awards, U2 ran the gamut from amusing thank-yous - naming Bob Dylan, Walt Disney, Pee Wee Herman and Fawn Hall among others -- to a heartfelt recognition of South African activist Desmond Tutu and some observations on the meaning of their music.
'This is all very appreciated,' said the group's spokesman. 'It's hard when there's 50 million people or so (watching) not to take the opportunity to talk about South Africa and so. ... We set out to make soul music. It has nothing to do with being black or white. It's a decision to reveal and not conceal.
'Without it, people like Prince would be nothing more than a song and dance man, and he's more than that. Bruce Springsteen would be nothing more than a great storyteller and he's much more than that. Without it U2 certainly wouldn't be here and I wouldn't want to be anywhere but New York City tonight.'
What made U2's accomplishment even more impressive is that no album-oriented hard rock band has ever won a Grammy, a dramatic example of underground rock muscling its way into the mainstream.
'We want to thank college radio,' the spokesman said afterward. 'God knows where we'd be without them.'
Little Richard, presenting the award for best new artist, engaged in some good-natured ribbing by refusing to name the winner immediately.
'The winner is me,' he said several times. 'I am the architect of rock 'n' roll. You ain't never given me a Grammy.'
Finally, he announced Jody Watley as the winner.
Comedian Billy Crystal, the show's host for the second year in a row, kept the show moving at a brisk clip and commented on the fact that the show had moved to New York's Radio City Music Hall from Los Angeles, where the telecast had originated since 1981.
'It's a historic building in New York,' he said. 'It's the only building Donald Trump doesn't own.'
Other televised awards included Whitney Houston for best pop vocal performance-female for her song, which was the show's opening production number, 'I Want to Dance with Somebody.'
Also cinching the top awards that were televised were 'A Night at the Met' for best comedy album by Robin Williams; 'Les Miserables' for best musical cast show album; 'Somewhere Out There' for song of the year; 'Horowitz in Moscow' for best classical album; 'Forever and Ever, Amen' for best country song; and 'Marsalis Standard Time - Volume I' by Wynton Marsalis for best jazz instrumental performance-group.
Before the telecast, a series of non-televised awards were presented in a variety of categories including blues, gospel, latin, reggae, and polka music.
Some winners in the non-televised awards included Aretha Franklin, Itzhak Perlman, Frank Zappa, Randy Travis, Bill Withers, Julio Iglesias and Wayne Shorter.
