Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and Alanis Morissette picked up two grammys apiece.
Among the awards, Ms. Dion won record of the year for ``My Heart Will Go On.'' But American hip-hop artist Lauryn Hill, beat them all. She took home five Grammys, including album of the year.
Ms. Hill broke Carole King's 1971 record for most awards won by a female artist in a single night .
Rap has been eclipsing rock as the dominant musical form for young people, and routinely produces best sellers. Much of the credit goes to Ms. Hill, a 23-year-old mother of two whose music mixes rap and R and touches on family and political issues. She had won two earlier Grammys with the Fugees.
Sheryl Crow won for best rock album, and Madonna also picked up her first musical Grammy, including best pop album for her excursion into electronica, "Ray of Light". She also won best dance recording and best short form music video.
"I've been in the music business 16 years. It was worth the wait," Madonna said backstage.
After 51 years of performing, Patti Page won her first Grammy , for traditional pop vocal performance for ``Live at Carnegie Hall - The 50th Anniversary Concert''. She joked backstage that family members once asked what her grandchildren should call her.
"Grammy. Because I'll never get one," she recalled telling them. "Now they can call me grandma."
"Titanic" sailed on as the ballad "My Heart Will Go On" won four Grammys, including best female pop vocal for Celine Dion and best song written for a motion picture or television. James Horner and Will Jennings picked up the writing trophies . The movie's soundtrack was the top-selling album of 1998, with more than 9 million units sold.
"It spoke to a lot of people," Horner said backstage. "It obviously was very romantic in a wistful, timeless way." He admitted he no longer listens to the song.
Actor-rapper Will Smith won best rap song for his good-natured ``Gettin' Jiggy Wit It.'' He paid tribute to God, "the jiggiest wife in the world" (actress Jada Pinkett Smith) and his son, about whom he received bad news in his first parent-teacher conference Wednesday.
"His rhyming skills are down," Smith said. "I swear -- that's what the teacher told me."
Jay-Z 's ``Vol. 2 ... Hard Knock Life'' won best rap album, though he skipped the show because he doesn't like the way the Grammys treat rap. The Beastie Boys won duo or group performance for ``Intergalactic.''
American talk show host Rosie O'Donnell served as master of ceremonies.
3. What did James Horner and Will Jennings pick up?