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Even before the three-hour plus 55th Annual Grammy telecast began, the Black Keys were already 2013 Grammy winners and by the end, the group's singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach led all nominees with four total wins.

The Akron duo of Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney, which won three Grammys at the 2011 ceremony, were up for five awards Sunday night. They included two of the most prestigious -- record of the year and album of the year for the ubiquitous single Lonely Boy and its accompanying album El Camino. In addition, Auerbach was nominated for producer of the year, nonclassical.

By the time the televised portion of the show actually started, the Black Keys' Lonely Boy had won best rock song and El Camino was voted best rock album. Auerbach picked up the producer of the year award for his co-production work on El Camino as well as producing two albums by Texas rock band Hacienda and New Orleans soul/jazz legend Dr. John's well-received, Grammy-winning album Lockdown.

During the show, Auerbach and Carney accepted the award for best rock performance and included a shout-out by Auerbach to "everyone in Akron, Ohio." They also added another nod to Akron in today's Beacon Journal in the form of an advertisement featuring an El Camino.

The two Firestone High grads made their debut on the Grammy stage, performing an adrenalized, deluxe version of Lonely Boy with fellow Grammy winner Dr. John, who provided some soulful electric piano playing while the Preservation Hall Jazz Band laced the big rock song with some equally big horn lines and extra percussion. Other music stars could be seen in the audience singing along to the song's catchy chorus.

The Black Keys lost record of the year to Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know and album of the year to folk-rockers Mumford & Sons' chart-topping album Babel.

Grammy night capped another great year for the Keys. Their seventh album, El Camino, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold platinum, just as its 2010 predecessor, Brothers. The album's singles Lonely Boy and Gold on the Ceiling were everywhere -- on radio and in television and movie ads. Gold was the theme to the 2012 NCAA basketball tournament.

A third single, Little Black Submarines, has become a sing-a-long for the tens of thousands of fans who fill the arenas the band has been selling out during its latest tour.

Next up for the Keys, besides finding shelf space for their new hardware, is finding time in their busy touring schedule to continue recording the follow-up to El Camino.

The band has some spot dates and short touring jaunts but plans to hunker down in the studio in the spring and summer in the hope of having album number eight ready for a late 2013 release.