Grammys pay ‘In Memoriam’ tribute to Little Richard, John Prine and Kenny Rogers
In years past, when the Grammy Awards ceremony paused to honor those musicians, producers and industry figures who have died in the year prior, the show’s producers scheduled it late in the event, after most of the performances, giddy reception speeches and requisite Taylor Swift and Beyoncé audience cutaways had hooked viewers.
Needless to say, it’s been a long year and the devastation has been so harrowing that it only made sense that, this year, the show’s producers devoted extended airtime to the lives of so many musical spirits. Slotted after Swift had performed a trio of songs and the Troubadour’s night manager Rachelle Erratchu had awarded the pop solo performance trophy, a bunch of primo musicians honored a few of the fallen.
As the late Bill Withers sang “Ain’t No Sunshine,” photos of artists lost in 2020 and 2021 scrolled: soul singer Betty Wright, bluegrass musician Tony Rice. When rock ‘n’ roll renegade Little Richard’s image arrived, cameras cut to Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak.
The two, who had performed earlier under their new moniker Silk Sonic, celebrated one of rock’s founding fathers with gigantic takes on “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.” With .Paak on drums and a headbanded Mars working the stand-up microphone like the former Elvis Presley impersonator Mars was, the pair injected contemporary spirit into songs that upended American culture.
“We love you little Richard,” Mars said to close as the sound of piano gave way to an electric guitar and the late Eddie Van Halen shredding. As he soloed, the names of more departed appeared on the screen: singers Mary Wilson, Bonnie Pointer, Mac Davis and Helen Reddy. Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and country-rock fiddler Charlie Daniels.
Then, as piano overtook the guitar, Lionel Richie arrived to honor the late Kenny Rogers, whose hits “The Gambler,” “We’ve Got Tonight” and “Coward of the County” lit up pop charts in the 1970s. In front of a blue background, Richie sang “Lady,” his song that Rogers made a hit in 1980. “I miss you Kenny. I miss you man,” Richie said as a coda.
The names kept coming: Chick Corea, John “Bucky” Pizzarelli, Ellis Marsalis, Jan Howard, Johnny Nash, Johnny Pacheco, Toots Hibbert, Sophie, Charley Pride, Ennio Morricone, Whodini’s John “Ecstasy” Fletcher, recording engineer Bruce Swedien, singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly, Johnny Mandel, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, Armando Manzanero, Jimmie Rogers, Trini Lopez, MF Doom, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, Mountain’s Leslie West, singer-songwriter Emmit Rhodes and rapper Pop Smoke.
In remembrance of John Prine, who last year earned the Recording Academy’s annual Lifetime Achievement Award, Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile performed Prine’s bittersweet farewell song, “I Remember Everything.”
“We all thank you, John, for everything,” Carlile said.
To close the heart-wrenching segment, Coldplay’s Chris Martin sat at an upright piano to accompany the Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard for a version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the Rodgers and Hammerstein standard made popular in the 1960s by the late Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers. Marsden died in early 2021.
As Howard wailed, more names appeared: Spencer Davis, Bunny Wailer, Hal Willner, Quinn Coleman, Jerry Jeff Walker, Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, country singers Billy Joe Shaver and Joe Diffie, record executive Andre Harrell and many more.
Combined, the segment offered a glimpse at the volume of music-makers who lost their lives in the past year. A full accounting, sadly, would have required its own prime time telecast, and then some.