In between handing out statues for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, the Grammy Awards also set aside time to pay tribute to those musicians the world lost over the last 12 months. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a year since we said goodbye to David Bowie. It’s even harder to believe who we had to say goodbye to on Feb. 12. John Legend and Cynthia Erivo opened and closed the segment with a truly tender cover of the Beach Boys, “God Only Know”, before they started the heartbreaking In Memoriam segment, which helped ease the collective pain of fans from every walk of life.
From George Michael to Prince, Joey Feek, and Christina Grimmie, the music industry suffered a great deal since last year’s Grammy ceremony. The shocking passings of many added to an already extensive list of celebrities remembered at the 2016 Emmy Awards. What’s nice, though, is that everyone who lent their talents to our radios and Spotify playlists is represented… no matter how recognizable their name may or may not be.
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In addition to the more famous of the deaths in 2016, we also lost Dead or Alive frontman Pete Burns, Chess Records co-founder Phil Chess, Leonard Cohen, Phife Dawg, Keith Emerson, Latin icon Juan Gabriel, Merle Haggard, famed Beatles producer Sir George Martin, longtime Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore, country artist Sonny James, Sharon Jones, R&B singer-producer Kashif, Greg Lake, Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt, Leon Russell, bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, Prince protege Vanity, and accordion king Buckwheat Zydeco. Our condolences go out to all of these fine people’s family and friends. RIP.
HollywoodLifers, what did you think of the In Memoriam segment? Let us know in the comments!