By Judy Shields
Back on May 11, 2019 at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, I was lucky enough to be part of this amazing Grammy Salute to Music Legends as a seatfiller. It is always great fun being a seatfiller at these Grammy concerts celebrations. There were many celebs in the seats there at the Dolby Theatre to watch these amazing and talented entertainers being honored as the Legends that they are. The entertainment was just out of this world. I can’t wait to see it on television after being there earlier this year live in the theatre. You don’t want to miss this one. Dionne Warwick sung like an angel and she still has some moves. But the most uplifting song performed was by Sam Moore (from Sam & Dave) and Garth Brooks cover of “Soul Man.” What an honor to have heard and seen that in person, WOW!
If you are not going to be home next Friday, October 18, don’t forget to set your DVR, you don’t want to miss this GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends®.
Great Performances: GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends® premiering nationwide on Friday, October 18 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are Black Sabbath, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias, Sam & Dave and Dionne Warwick, Lou Adler, Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson and Johnny Mandel are Trustees Award honorees. Saul Walker is the Technical GRAMMY Award recipient. Jeffery Redding is also honored as this year’s recipient of the Music Educator Award™, presented by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum®.
This singular event, filmed on May 11, 2019 at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, features rare performances by both the honorees and artists they’ve inspired with never-before-seen renditions of their classic songs. GRAMMY nominee Snoop Dogg salutes Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic; two-time GRAMMY winner Garth Brooks honors Sam Moore; five-time GRAMMY winner Lalah Hathaway and Kenya Hathaway pay tribute to their father Donny; past Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Johnny Mathis honors Warwick; and two-time GRAMMY winner Gregory Porter pays tribute to Eckstein.
Great Performances: GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends® Honors Black Sabbath, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias, Sam & Dave, Dionne Warwick and More October 18 on PBS features performances by Garth Brooks, Snoop Dogg, Johnny Mathis, Sheila E, Patti Austin, Lalah Hathaway, Gregory Porter and select honorees
In collaboration with the Recording Academy™, Great Performances presents GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends®, the fourth annual all-star concert offering a primetime spotlight for the Recording Academy’s 2019 Special Merit Awards recipients. The celebration and tribute concert premieres nationwide Friday, October 18 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app.
Four-time GRAMMY Award nominee Sheila E. hosts the star-studded evening with GRAMMY-nominated industry icon Greg Phillinganes as musical director.
Presenters for the evening include GRAMMY winners Cheech & Chong and 16-time GRAMMY nominee Snoop Dogg.
Song List (in order of appearance with honorees in bold type):
Dionne Warwick
“Walk On By” (performed by Johnny Mathis)
“What the World Needs Now Is Love” (performed by Dionne Warwick)
Sam Moore
“Hold On, I’m Comin”/“Soul Man” (performed by Sam Moore and Garth Brooks)
“I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down” (performed by Sam Moore)
Lou Adler
“I Feel the Earth Move”/“It’s Too Late” (performed by Jessie Mueller)
Julio Iglesias
“Caruso” (performed by Julio Iglesias)
Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
“You’re All I Need To Get By”/“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (performed by Valerie Simpson and Kenny Lattimore)
Johnny Mandel
“How Do You Keep The Music Playing?” excerpt (performed by Patti Austin)
“The Shadow of Your Smile”/“Suicide is Painless” (performed by Patti Austin)
Black Sabbath
“War Pigs”/“Paranoid” (performed by Rival Sons)
Donny Hathaway
“A Song for You” (performed by Lalah Hathaway)
“Where is the Love” (performed by Lalah and Kenya Hathaway)
Billy Eckstine
“Everything I Have Is Yours” (performed by Gregory Porter)
“Dedicated to You” (performed by Gregory Porter and Patti Austin)
George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic
“One Nation Under a Groove”/“Mothership Connection”/“Flash Light” (performed by George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic with Snoop Dogg, Sheila E and ensemble)
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording, while the Trustees Award recognizes such contributions in areas other than performance. Both awards are determined by a vote of the Recording Academy’s National Board of Trustees. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are determined by vote of the Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing® Advisory Council and Chapter Committees and ratified by the Trustees. The award is presented to individuals who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field. The Music Educator Award is selected by a Blue Ribbon Committee and is approved by the National Board of Trustees.
Throughout its more than 40-year history on PBS, Great Performances has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. The series is available for streaming simultaneously on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, which is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. PBS station members can view episodes via Passport (contact your local PBS station for details).
A production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends® is produced by Mitch Owgang and directed for television by David Horn. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.
This Great Performances presentation is funded by The Joseph & Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the Irene Diamond Fund, Rosalind P. Walter, the Luesther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, The Starr Foundation, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Seton J. Melvin, and The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation.
Websites: http://pbs.org/gperf, facebook.com/GreatPerformances, @GPerfPBS, youtube.com/greatperformancespbs #GreatPerformancesPBS
About WNET
WNET is America’s flagship PBS station: parent company of New York’s THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its new ALL ARTS multi-platform initiative, its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each month. WNET produces and presents a wide range of acclaimed PBS series, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, and the nightly interview program Amanpour and Company. In addition, WNET produces numerous documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings, as well as multi-platform initiatives addressing poverty and climate. Through THIRTEEN Passport and WLIW Passport, station members can stream new and archival THIRTEEN, WLIW and PBS programming anytime, anywhere.
About the Recording Academy
The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards®—music’s only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world’s leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.
For more information about the Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @RecordingAcad on Twitter, “like” Recording Academy on Facebook, and join the Recording Academy’s social communities on Instagram and YouTube