Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Quavo, and Kacey Musgraves were among the artists to take part in tribute performances to the late Christine McVie, Takeoff, and Loretta Lynn at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Country star Musgraves opened the medley with a tribute to Lynn with a humble performance of her signature song, “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Poised barefoot on a stool with Lynn’s acoustic guitar in hand, Musgraves’ soft voice introduced the famous opening line: Well, I was born a coal miner’s daughter. With an altar of roses and flowers at her bare feet, Musgraves’ performance featured images of other country icons who’ve passed away over the past year, including Naomi Judd and Mickey Gilley.
Following Musgraves were Quavo and Maverick City Music in tribute to Takeoff, the 28-year-old Migos rapper who was shot and killed in Houston in November 2022. Tears rolled down my eyes / Can’t tell you how many times I cried, Quavo sang in the opening line of his tribute song to his nephew, “Without You.” The lyrics reference the time the pair went to Coachella together and the rapper wishes he had a time machine as he shares I miss how you smile at me. Quavo was then joined by a choir of voices in Maverick City Music, who sang the chorus of Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” with a dark background illuminated by the light of the stars behind them.
The tribute ended with a touching ode to Fleetwood Mac’s McVie. Crow was seated at a piano adorned with floral arrangements while Raitt appeared across from her. McVie’s bandmate, Mick Fleetwood, was positioned off to the side of the stage, playing a bongo drum as Crow and Raitt serenaded the room with McVie’s powerful “Songbird,” as the two traded soft, tender vocals. Raitt’s voice was strong and steady, capturing the emotion of the song. The performance ended with Fleetwood taking his hat off in salute to his collaborators.
Songbird Tribute
Jeff Beck, David Crosby, Lisa Marie Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Anita Pointer, and Twitch are among the many other fallen icons whose faces were shown onscreen throughout the performances.
Prior to his Grammy “in memoriam” performance of Fleetwood Mac‘s 1977 Rumours track “Songbird,” along with Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt during the 65th annual Grammy Awards, drummer Mick Fleetwood said that he doesn’t see a future for his legendary band following the death of their keyboardist and songwriter Christine McVie, who died on November 30, 2022, at 79.
“I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris [McVie],” said Fleetwood during an interview at the 65th annual Grammy Awards. “I’d say we’re done, but then we’ve all said that before. It’s sort of unthinkable right now.”
Fleetwood added that all the Mac members are still busy working on their individual projects and performing outside of the band as well. “They all get out and play,” added Fleetwood, “so I’m gonna be doing the same thing, finding people to play with.”
And to bring the In Memoriam segment to a close, Mick Fleetwood accompanied Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt for a moving cover of ‘Songbird,’ originally written by his late Fleetwood Mac bandmember, Christine McVie #GRAMMYspic.twitter.com/93bw7XpQU8
A proud native of Cape Cod, MA, Cillea is currently a staff writer for American Songwriter based in Nashville. She’s primarily covered country music, but her interests extend to film, TV, social justice and more. Her work has also appeared in Variety, ABC Audio, Taste of Country, Sounds Like Nashville, Urbaanite and others.Her musical taste ranges from Britney Spears (who she’s been a diehard fan of for more than half her life) to Alice Cooper, with a little bit of everything in between. When she’s not at a show or conducting an artist interview, she’s studying Italian, with plans to move abroad and explore the world. She’s grateful her lifelong passion for writing has turned into a career and considers herself blessed to get to cover music for a living.
Bonnie Raitt is just happy to be included at the Grammys this year.
“It’s nice to represent the oldsters!” she joked as she talked to PEOPLE’s Janine Rubenstein and Jeremy Parsons on the red carpet at the Grammys Sunday night.
Raitt, 73, is nominated for song of the year for “Just Like That,” on which she is credited as both singer and songwriter.
“I’m always really proud to be acknowledged,” she told PEOPLE of the nomination. “To be acknowledged for song of the year this time is pretty big – so, for one of my tunes? That’s a big thing for me, so I’m very proud.”
However, it’s a bittersweet night for the 10-time Grammy Award winner, even as she’s celebrating four more nominations. Raitt is part of the in-memoriam tribute that will honor some of the lives lost in the music industry in 2022, including Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, who died in November after a brief illness.
“There’s some sadness about being part of the in-memoriam tribute to some friends of ours that we lost,” she said of being included in the emotional performance, which will also honor Migos’ Takeoff and Loretta Lynn.
For Raitt, who released her debut album in 1970, just a few years after Fleetwood Mac’s debut, McVie’s death was a shock.
“It was a surprise and you know, we didn’t know she had been ill, so it’s really — so I’m just not gonna turn around and look at her picture when I’m singing,” Raitt told PEOPLE. “She was one of the greatest – one of the most soulful singers. She was just beloved around the world.”
After spending eight months of the year on tour in 2022, Raitt has, even more, to come in 2023. She’s hitting the road across the world, she said, performing in Australia, Ireland, the UK and Canada before making her way back to the U.S. in the fall.
Returning to the stage after the pandemic was an emotional experience for the blues singer.
“After that first show in April, the audience was crying, we were crying, we were just so exalted,” she said. “It was like the most fun New Year’s Eve party you could ever have night after night, for eight months.”
The 65th Grammy Awards air live at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, during which the show will also be available to stream on Paramount+.
Julia Moore has been working as a writer for PEOPLE since 2022. A recent graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she previously worked for several campus publications and her work has previously appeared in The Washington Post and Block Club Chicago.
Bandana Blues is and will always be a labor of love. Please help Spinner deal with the costs of hosting & bandwidth. Visit www.bandanablues.com and hit the tipjar. Any amount is much appreciated, no matter how small. Thank you.
Bonnie has contributed a new recording of "Prison Bound Blues" written by Leroy Carr to a project called Better Than Jail, an extraordinary new album benefiting Free Hearts and Equal Justice USA. Better Than Jail is available everywhere today and features covers of iconic prison songs from Steve Earle, Taj Mahal,Margo Price, The War and Treaty and many more. The album seeks to raise awareness and support for the urgent need to reduce the harm of the criminal justice system. https://found.ee/BetterThanJail.
I'm so proud to have joined in with so many illustrious artists in creating this very special album in support of rural prison reform. Overlooked for far too long, this issue cuts across all cultural and political divides and deserves all our focused attention to finally bring about some swift and meaningful action. Better Than Jail is one of the most inspired and heartfelt albums I've been blessed to be a part of and I hope it sets a fire in hearts far and wide to join in our efforts." ~ Bonnie Raitt
Released on: 2024-10-04 Executive Producer: Brian Hunt Producer: Kenny Greenberg Producer: Wally Wilson Producer: Bonnie Raitt Recording Engineer: Jason Lehning at Sound Emporium Mastering Engineer: Alex McCollough at True East Mastering Production Assistant: Shannon Finnegan Mixer: Justin Niebank at Hounds Ear Music Publisher: Universal Music Corp. Composer, Lyricist: Leroy Carr ℗ Believe Entertainment Group and Wyatt Road Records
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The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Nothing in Rambling Ft. Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo' & Mick Fleetwood
In celebration of the band’s 50th Anniversary, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have just released Struck Down, their first studio album in eight years on Stony Plain Records. The ten-track album includes a wonderful cover of Memphis Minnie’s “Nothing in Rambling,” featuring longtime friends, T-Birds founding member Kim Wilson, along with Bonnie, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal and Mick Fleetwood. — BRHQ
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Little Feat - Long Distance Call
“I’ve always loved Little Feat and this new incarnation of the band is bringing some serious heat, cred and new blood to their enduring legacy. Every Feat fan loves us some Sam. I’m so glad he’s now gotten a chance to step out front and center and put his spin on these wonderful blues songs. I loved singing "Long Distance Call" with him, always one of my favorites, and Scott slayed on slide. Know you’ll enjoy hanging out with us at Sam’s Place!" -- Bonnie Raitt
“Long Distance Call” was written by blues legend, Muddy Waters. It has Sam Clayton and Bonnie Raitt on vocals, Scott Sharrard on Dobro, Fred Tackett on acoustic guitar, Tony Leone on drums, and Michael “The Bull” LoBue on harmonica. The album also features Bill Payne on piano and Kenny Gradney on bass.
Little Feat have composed an album that’s their love letter to the blues entitled, ‘Sam’s Place.’ “Long Distance Call” plus many other blues classics are on this album. You can stream and order ‘Sam’s Place’ here: https://orcd.co/samsplace
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2, the anticipated new John Prine tribute record from Oh Boy Records, is out today. Stream/purchase HERE.
Created as a celebration of Prine’s life and career, the album features new renditions of some of Prine’s most beloved songs performed by Brandi Carlile (“I Remember Everything”), Tyler Childers (“Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You”), Iris DeMent (“One Red Rose”), Emmylou Harris (“Hello In There”), Jason Isbell (“Souvenirs”), Valerie June (“Summer’s End”), Margo Price (“Sweet Revenge”), Bonnie Raitt (“Angel From Montgomery”), Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (“Pretty Good”), Amanda Shires (“Saddle in the Rain”), Sturgill Simpson(“Paradise”) and John Paul White (“Sam Stone”). Proceeds from the album will benefit twelve different non-profit organizations, one selected by each of the featured artists.
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Bonnie Raitt - Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues
60 years anniversary celebration of Arhoolie
December 10, 2020
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Arhoolie Foundation celebrates it's 60th anniversary (1960-2020) with an online broadcast.
Bonnie Raitt - Shadow of Doubt
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
October 3, 2020
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebrates it's 20th anniversary with an online broadcast titled “Let The Music Play On”.
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Bonnie Raitt & Boz Scaggs - You Don't Know Like I Know
Farm Aid 2020 On the Road
Sam & Dave classic written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
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Sheryl Crow & Bonnie Raitt - Everything Is Broken
[Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 2019]
Eric Clapton, one of the world’s pre-eminent blues/rock guitarists, once again summoned an all-star team of six-string heroes for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2019. Held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the two-day concert event raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998.
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'A Tribute To Mose Allison'
Celebrates The Music Of An Exciting Jazz Master
Raitt contributed to a new album, If You're Going To The City: A Tribute To Mose Allison, which celebrates the late singer and pianist, who famously blended the rough-edged blues of the Mississippi Delta with the 1950s jazz of New York City.
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Bonnie Raitt about her friendship with the Mose Allison. They're also joined by Amy Allison — his daughter, who executive produced the album — about selecting an unexpected list of artists to contribute songs to the album.
Recorded on tour June 3, 2017 - Centennial Hall, London - Ontario Canada
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