LOS ANGELES — The Grammys got underway with a classic feel, and Kanye West and Amy Winehouse — two of the night's most compelling storylines — were among the early leaders at Sunday night's ceremony.

West won three trophies at the pre-telecast ceremony: best rap solo performance for "Stronger," best rap song for "Good Life" and best rap performance by a duo or group for his collaboration with Common on "Southside." Winehouse won two: best pop vocal album for "Back to Black" and best female pop vocals.

This is the 50th anniversary of the Grammy awards, and the show emphasized that point with its very first performance. Alicia Keys, glammed-up with a '50s style, sat at the piano and sang "Learnin' the Blues" along with a black-and-white video performance from long-gone legend Frank Sinatra.

"Frank Sinatra looked good for 150, didn't he," Prince joked moments later before introducing Alicia Keys as the winner for best female R&B vocal for her smash "No One.

Carrie Underwood was another early performer with her revenge anthem "Before He Cheats," which had already earned two Grammys, including for best female country vocal performance.

Bruce Springsteen garnered three pre-show Grammys, including best rock song for "Radio Nowhere." Other early winners included the White Stripes, Justin Timberlake and Mary J. Blige, who both had two each; the Foo Fighters, Herbie Hancock and even Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama for best spoken-word album.

Though the pre-telecast ceremony, where most of the Grammys' 110 categories are doled out, is usually low on star-wattage, there were several big names on hand to accept their trophies, including Underwood, the Foos and Brad Paisley.

"You couldn't keep me from actually getting this myself — it's not the same when someone else gets this on your behalf," said Underwood.

West was the night's leading nominee with eight nods: He has a history, good or bad, of creating memorable awards show moments. But Winehouse — who wasn't even able to attend — threatened to upstage him and everyone else on Grammy night.

The troubled singer-songwriter was up for six awards, including album of the year for "Back to Black." She was due to perform via satellite from her native Britain, where she is being treated in a rehab center for substance abuse.

The 24-year-old star's personal life has fallen apart over the past year as her career blossomed. In the days leading up to the ceremony, suspense built over whether she would appear at the ceremony in any form.

She was rejected Thursday for a U.S. work visa, but Grammy producers arranged for her to perform via telecast. Soon afterward, the U.S. government reversed itself and approved Winehouse, but it was too late at that point to make the cross-continental trek.

The retro-soul singer's top-selling American debut is not only up for album of the year, but song and record of the year for her autobiographical, sassy hit "Rehab," about her refusal to undergo treatment. Though the album was a critical and commercial breakthrough.

In any other year, West would be the main story line. He, too, is up for album of the year for "Graduation," the best-selling debut of last year with almost one million copies sold in the first week alone. This is West's third album and the third time he has been nominated for album of the year.

While he has won a handful of Grammys, they have been in the rap categories, where the bulk of his nominations are this year as well. West has provided stirring awards-show performances, but has also been known to go on a tirade when he has not won what he thought he deserved, perhaps most notably at last year's MTV Video Music Awards.

Late last year, he suffered a traumatic loss when his mother and manager Donda West died after complications from plastic surgery. West, whose mother was often with him at awards ceremonies, was expected to perform a song in tribute to her on Sunday's broadcast.

Besides West and Winehouse, the other album of the year contenders were the Foo Fighters' "Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace," Vince Gill's "These Days," and Herbie Hancock's "River: The Joni Letters."

For record of the year, Winehouse's "Rehab" is competing against Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," Rihanna's "Umbrella," "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters and Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around ... Comes Around."

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