Prince will receive a star-studded tribute after the 2020 Grammy Awards, featuring The Revolution, the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs and others, according to an official announcement by Rolling Stone.
"Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince" will take place at the January 28, two days after the Grammys at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will be broadcast in April. The lineup also includes performances by Beck, Common, Gary Clark Jr., Earth, Wind & Fire, H.E.R., Juanes, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Mavis Staples, St. Vincent, and Usher.
The special show will also involve multiple Prince collaborators, including the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs and Morris Day and the Time.
Perhaps most interesting to Prince aficionados, former Prince drummer Sheila E. will service the night as musical director alongside iconic production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as co-musical directors. Prince's former band the Revolution and Sheila E.'s band are slated to play their own sets as well.
RELATED: Revolution Drummer Bobby Z Says Getting Booed Off Rolling Stones' Stage Forged Prince's '1999'
In conversation with Rolling Stone, Sheila E. shared that she and her band plan to perform Prince-written hit "The Glamorous Life," as well as Prince's 1985 song, "America."
In former years, "Grammy Salute" concerts have honored the likes of the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Motown and Aretha Franklin. Following in tradition, this show will span across different eras of Prince's musical career, with biographical segments interlaced between musical performances.
In a statement, Recording Academy President Deborah Dugan shared, “Prince. The Purple One. His Royal Badness — regardless of how you identify him, he is indisputably one of the greatest musical virtuosos of all time.”
She continued, “With his subversive attitude and commanding nature, he straddled musical genres and created electrifying music that was bursting with character. He continues to serve as an inspirational icon for artists and fans worldwide, and we are so honored to pay tribute to his legacy.”
Grammy showrunner Ken Ehrlich acknowledge that there was some apprehensive consideration about putting the Grammy Tribute spotlight on a legend like Prince.
“Sometimes you worry about these things, because when an artist is so iconic, so individualistic and so unique, you get a little bit nervous about having people interpret their work,” Ehrlich described.
“But I think, if anything, based on what we’ve done with these past shows, either we’ve gotten a little foolhardy to think that we could do Prince, or we’ve gotten confident that there are artists out there who fit; who will be faithful to what he did and reverent enough not to fuck around with him."
A taping of the special will air on CBS later this year.
- Log in to post comments
