The Grammy Awards celebrate the greats

Although the night began on the somber note of six time Grammy winner Whitney Houston’s death – with her loss being immediately acknowledged with a prayer and clip of her most famous Grammy performance – the show producers opted to maintain their usual joyful tone, with host LL Cool J quickly noting that “This night is about something bigger than any one of us. This night is about something truly universal and healing. This night is about music.”

The live performances began with a stunning rendition of the new track “We Take Care Of Our Own” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, one of their first television performances without the late Clarence Clemons, who was honoured during the “In Memorium” tribute reel.

Houston of course, wasn’t the only one being honoured at the ceremony. A tribute to recently passed blues legend Etta James featured Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt performing her lesser known “Sunday Kind of Love.”

Country music legend Glen Campbell was also celebrated, presenters noting he is currently on his farewell tour after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Blake Shelton covered “Southern Nights” and The Band Perry sang “Gentle On My Mind” before he took the stage to perform his classic “Like A Rhinestone Cowboy.”

The celebration of boomers continued with a Beach Boys reunion that had them sounding impeccable upon playing “Good Vibrations,” particularly when taking the stage after two underwhelming tributes by Maroon 5 performing  “Surfer Girl” and Foster The People covering “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”

Former Beatle Paul McCartney took the stage twice, the first time performing a perfectly timed new song “My Valentine,” and later ending the show with the classic Abbey Road closing trio of “Golden Slumbers” “Carry That Weight” and “The End,” with a little help from Bruce Springsteen, Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, and Foo Fighter’s singer Dave Grohl.

Of course, the song tribute to Whitney Houston was the moment media and viewers around the world were waiting for, and it came toward the end of the night, with Jennifer Hudson performing Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You.”

Tony Bennett, the oldest Grammy nominee, won for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (for “Body And Soul” with the late Amy Winehouse) and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (Duets II).

The big winner of the night was Adele, who won six awards including the top three prizes – Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year for 21.

The Foo Fighters were close behind her, winning five awards for their work on Wasting Light. Dave Grohl’s speech, which was abruptly cut short, was one of the highlights of the night.

“The human element in music is what’s most important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to learn to do,” he said.

For a full list of awards and winners, click here.

Did you watch The Grammys? Tell us your thoughts on the night in the comments. 

Source: grammys.com, wikipedia.com, cbc.com, yahoo.com

READ MORE

Mary Tyler Moore receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Glen Campbell tribute at the 2011 Country Music Awards

Golden Globe nominations announced

Oprah receives Oscar for humanitarian work

And the Oscars go to…