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Jet, March 17, 1997

Pulling in three of the coveted statuettes, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds was the big winner in the recent 39th Annual Grammy Awards telecast.

Change the World, the song he produced for Eric Clapton, was named Record of the Year. That award goes to the producer as well as the artist. Babyface also was named Producer of the Year in the non-classical area, and Exhale, the song he wrote and produced for Whitney Houston and the film Waiting to Exhale, was named Best Rhythm and Blues Song.

Toni Braxton, dressed in a sexy white gown, walked away with two awards -- Pop Female for Un-Break My Heart and Rhythm & Blues Female for You're Makin' Me High.

Other Grammy Award winners were Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole (Best Pop Collaboration for When I Fall In Love); Tracy Chapman (Rock Song for Give Me One Reason); Luther Vandross (R&B Male for Your Secret Love); the Fugees (R&B Duo or Group for Killing Me Softly With His Song); Tony Rich Project (R&B Album for Words); LL Cool J (Rap Solo for Hey Lover); Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (Rap Duo or Group for Tha Crossroads); Wayne Shorter (Best Contemporary Jazz Performer for High Life); Cassandra Wilson (Jazz Vocalist for New Moon Daughter); Grover Mitchell, (Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance for Live At Manchester Craftsmen's Guild Count Basie Orchestra); Cissy Houston (Traditional Soul Gospel Album for Face to Face); Kirk Franklin and the Family (Contemporary Gospel Album for Whatcha Lookin' 4); Shirley Caesar's Outreach Convention Choir (Gospel Album, Choir or Chorus for Just A Word); Bunny Wailer (Reggae Album for Hall of Fame: A Tribute to Bob Marley's 50th Anniversary); James Cotton (Best Traditional Blues Album for Deep In The Blues); Keb'Mo' (Best Contemporary Blues Album for Just Like You); Herbie Hancock and Jean Hancock (Instrumental Composition for Manhattan (Island of Lights and Love); Tommy Sims (co-writer Song Of The Year for Change The World). In the Pop Contemporary Gospel Album category, Tribute: The Songs of Andrae Crouch (performed by various artists) garnered the Grammy.

B.B. Ying and Robert Cray were among those winning a Grammy in the Rock Instrumental Album category for SRV Shuffle.

For her book It Takes A Village, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton won Best Spoken Word or Non Musical Album.

For the first time, the Grammy Awards show was held at New York's Madison Square Garden.