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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesThe PBS special featuring highlights of the Grammy Salute to Music Legends event celebrating the Recording Academy’s 2017 Special Merit Award winners will premiere Friday, October 13, at 9 p.m. as an episode of the network’s Great Performances series.
The show, which took place July 11 at the Beacon Theatre in New York, included musical tributes to Lifetime Achievement Award honorees The Velvet Underground and Sly Stone, among many others.
Among the evening’s many highlights was the tribute to The Velvet Underground, which featured a performance by the influential rock band’s two surviving original members, John Cale and Maureen “Moe” Tucker. The homage to Stone, meanwhile, featured Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, lauded soul singer/songwriter Valerie Simpson, and ex-Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson.
The other Lifetime Achievement Award honorees celebrated at the event were jazz-blues legend Nina Simone, gospel powerhouse Shirley Caesar, jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, and country legends Charley Pride and Jimmie Rodgers. The Grammy Salute to Music Legends also paid tribute to the recipients of the Recording Academy’s 2017 Trustees Award — disco-soul producer/songwriter Thom Bell and record executives Mo Ostin and Ralph S. Peer.
Other performers at the show included Rock & Roll Hall-of-Famer Randy Newman, as well as Dionne Warwick, ex-Stylistics singer Russell Tompkins Jr., and Dwight Yoakam.
Here are the honorees featured on the Grammy Salute to Music Legends special, followed by the performers saluting them:
Thom Bell
“You Make Me Feel Brand New” — Russell Thompkins Jr.
“Then Came You” — Dionne Warwick
Ahmad Jamal
“But Not for Me”/”Ahmad’s Blues”/”Poinciana” — Stanley Cowell
Nina Simone
“Mississippi Goddam” — Andra Day
Jimmie Rodgers
“Hobo Bill’s Last Ride”/”Mule Skinner Blues”/”T for Texas” — Dwight Yoakam
Ralph S. Peer
“Crazy Blues” — Catherine Russell
“The Great Pretender” — Russell Thompkins Jr.
“Georgia on My Mind” — Andra Day
The Velvet Underground
“I’m Waiting for the Man”/”Sunday Morning” — John Cale Band with Maureen “Moe” Tucker
Shirley Caesar
Medley: “You Name It”/”It’s Alright, It’s OK”/”You’re Next in Line for a Miracle”/”Satan, We’re Going to Tear Your Kingdom Down” — Kirk Franklin with Le’Andria Johnson
“Caught Up”/”Jesus, I Love Calling Your Name” — Shirley Caesar
Mo Ostin
“A Few Words in Defense of Our Country”/”I Think It’s Going to Rain Today” — Randy Newman
Charley Pride
“Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” — Neal McCoy
“Kiss an Angel Good Morning” — Charley Pride
Sly Stone
“I Want to Take You Higher”/”Everybody Is a Star”/”Sex Machine”/”Dance to the Music” — Charlie Wilson, Valerie Simpson, Vernon Reid
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