As a member of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, and as a session guitarist for Carly Simon, Bryan Adams, Ringo Starr and many others, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter has been a clandestine rock and roll hero since the '70s. Now, as a specialist in terrorism, missile defense and chemical and biological warfare, he's also a covert hero for the U.S. military.

He's currently working for the Department of Defense as an adviser to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and has also served as a top military adviser for numerous congressmen and senators.

"To most of the world, Skunk Baxter is one of the great rock and roll guitar players. Inside the Beltway, he's one of the leading experts on military defense, and we listen to his advice all the time," said Republican California congressman Dana Rohrabacher. "He knows all about weapons technology and has a better understanding of the strategic game going on than I do, and I'm on the International Relations Committee."

Along with a roster of high-power politicians and military men, Baxter — who learned everything he knows about military defense from reading war history books, technical weapons texts and defense manuals — is now playing a key role in determining how the U.S. can best protect itself against a major nuclear, chemical or biological attack. And while he may be a big fan of the music of John Lennon, he doesn't believe in giving peace a chance, insisting that the mere threat of American military might isn't enough to sway the behavior of radical fundamentalists.

"I don't buy this idea of deterrence being the ultimate be all and end all, so missile defense is a very necessary concept," he said last week, adding that the U.S. needs to act defensively as well as offensively. "We need to protect our ports and our borders. We need to protect our water and food supplies. Agricultural terrorism is something we've been talking about for the past few years. The Russians at one time had placed warheads on their missiles that were designed to kill crops and livestock. In fact, they had smallpox on some of their offensive nuclear warheads at one point. So this is not a pretty game."

When Skunk Baxter speaks, people listen. At 52, he may look like an aging, non-conformist rocker — his scraggly moustache and beard look like clumps of sugary frosted shredded wheat and his beret and large wire-frame glasses give him an erudite appearance — but his creative, no-nonsense ideas and technical expertise endear him to his conservative military peers.

"Some of these people who are generals now were listening to my music when they were lieutenant colonels or lieutenant commanders, so there was a bond there," Baxter said. "But what they realized is that they're looking for people who think out of the box, who approach a problem with a very different point of view because we're talking about asymmetrical warfare here."

The idea that Baxter is being taken with sobering seriousness by a contingent that generally associates rockers with degenerates is amazing enough, but his transformation from guitar guru to high-tech defense wizard is even more incredible.

Like many musicians, Baxter has always been interested in how technology can be applied to music, and has become adept at working with the science of sound. He's served as a technical adviser for major musical manufacturers such as Akai Digital, Roland and Audio-Technica. And his fascination with circuitry and electronics stretches beyond the musical domain into the military realm. In the '80s, while his peers would drink beer and play video games on tour, Baxter would immerse himself in technical defense magazines.

"Technology is really neutral, it's just a question of application," he said. "For instance, if TRW came up with a new data compression algorithms for their spy satellites, I could use that same information and apply it for a musical instrument or a hard disc recording unit. So it was just a natural progression."

Baxter's evolution from defense technology hobbyist to professional happened more by circumstance than intent. A decade ago, one of his friends was writing an op-ed piece on NATO and weapons systems, and knowing Baxter's fascination with military gizmos, she asked if he would help out. He was so inspired by the project, he wrote his own paper on missile defense and handed it to Rohrbacher, who showed it to his associates.

"His friends said, 'Is this guy from Raytheon or Lockheed?' And he said, 'No, he's the guitar player for the Doobie Brothers.' So naturally that raised a few eyebrows," Baxter said.

Based on the paper, Republican Pennsylvania congressman Curt Weldon, the chair of the Procurement Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, invited Baxter to help form a civilian advisory board on missile defense.

"The next thing I knew, I was up to my teeth in national security, mostly in missile defense, but because the pointy end of the missile sometimes is not just nuclear, but chemical, biological or volumetric, I got involved in the terrorism side of things."

While Baxter is currently in demand as a defense expert, he's not ready to permanently trade in his signature Gibson Epiphone guitar for a cache of Stinger missiles. And his resume is mighty impressive. With the Doobie Brothers, he played on such hits as "Black Water" from the 1974 record What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits and "Takin' It to the Streets" from the 1976 album of the same name. As a member of Steely Dan, he played on "Do It Again" from the 1972 disc Can't Buy a Thrill, "My Old School" from 1973's Countdown to Ecstasy and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" from the 1974 LP Pretzel Logic. Over the past two years, he's played on records by MC Lyte, Michael McDonald, Tom Rush and Evan and Jaron, and in his spare time he continues to produce other acts and give guitar clinics.

"I am honored to be able to work on both sides of the fence," he said. "I will show up anywhere, anytime with a guitar and play to make money, to raise funds, to raise awareness for anything that I can do. And I've also spent many hours burning the midnight oil working on the national security problem with the people I work with. So I am absolutely blessed."

For more information on and audience reaction to the attacks, including tips on how you can help, see "9.11.01: Moving Forward."

• The Doobie Brothers
• Steely Dan

Kid Rock performs with Steven Tyler and Aerosmith at the 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Although the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has chosen to celebrate its rebel heroes with a black-tie dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, the anarchic spirit of the form still permeated the air as the class of 2001 was inducted Monday night.

This year, the hall welcomed British pomp-rockers Queen, hard-rock stalwarts Aerosmith, sophisticated cynics Steely Dan, rock and soul kingpin Solomon Burke, doo-wop greats the Flamingos, veteran guitarist James Burton, powerhouse boogie-woogie pianist Johnnie Johnson and late Latino rocker Ritchie Valens. The hall also recognized singer/songwriter Paul Simon and pop titan Michael Jackson, both past inductees, for their solo work.

But while the industry elite supped on endive and goat cheese salad and veal chops in the Waldorf's Grand Ballroom, the flash and gnash that is rock crashed the dinner party as well.

There was presenter Keith Richards, beautifully rambling in tongues, the way all rock gods should, as he inducted Burton and Johnson. There was inductee Burke, looking like a sultan pimp in a sparkling burgundy suit and fur-trimmed cloak. There was Kid Rock diving headlong into Aerosmith's past excesses as he inducted the band, joking of their 1977 album, Draw the Line, "From what I understand they drew a line around the world and snorted the whole damn thing." There was Steely Dan's Walter Becker, who jarred the crowd into awkward silence upon his band's induction, saying, "Everything we've had to say about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame we've said on our Web site, so I'd just like to open the floor to questions." Even Paul Simon — returning to the Hall on the merits of his solo work after being inducted in 1990 for his work with Art Garfunkel — displayed some bite, saying of his former partner, "I regret the ending of our friendship, and I hope that some day before we die we will make peace with each other," adding after a pause, "No rush." Of course, there was music as well. "Breakfast is over," Queen guitarist Brian May shouted before opening the show with the band's anthem "We Will Rock You." While bassist John Deacon missed the ceremony due to illness, May and drummer Roger Taylor swapped verses made legendary by late vocalist Freddie Mercury. The band then dabbled in the type of musical cross-pollination that has become the ceremony's calling card, enlisting the help of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins on a rollicking version of "Tie Your Mother Down." Grohl and Hawkins would later return to the stage to welcome Queen into the hall, with Grohl observing that "Queen changed styles more often than most of you people have changed management." Adding that the band was "responsible for some of the most dangerous music in the history of rock and roll," Grohl then welcomed May and Taylor to the stage. May provided one of the night's more moving moments by inviting Mercury's mother, Jer Bulsara, to the podium.

"Knowing that his mother was there was the only responsibility I felt," Grohl said of his performance in front of Bulsara. "Everyone else can eat s---." Kid Rock invested himself in his induction of Aerosmith in a similar fashion, positioning himself as the heir to the band's rock bad boy throne. Declaring that "Aerosmith are to rock and roll what Fonzie was to 'Happy Days,'" Kid Rock welcomed "the greatest rock and roll band in American history" to the hall. Picking up his statuette, bassist Tom Hamilton joked, "Mom, my promise still holds. When I finally get this out of my system, I'll go to college." The band then strapped on its gear and eased into a rendition of "Sweet Emotion" that featured Kid Rock working the turntables and trading verses with frontman Steven Tyler. The Boston rockers then passed on a planned performance of "Rattlesnake Shake," opting instead to tease a verse of their current hit "Jaded" before jumping into the Johnny Burnette Trio's "Train Kept A-Rollin'," which Aerosmith have covered on record and live for decades.

"This is totally overwhelming," Tyler said backstage. "To know that you've got a place next to Elvis Presley ... what's up with that?" "Totally underwhelmed" may have better described the reaction of Steely Dan's Becker and Donald Fagen as the duo entered the hall. Inducted by mainstream techno icon Moby (who later admitted, "I don't know how or why I was chosen. I assumed they hated everybody."), Fagen and Becker used their time at the podium to joke about the swipes they have taken at the hall on their Web site and discuss Mothers of Invention trivia.

Asked backstage if they had any feelings at all about entering the hall, Becker replied, "Apparently not." The duo were more spirited during their performances, rolling out a version of "Black Friday" and later teaming with May, who delivered an appropriately manicured solo on "Do It Again" during the jam portion of the event.

While Steely Dan were finally hitting the hall after four years of eligibility, Jackson and Simon returned Monday night with a bit of a been-there-done-that approach. Jackson, who entered the hall in 1997 as a member of the Jackson 5, was inducted for his solo work Monday night by 'NSYNC. Jackson, hobbled by a broken foot, said, "The gift of music is a blessing from God," before thanking key figures in his career, including Quincy Jones, Diana Ross and Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr.

Simon, meanwhile, took a tongue-in-cheek approach. Taking the podium from presenter Marc Anthony (who noted, "Nobody has embraced our world music quite like my friend Paul"), Simon thanked a string of influences, including "Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Sam Phillips, Frankie Lymon ... and those two girls in Covington, Kentucky." Simon later dabbled in the annual rock hall jam session, bringing out Anthony to provide backing vocals on "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard." While the jam was slow to warm (with the Anthony-Simon and May-Steely Dan partnerships providing relatively clean experiences), it reached its peak with a blues-boogie guitar blowout featuring Richards, Robbie Robertson, Burton, Whitford, Joe Perry and May trading licks while Johnson held the whole thing together on piano.

Contemporary hitmakers Ricky Martin and Mary J. Blige also turned out to bring their star wattage to the influential careers of Valens and Burke, respectively. Martin shook his way through a medley of Valens hits "Come on, Let's Go," "Donna," and "La Bamba," while Blige yielded the stage to Burke, who delivered a sweltering version of "Cry to Me." The night also saw the spotlight fall on legendary sidemen Burton and Johnson, whom presenter Richards called "the best musicians in the world." "I never bought a Ricky Nelson record. I bought a James Burton record," Richards said of the guitarist known for his work with Nelson and Presley, among others.

Influential doo-wop outfit the Flamingos ("I Only Have Eyes for You") also had a moment to shine, as the group was welcomed to the hall by Four Seasons leader Frankie Valli, who hailed their 1959 album, Flamingo Serenade, as a masterpiece.

• Aerosmith
• Steely Dan
• Paul Simon
• Michael Jackson

Paul Simon
Photo: Lynn Goldsmith

Even as Aerosmith, Queen, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Steely Dan, Solomon Burke, the Flamingos and Ritchie Valens are being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, music-industry figures and fans are likely to have complaints about the absences in the class of 2001.

The bellyaching begins each year around December, when inductees are typically announced. "Where are the Stooges and Black Sabbath?" some say. "Aerosmith, but no New York Dolls?" say others. Still others may bemoan the absence of Can or Serge Gainsbourg. A select — some might posit deranged — few might even protest the absence of Napoleon XIV, the lunatic engineer behind the 1966 novelty hit "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" The necessarily mongrel, sprawling cultural experience known as rock and roll invites a multitude of opinions as to what constitutes the music's canon. But for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it's the opinions of the hall's nominating committee that count. Every spring, the nominating committee, a sort of star chamber of influential music industry professionals — record executives, lawyers including veteran industry attorney Allen Grubman, managers such as Bruce Springsteen's Jon Landau, journalists including longtime scribe Dave Marsh and musicians such as the Patti Smith Group's Lenny Kaye — convene to evaluate potential nominees, who must have released their first record 25 years before the year of induction. Their choices form the ballot, which then goes to a larger group of 1,000 voters. "The nominating committee is now about 60 people; it started off as 20 people, and it's grown," said Seymour Stein, chairman of London-Sire Records, who has been president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since its 1986 inception and is currently the co-chairman of the nominating committee. "Rock and roll is an ever-changing, hybrid music, and the more viewpoints, the better. As many people as want to or can attend the meeting, and the others are e-mailed and we vote. "By process of elimination, we try to narrow the ballot down to about 15 artists. No one can be inducted without getting at least 50 percent of the vote," Stein said. "Generally, between five and seven inductees [are selected]." Stein, an avowed "doo-wop fanatic" who identifies heavily with the music of his youth, feels like there's "quite a bit of catch-up to do." He cites the Hollies, Brenda Lee, Conway Twitty, Gene Pitney, Percy Sledge, Chuck Willis and panoply of doo-wop acts such as the Five Satins ("In the Still of the Night") and the Penguins ("Earth Angel") as acts that should be full-fledged inductees. "I don't want to forget artists from the '50 and '60s, but not at the expense of worthwhile artists from the '70s," he said. "I don't want to sound like George Bush, but I don't want to see anyone left behind. But I really mean it, hence the difference." Stein does not predict that any artist, whether in 2001 or in future years, will ever sail into the hall the first year they are eligible, the way, say, the Beatles did in 1988, or Bruce Springsteen did in 1999. He cited a random selection of artists, from James Taylor to Earth, Wind & Fire to Gene Vincent to Parliament-Funkadelic to Joni Mitchell to the Bee Gees to the Velvet Underground, who waited a few, or many, years for induction. Monday night's inductees, Stein noted, are uniformly ones that took a few years to pass. "Aerosmith had been eligible for two years, Queen had been eligible for three years. Three of the acts getting in this year were eligible the first year [of the Hall's existence]: Ritchie Valens, Solomon Burke and the Flamingos." Queen's surviving members, incidentally, are mulling a reunion in the wake of the rock hall honor (see "Surviving Queen Members Mulling Reunion, Guitarist May Says"). For Aerosmith, their past eligibility — if not the induction itself — isn't weighing too heavily on their minds. "I'm not really thinking about that," singer Steven Tyler said. "When we heard we were up for it [two years ago], it was very surprising to begin with." "Do I even think that we should get in there now?" guitarist Joe Perry wondered aloud. "I don't know. It's not up to us.

"It just kinda feels weird, because there's a museum, and 'museum' sounds so stable and staid," he continued. "Everybody tries to pigeonhole everything. But I guess it's a good thing. A lot of people think it's a good thing, so we're happy to be there." As for disco and punk acts (like the Sex Pistols) that made their mark in 1976, Stein adopts a wait-and-see attitude on whether they'll make it to next year's ballot: "We're going to know in three or four months, so hold your horses." Stein does suggest, given that some voters perceive the uninducted likes of Darlene Love and the Crystals as mere instruments in the hands of producers, that some similarly perceived disco artists may meet a similar fate.

Robert Christgau, senior editor of the Village Voice, attended 1995's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and wrote an essay for the program regarding Al Green. He has never voted in the poll, but is charitable as to how the tastes of the nominating committee, the overwhelming majority of whom are veterans of the music business, influence induction. "This is an election," he said. "And the people who vote, including everyone who has been inducted, are obviously going to understand their own aesthetic better than they understand succeeding aesthetics. Therefore, people who embrace aesthetics that are already canonized will have an advantage over those who don't. That's just a process, and maybe it should be corrected for, but there's nothing inherently immoral or unfair about having, for instance, all the surviving members of the Orioles voting for who should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." So in light of how the list of worthy inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seems to be backed up, it might be a few years after 2004 — 25 years after the release of the first hip-hop record, the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" — that we see any old-school rappers taking their place alongside the giants of rock and roll. DMC, one-third of Run-DMC, told MTV News you won't see him at any induction dinners until the hall recognizes early hip-hop. "You have a whole period of rap and a whole history before us that's definitely gotta be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before I get there.

"Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel?" he continued. "No, I'm not coming to the ceremony until you put Melle Mel in there, 'cause he did 'The Message' and he did 'Super Rappin'.' They gotta put them in before us and Public Enemy, and everybody's gotta get their props."

• Aerosmith
• Queen
• Paul Simon
• Michael Jackson
• Steely Dan

U2's Bono
Photo: Interscope

The Foo Fighters, Bono and Moby will join 'NSYNC as presenters at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 16th annual induction ceremony.

The Foo Fighters will induct bombastic rockers Queen, whose anthems "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" as well as the operatic "Bohemian Rhapsody" are classic-rock staples.

The induction ceremony will be held March 19 and will air at 9 p.m. ET on VH1 two days later.

Moby will induct Steely Dan, the jazz-rock duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, whose revolving cast of collaborators produced a string of hits in the 1970s and early '80s, including "Do It Again," "Peg" and "Hey Nineteen." The group's Two Against Nature (2000) garnered Steely Dan their first Grammy, for Album of the Year.

'NSYNC will do the honors for Michael Jackson, whose previous induction as a member of the Jackson 5 means he'll join a relatively small group of artists to be inducted more than once. Double inductees include John Lennon and Paul McCartney as solo artists and as members of the Beatles, while Eric Clapton is a three-time honoree for his work with the Yardbirds and Cream and as a solo performer.

Paul Simon also joins that list this year — already inducted as one half of Simon & Garfunkel, he'll be honored for a solo career that includes the classic 1986 album Graceland, which combined Simon's folksy songwriting style with South African music. No presenter has been announced for him yet.

Bono will induct Island Records founder Chris Blackwell in the nonperformer category. Blackwell started Island in Jamaica in 1961 and eventually released albums by a wide array of performers, including Bob Marley, Tom Waits, U2 and Traffic.

Rolling Stone Keith Richards will induct James Burton and Johnnie Johnson in the sidemen category. Burton, a seminal rock and country guitarist, is best known for his work with Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson; he's also recorded with artists ranging from Gram Parsons to the Monkees to Elvis Costello. Johnson not only played piano for Chuck Berry, but arranged many of his best-known singles, including "Maybellene" and "Johnny B. Goode." No presenters have been announced to induct Aerosmith, Solomon Burke, the Flamingos or Ritchie Valens.

• Foo Fighters
• U2
• Moby
• *NSYNC
• Michael Jackson

The Rock
Photo: MTV

While U2, Steely Dan and Eminem rocket up next week's Billboard 200 fueled by post-Grammy sales, the World Wrestling Federation drops the People's Elbow to crash into the top five.

Despite the Grammy push and the wrestling maneuvers, Shaggy remains #1 on the new Billboard chart with Hotshot, which sold more than 271,000 copies last week, according to sales figures issued by SoundScan on Wednesday (February 28). The resurgent, Jamaican-born dancehall singer has now topped the chart for four straight weeks.

Coming in right behind Shaggy was the newest World Wrestling Federation album, WWF: The Music, Vol. 5, which sold 176,000 copies to debut at #2.

The latest installment in the WWF series compiles the entrance music for the likes of K-Kwik, Kane, Raven, Kurt Angle, Chyna and Rikishi, among others, and features a new song, "Pie," from Slick Rick and The Rock (who regained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship over the weekend in Las Vegas). Rounding out the rest of the top 10 on the Billboard 200 are The Beatles 1 compilation, at #3, followed by Dido's No Angel, the "Save the Last Dance" soundtrack, Jennifer Lopez's J.Lo, Lenny Kravitz's Greatest Hits, Ja Rule's Rule 3:36, Crazy Town's Gift of Game and Ludacris' Back for the First Time. Wins and performances at last week's Grammy Awards helped propel sales for U2, Eminem, Steely Dan, Moby, Destiny's Child and Shelby Lynne, with U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind and Steely Dan's Two Against Nature getting the biggest sales boosts.

All That You Can't Leave Behind jumped from #35 to #11 on the chart, selling about 85,000 copies last week. Even though the album wasn't released in time to be considered for this year's Grammys, U2 benefited from the three awards they took home for "Beautiful Day," which won two of the biggest honors, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. After winning the Album of the Year Grammy for Two Against Nature, a record that dropped off the Billboard 200 in August, Steely Dan vaulted all the way back to #54 with 31,000 copies sold — a tenfold increase from just 3,000 copies the previous week.

The 2001 Grammy Pop Nominees compilation, which features tracks from Destiny's Child, 'NSYNC, Radiohead and Eminem, also got a post-awards bump, moving up from #25 to #12. Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP surged from #62 to #32, Moby's Play went from #57 to #40, and Destiny's Child's The Writing's on the Wall leapt up 20 places, from #66 to #46.

Album of the Year nominee and Grammy performer Paul Simon made a respectable chart and sales gain as well, advancing from #197 to #108 with You're the One. Country-soul singer Lynne, the Grammy winner for Best New Artist, has parlayed her award into an important chart first: The singer/songwriter's acclaimed I Am Shelby Lynne album — her sixth studio effort — has become the first record of Lynne's career to crack the Billboard 200, entering at #165.

Aside from WWF: The Music, Vol. 5, other notable albums debuting in the new albums chart include Songs 4 Worship: Shout to the Lord, at #67; Monster Ballads, Vol. 2, at #110; and Tortoise's Standards, at #200.

For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.

• U2
• Steely Dan
• Shaggy

Steely Dan at 2001 Grammys
Photo: CBS

Echoing the rumblings that led up to the ceremony, Eminem and Dr. Dre made the most noise on Grammy night, but ultimately Steely Dan may have been the ceremony's big winners.

Em and Dre dominated the stage patter, the performances and the awards themselves, combining for five honors, but it was avant-jazz vets Steely Dan whose trio of trophies included a surprise win in the high-profile Album of the Year category for Two Against Nature. Eminem also took home three awards, including Best Rap Album for his The Marshall Mathers LP and Best Rap Solo Performance for "The Real Slim Shady." He also picked up the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy for his work on Dr. Dre's "Forgot About Dre." "I want to thank everyone who looked past the controversy and saw the album for what it was and what it wasn't," Eminem said, picking up the Grammy for Best Rap Album.

Even promised protests against Eminem and his perceived homophobic and misogynistic lyrics fizzled, with only three dozen protesters showing up to rally outside Los Angeles' Staples Center.

"We can't edit out the art that makes us uncomfortable," National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences President Michael Greene said in introducing the rapper's performance. "Remember that's what our parents tried to do to Elvis, the [Rolling] Stones, the Beatles." Eminem then turned in the evening's most talked about performance, joining forces with the openly gay Elton John on Eminem's single "Stan." Em ended the performance by embracing John, and then raised his middle fingers to the crowd.

Eminem's cohort Dr. Dre finished the night with two awards, both of which came in the pre-telecast portion of the ceremony. In addition to sharing the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group award with Eminem, Dre also grabbed Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (see "Eminem, Dr. Dre, Faith Get Early Grammy Start").

The triple-win showings of Eminem and Steely Dan were matched by Faith Hill and U2.

Mainstream country darling Hill picked up Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Breathe," Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "Let's Make Love" (which she recorded with husband Tim McGraw) and Best Country Album for Breathe. In addition to the Album of the Year Grammy, Steely Dan picked up awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal for "Cousin Dupree" and Best Pop Vocal Album (besting Britney Spears, 'NSYNC, Madonna and Don Henley). Their album Two Against Nature also generated a production Grammy for the four-man team that engineered it.

"I thought that was weird," Steely Dan's Walter Becker said of the group's pop win. "Maybe we're in the wrong category or something. Think they'll take these things away from us, or make us give them back? I'm getting attached to mine." "I think we're in real risk of losing our outsider status," his partner, Donald Fagen, joked.

Steely Dan, who made a name for themselves three decades ago, were not without their own lyrical controversy — their "Cousin Dupree," from Two Against Nature, offers a tale of one man's incestuous lust for his cousin.

U2 scored the night's best batting average, turning their three nominations into three wins. Inspiring thoughts of "don't call it a comeback," the Irish rock veterans walked off with Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal for "Beautiful Day." "I don't remember wanting to win a Grammy like we wanted to win a Grammy tonight," U2 frontman Bono said. "It's a very particularly sweet kind of sensation." Destiny's Child pulled a lower scoring percentage, but still managed to turn their five nominations into a pair of awards. The group's "Say My Name" was tapped as Best R&B Song and won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal.

The Foo Fighters and D'Angelo also went home with two awards apiece. D'Angelo won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Album, while the Foo Fighters grabbed Best Rock Album and Best Short Form Music Video.

"The Best Rock Album is kind of a cool title," Foo frontman Dave Grohl said. "It's Best Rock Record, which sounds like it should say AC/DC next to it, but it's us, which is pretty much the coolest thing that's ever happened." Country veteran Shelby Lynne took home Best New Artist honors, quipping that it took "13 years and six albums to get here." Macy Gray picked up a Grammy early in the telecast, taking home Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Try." Elton John, the Deftones, Radiohead, Creed, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Hex Hector, Sting, Toni Braxton, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and the Baha Men all picked up Grammys in the pre-telecast portion of the ceremony.

Despite heading into the ceremony with three nominations and a show-opening live performance, Madonna went home without a Grammy. Her Music album, however, grabbed Best Recording Package honors for Kevin Reagan. 'NSYNC, Jill Scott, Aimee Mann, Joe, Sisqó and Brian McKnight all went home empty-handed, despite multiple nominations.

Grammys host Jon Stewart, who was tapped for the job just last week, brought a healthy dose of sarcasm to the ceremony, deflating the controversy that had surrounded Eminem's appearance.

"I don't understand the controversy. I met Eminem backstage, and I've got to tell you, he's really, really gay," Stewart joked.

And addressing lyrical responsibility, Stewart warned kids that "Saturday night's not all right for fighting." Judging from the lack of an Eminem backlash, apparently Wednesday night's not a good night either.

For a look back at previous big Grammy winners, red carpet photos and much more, visit our Grammy News Archive.

• Dr. Dre
• Eminem
• Steely Dan

Jazz-rock gurus Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, better known as the two-man group Steely Dan, announced dates Wednesday for their first extensive tour since 1996.

• 5/31 - Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
• 6/1 - Portland, OR @ Rose Garden
• 6/3 - George, WA @ The Gorge
• 6/4 - Boise, ID @ BSU Pavilion
• 6/6 - Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
• 6/9 - San Diego, CA @ Coors Amphitheater
• 6/10 - Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay
• 6/11 - Phoenix, AZ @ Desert Sky Pavilion
• 6/13 - Universal City, CA @ Universal Amphitheatre
• 6/14 - Universal City, CA @ Universal Amphitheatre
• 6/16 - Irvine, CA @ Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
• 6/17 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
• 6/18 - Marysville, CA @ Sacramento Valley Amphitheatre
• 6/20 - Albuquerque, NM @ Mesa del Sol Amphitheatre
• 6/21 - Denver, CO @ Fiddler's Green
• 6/23 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
• 6/24 - Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
• 6/25 - Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
• 6/27 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
• 6/28 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
• 6/30 - Wilkes-Barre, PA @ First Union Civic Arena
• 7/1 - Saratoga, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
• 7/2 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion at Starlake
• 7/5 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
• 7/7 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
• 7/8 - Wantaugh, N.Y.; Jones Beach Amphitheatre
• 7/9 - Hartford, CT @ Meadows Music Theatre
• 7/13 - Camden, NJ @ Blockbuster — Sony Center
• 7/14 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post
• 7/15 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center
• 7/17 - Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheater
• 7/18 - Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheater
• 7/21 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion
• 7/22 - Bristow, VA @Nissan Pavilion
• 7/23 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Virginia Beach Amphitheatre
• 7/25 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Mars Music Amphitheatre
• 7/26 - Tampa, FL @ Ice Palace
• 7/28 - Houston, TX @ Woodlands Pavilion
• 7/29 - Dallas, TX @ Starplex

• Steely Dan