'60s artists, Babyface, Paula Cole compete for Grammys

Celebrities including Fiona Apple, Paula Cole, and Deanna Carter announced the nominees

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, two veterans of 1960s rock who made comebacks with strong recordings last year, were nominated for Grammy Awards on Tuesday for Album of the Year.

Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" album and McCartney's "Flaming Pie" will compete for the Best Album award with albums by Babyface, Radiohead and Paula Cole.

Dylan released his critically praised album on the last day of Grammy eligibility in 1997. Both he and his son, Wallflowers lead singer Jakob Dylan, received three nominations.

Although their entries hearkened back to an earlier era in music, the main competitions for the 40th annual awards were dominated by newer artists.

Fiona Apple

Songwriter and producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, who last year was Producer of the Year, picked up a leading eight Grammy nominations Tuesday, including Album of the Year.

Sean "Puffy" Combs, like Babyface a prolific producer and performer, received seven nods, but not one in the Producer category.

Rap impresario Puff Daddy, who also took seven nominations, was in the running for Best New Artist, against the teen rock group Hanson, and singers Fiona Apple, Erykah Badu and Paula Cole.

Massachusetts-raised singer/songwriter Cole captured seven nominations, which surprised a lot of observers, including her.

"Actually, one of the nominations is for best producer, and that's the one that I probably care about the most and that I'm the most proud about," Cole said, "because it's an extremely male-dominated field."

Nominees for record of the year were "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" by Paula Cole; "This Fire" by Shawn Colvin; "Everyday is a Winding Road" by Sheryl Crow; "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly and "MMMBop" by Hanson.

The teen-age rockers were discounted by some critics as bubblegum pop; many lumped their music together with the best-selling Spice Girls, a British band roundly snubbed by Grammys voters.

LeAnn Rimes

"I think they view Hanson -- they write their own music and the kids play and sing -- as kind of a very different phenomenon than the Spice Girls, which are pretty much a production band," said Michael Greene, the CEO and president of NARAS, "and that is the only explanation I have for that."

Song of the year nominees included "Don't Speak," written by Eric Stefani and Gwen Stefani, performed by No Doubt; "How Do I Live," written by Diane Warren and performed by both LeAnn Rimes and Trisha Yearwood; "I Believe I Can Fly," performed and written by R. Kelly; "Sunny Came Home," written by Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal and performed by Colvin; and "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?," written and performed by Cole.

Two tributes also made the list of nominations: "Puffy" Combs' tribute to the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. was nominated in the rap field, and Elton John's eulogy to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997," was tapped for Male Pop Vocal Performance.

The televised Grammy Awards ceremony will be held in New York City's Radio City Music Hall on February 25, with "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer as host.

Correspondent Mark Scheerer contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• 1997 Grammy Awards

Related sites:

• 40th Annual Grammy Awards
• The Recording Academy
• Yahoo's 1997 Grammy Guide