Robert Plant reaps Grammy glory

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The Grammy Awards have a funny way with vindication these days.

Four decades after his hard-rock howl earned the scorn of critics and the neglect of the rock establishment, Robert Plant got a little justice from his peers Sunday night.

With collaborator Alison Krauss, the former Led Zeppelin front man racked up five Grammy wins to assemble a quietly dominant night at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. The duo’s album of ethereal Americana music, “Raising Sand,” garnered solid reviews when it was released 17 months ago. Sunday it became the music industry’s focal point, providing Plant and Krauss with trophies for album of the year, record of the year and best pop collaboration, among others.

“Good things happen out of nowhere,” said T-Bone Burnett, the producer who groomed the Plant-Krauss collaboration and played guitar on most of the album’s tracks.

“I’m bewildered,” Plant said. “It’s a good way to spend a Sunday.”

Krauss’ five trophies propelled the 37-year-old fiddler ahead of Motown legend Stevie Wonder on the all-time winners list. The onetime teenage prodigy, who began racking up her Grammy wins in the early 1990s, now boasts 26 -- good for third best in history, behind George Solti (31) and Quincy Jones (27).

Plant’s triumph at age 60 fits an ongoing Grammy trend of atonement for older artists at the expense of top-selling younger acts. Led Zeppelin was the best-selling band of its era, but earned little contemporary respect beyond its massive base of teenage hard-rock fans. Sunday night was the latest in what’s been a gradual embrace of Zeppelin and Plant by the mainstream music establishment during the past decade.

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant arrive at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Sunday’s two runner-ups were the highest-profile acts of ’08: Lil Wayne grabbed four awards, including best rap album, for his stellar disc “Tha Carter III,” while Coldplay took song of the year for “Viva la Vida” and best rock album for the disc of that name.

The British quartet didn’t need an album of the year win to shore up its claim as the world’s biggest rock band, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt the cause. Front man Chris Martin, meantime, seemed eager to preempt criticism of the group’s win in the best rock album category, where it topped such heavy hitters as Metallica.

“We’re not, of course, the heaviest of rock bands, as you may have noticed,” he said. “We’re more of the limestone kind of rock: a little softer, but just as charming.”

It was an appropriately humble, milquetoast sort of moment for the 51st Grammys. Sunday was one of the most sizzle-free Grammy events in recent memory, marked by tepid live performances, unmemorable acceptance speeches and low-key presenters with dud jokes.

Fittingly for an era of splintered music tastes, it was a Grammy show with no overarching theme -- and few dazzling moments. A forgettable opening hour included a limp leadoff set by U2, which performed its go-nowhere new single “Get On Your Boots.”

This was mostly a night for familiar music figures, but there were a few new faces to be seen. British neo-soul singer Adele, chomping gum and choking back tears, took the best new artist trophy while giving props to fellow rookies Duffy and the Jonas Brothers.

Keeping with a tradition established earlier in the decade, the 31/2-hour ceremony was presented without a main host. The maneuver keeps the gala moving briskly -- and offers face time to a wider assortment of stars -- but it also leaves the Grammy show without a real center. Late-night comedian Craig Ferguson’s brief but spirited slot as presenter was a quick reminder what a charismatic emcee can bring to the affair.

The Jonases tried to grab an injection of credibility via Wonder, who manned a keyboard and swapped vocals with the teen sensations on “Burnin’ Up” and his own “Superstition.” Wonder seemed game for the moment, but the medley of chirpy funk fell flat.

Performance highlights included a lovely, powerful rendition of “You Pulled Me Through” by Jennifer Hudson, who capped a dramatic year by winning best R&B album. Iconic British band Radiohead, in its first U.S. television appearance in nearly a decade, delivered a pulsing, sublime performance of “15 Step” with -- yes -- the University of Southern California marching band.

Detroit’s Kid Rock once again got shut out by the Recording Academy’s 11,000 voters -- missing out on trophies for best rock album and male pop performance.

Dressed for the occasion in a sharp modern suit and hat, hair pulled back in a ponytail, he whipped up a vigorous medley of songs from his “Rock N Roll Jesus” album, with a shout-out to late Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell.

Smokey Robinson joined young bucks Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo as vocal accompaniment for a wide-grinning Detroiter Abdul (Duke) Fakir, as the ad hoc quartet performed a brisk medley of Four Tops tunes to mark the Motown group’s lifetime achievement award.

This morning’s water-cooler talking points will include Whitney Houston, making her biggest public appearance since leaving husband Bobby Brown two years ago and undergoing rehabilitation for drug addiction. The 45-year-old looked far healthier than she did earlier this decade, eliciting a standing ovation as she stepped out to present the best R&B album award. But Grammy viewers were sure to have noticed what seemed to be slurred speech and a halting manner from the former pop queen.

But the real chatter will involve a pair of no-shows. R&B power couple Chris Brown and Rihanna didn’t make their scheduled appearance after a long day of rumors about a violent domestic dispute the previous night. Brown surrendered to Los Angeles police Sunday, according to several media outlets, and was reported to be free on a $50,000 bail.