From exciting wins to unexpected performances, the Grammy Awards has seen plenty of memorable moments across its 65-year history. And you can revisit some of those moments with a new CBS special, Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments, airing tonight, December 29 at 9pm Eastern Time.
The second of two year-end specials from The Recording Academy — Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs premiered on CBS on Friday, December 27 — Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments is jam-packed with newly recorded interviews, previously aired performances, iconic artist duets, and a never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes look at how those special Grammy moments are created for music’s biggest night.
Cohosted by CBS Mornings’ Gayle King and five-time Grammy winning- songwriter-producer Jimmy Jam, the two-hour special will feature appearances from popular musical artists including Dua Lipa, St. Vincent, Annie Lennox, Luke Combs, LL Cool J, Keith Urban, Jennifer Hudson, Brandi Carlile, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, Melissa Etheridge, and Ricky Martin.
One interesting segment from tonight’s special centers on the Grammy’s annual In Memoriam tradition, with a portion of each ceremony paying musical respects to artists who passed during that given year. Talking to Variety, Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich offered insights into that recurring segment: “I know it’s probably morbid to take credit for In Memoriam, but the truth of the matter is, we invented the idea of putting music in the In Memoriam. And it goes back to the Clash tribute that we did (in 2003, after Joe Strummer’s death)…it gave me a really good excuse to put Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl and Little Steven together on a stage. It was spectacular, and then I liked it and said, ‘OK, we gotta keep doing it.'”
“I remember the ones that a lot of people don’t remember, like when we did Warren Zevon with ‘Keep Me in Your Heart’ and I put together a bunch of singer-songwriters,” Ehrlich continued. “Then one year I had Bonnie [Raitt] and Billy Preston saluting Ray Charles, and there was another year I had Bonnie and Alicia doing Etta James. So it was fertile, and I loved doing that segment (for the new special).”
If you want to tune into Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments tonight at 9pm ET, you’re going to need access to CBS, whether that is through a traditional cable subscription, a TV antenna, live TV streaming service (i.e. Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV) or a Paramount Plus with Showtime subscription, all of which gives you access to your live local CBS station through the streamer. Both tonight’s special, as well as Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs, will also be available to stream on-demand for all Paramount Plus subscribers.
Check out a teaser for Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments before tuning into the special tonight on CBS.