The joy of music returns for Grammy winners, performers
Beyonce, left, and Megan Thee Stallion accept the award for best rap song for "Savage" at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, March 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish made history at the Grammy Awards. Just as joyously, dozens of creators largely sidelined for a year due to the pandemic got to make music again. 's topical “I Can't Breathe” won song of the year and Megan Thee Stallion was named best new artist. ___This story has been corrected to show the ceremony was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, not Staples Center.
Grammys' in memoriam especially long, grim in pandemic year
Brandi Carlile performs during the "In Memoriam" section of the 63rd Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)LOS ANGELES – Brandi Carlile paid tribute to John Prine, Bruno Mars celebrated Little Richard and Lionel Richie honored Kenny Rogers during an in memoriam segment on Sunday night's Grammy Awards that featured an especially long list of names after a year of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier Sunday, Prine won two posthumous Grammys for best American roots song and best American roots performance, a year after receiving a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys. Carlile told The Associated Press that it didn't bother her to be performing without an audience at the pandemic-restricted Grammys because "this time I’m just performing for John Prine. Corea, who died of a rare form of cancer at age 79, won the trophy for best improvised jazz solo and best jazz instrumental album.
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2020
The world also said goodbye to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement who died in July. Other former political figures who died this year include Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, New York Mayor David Dinkins, Arizona Gov. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2020 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___David Stern, 77. The guitarist who supplied the scratching, seething sound that fueled the highly influential British punk band Gang of Four. He fused African rhythms with funk to become one of the most influential musicians in world dance music.
Little Richard song to introduce 'Monday Night Football'
ESPN is hoping that one of the architects of rock n' roll can bring some new energy to their “Monday Night Football” show with fewer fans in the stands this year. The new season starting Monday will feature a new version of Little Richard's hit “Rip It Up” featuring new instrumentals and backup vocals from the Virginia-based band Butcher Brown. The song replaces Hank Williams Jr.'s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight," which was repurposed with new lyrics like, “All my rowdy friends are here for Monday night.”ESPN said in a press release on Friday that Little Richard's song will be combined with NFL and team highlights. “We’re truly excited to have teamed up with ESPN for this project, and are honored to have had the opportunity to work with the music of the King of Rock N’ Roll, Little Richard,” said Butcher Brown in a statement provided by ESPN. “Monday Night Football” will kick off with a doubleheader featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers playing New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos.
Beyoncs message, epic performances stand out at BET Awards
In this video grab issued Sunday, June 28, 2020, by BET, Beyonce accepts the humanitarian award during the BET Awards. The singer dedicated her award to the Black Lives Matter movement, and encouraged activists to continue to push forward. DaBaby rapped a verse from the Black Lives Matter remix of his hit song Rockstar with Roddy Ricch at the awards. While holding a baseball bat, DaBaby then stood on a stage behind a group of people who had their fists raised high while others held Black Lives Matter signs. During the performance, video clips were shown of the national protests over the deaths of unarmed Black people including Floyd, Arbery and Taylor.
Little Richard laid to rest at Alabama alma mater
FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2004 file photo, Little Richard performs at Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, NY. (AP Photo/Ed Betz, File)HUNTSVILLE, Ala. Little Richard was remembered not just as a rock n roll pioneer but a man of generosity and faith at a memorial service at his alma mater where he was laid to rest Wednesday. Mourners gathered at Oakwood University to pay their respects, many wearing face masks and standing a few feet apart at the outdoor service at the school's cemetery. What I really remember about Richard was not his stage performances, which were certainly formidable, but what I remember most about Brother Richard, not Little Richard, but Brother Richard, was his incredible kindness and his generosity to people, said university President Leslie Pollard, who knew Little Richard personally. For his final resting place, Richard chose Oakwood University, a historically black Seventh-day Adventist college in the northern Alabama city of Huntsville.
Little Richard to be buried at historically black college
FILE - This 1966 file photo shows Little Richard. Tthe self-proclaimed architect of rock n roll whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday, May 9, 2020. (AP Photo, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. Rock n roll pioneer Little Richard will be buried at Oakwood University, a historically black university in Huntsville, Alabama. Little Richard's close friend Pastor Bill Minson said the singer was an alumnus of the university. Little Richard died Saturday at the age of 87 in Tennessee due to bone cancer.