Norah comes away with a handful, and you know why

Neverthless, a proud Shankar sought to rest the laurels firmly on Norah’s shoulders saying he can’t claim credit for his daughter’s success. ‘‘She has been born and brought up in America, and her music has its foundations in jazz, pop and the western style. I cannot take credit for it,’’ Shankar said today.

Jones is the daughter of Shankar and former music promoter-turned nurse Sue Jones who were not married and split up before she was born. Jones had not seen her father between the ages of nine and 18 but later she claimed she had reconciled with him. In fact, she was even quoted as saying she may have been ‘‘genetically predisposed’’ to play music, a tacit acknowledgment of her lineage.

Jones’ difficult relationship with her illustrious father was evident from a recent interview she did with Rolling Stone magazine, while on tour in Amsterdam. Making her reluctance to talk about Ravi Shankar very clear, she said, ‘‘I don’t like talking about him because he doesn’t have anything to do with me or my music.”

The diminutive Jones, wide-eyed and beaming, seemed as surprised as anyone that her debut album had so thoroughly swept an event that many thought would belong to Bruce Springsteen. The veteran New Jersey rock hero was expected by many to be celebrated for his album The Rising, a Sept. 11-themed work.

The 23-year-old Jones said she expected to hear Springsteen’s name in the best album category. ‘‘I expected that, too. This is insane. I was happy with two. I didn’t need this.’’ Jones walked away with five, while the Come Away With Me album also won a songwriting award for Jesse Harris, producer of the year for Arif Mardin and the best engineering honor for Husky Hoskulds and Jay Newland.

The surprise win for Jones has cemented the reputation for the Grammys as an unpredictable entertainment gala. But unlike the winners of previous years, however, Jones had in her corner a potent, ubiquitous hit song in Don’t Know Why, a song that suggests summer days, wind chimes and bittersweet romance. Harris, who wrote the song three years ago, shared it with Jones after they met in Texas and started playing the club scene here. Harris performed on the demos that landed Jones her record deal with Blue Note. ‘‘I think I can say that everybody involved thought that if it sold 100,000 records that would be great,’’ Harris said. Come Away With Me has now sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.

Old partners Simon and Garfunkel won the career achievement award. The shouts backstage, however, were about the night’s sensation. ‘She is an amazing talent,’’ country singer Faith Hill said of Jones, adding that the newcomer’s CD has been dominating her stereo for weeks. ‘‘It’s in my house, it’s in my car, it’s in my truck …’’

Jones seemed more overwhelmed by the history that has already been made. ‘‘I was nervous and about halfway through I saw Aretha Franklin sitting in the front row and that freaked me out,’’ the singer said.