Wolfmother wins a Grammy

Australian rockers Wolfmother have won a prestigious Grammy award for their song, Woman.

Wolfmother, the rock trio that has become a sensation in the US and Europe, beat three giants of rock - System Of A Down, Tool and Nine Inch Nails - for the best hard rock performance Grammy.

As they made the trek on stage inside Los Angeles' Staples Centre indoor stadium, the band members were shocked.

"We're blown away," said frontman Andrew Stockdale, shaking his trademark wild Afro hairdo.

"This doesn't happen very often at all, in Australia, to any band."

Wolfmother, made up of Stockdale, bass player Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett, claimed the best hard rock performance Grammy for their song Woman.

The feat to win one of music's top trophies was almost as improbable as the Sydney-based group's rise out of the Australian pub circuit to a band loved by critics and fans around the world, including American music bible Rolling Stone.

To win the Grammy, Wolfmother had to beat fellow nominees and rock mainstays System of a Down, Tool and Nine Inch Nails.

"It's a journey our music took us on," said Stockdale, who was able to quit his job as a dishwasher in a Sydney restaurant when Wolfmother signed a record deal in 2005.

"And now that we won, it's brilliant."

Wolfmother's Grammy came amid the disappointment of Australia's two other nominees, country superstar Keith Urban and veteran guitarist Tommy Emmanuel.

Keith Urban missed out on the Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Urban won the category last year, beating Willie Nelson and Toby Keith, but could not repeat the feat, losing to Vince Gill.

And Australian guitar maestro, Tommy Emmanuel, was disappointed in his bid for Grammy in the best country instrumental performance category.

The 51-year-old Muswellbrook-born Emmanuel, considered one of the world's great guitarists, was nominated for his medley, Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag.

Emmanuel was last nominated for a Grammy in 1998 when he teamed up with another guitar great, American Chet Atkins.