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GRAMMY-winning artists Zac Brown, Harry Connick Jr., Celine Dion, and Lady Gaga have been added to the performance lineup for "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert," a primetime entertainment special honoring the legacy of Frank Sinatra. Previously announced performers are GRAMMY winners Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Adam Levine, Carrie Underwood, and Usher.
The special will celebrate the late Sinatra's 100th birthday with a stellar lineup of entertainers performing songs made famous by the "Chairman of the Board." The live concert taping will be held on Dec. 2 at Wynn Las Vegas' Encore Theatre. The special will be broadcast on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, Dec. 6 from 9–11 p.m. ET/PT.
"Frank Sinatra was a mentor, colleague and dear friend of mine and he was the master of intimate singing," said Bennett.
"I've been singing Frank Sinatra songs in my shows for many years," said Dion. "His voice has been such an inspiration for me and it will always be."
"My grandfather introduced me to Frank Sinatra," said Keys. "I love hearing his songs, the phrasing, the innocence — the subtle depth that knocks you out when you concentrate on the lyrics. And those arrangements! It brings me back to the lost art of 'the gentleman.'"
"Nobody could juggle a drink, a conversation and a perfect vocal as casually as Frank," said Levine. "That's why I love him."
In partnership with the Sinatra family, "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert" is produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC. Ken Ehrlich is the executive producer, Lou Horvitz is director, and David Wild and Ehrlich are writers.
Continuing the tradition of preserving and celebrating great recordings, The Recording Academy has announced the newest additions to its legendary GRAMMY Hall Of Fame collection. With 27 new titles, the list currently totals 933 and is on display at the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live.
"With the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame celebrating 40 years, it's especially important to note that these entries continue the tradition of inducting a wide variety of recordings that have inspired and influenced both fans and music makers for generations," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Memorable for being both culturally and historically significant, we are proud to add them to our growing catalog of outstanding recordings that have become part of our musical, social, and cultural history."
List of 2013 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recordings
Representing a great variety of tracks and albums, the 2013 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inductees range from AC/DC's Back In Black album to Frank Sinatra's recording of "Theme from New York, New York." Also added to the highly regarded list are Billy Joel's "Piano Man," Paul McCartney & Wings' album Band On The Run, Ray Charles' "Hit The Road Jack," the Drifters' "On Broadway," Charles Mingus' album Mingus Ah Um, and self-titled albums from Elton John and Whitney Houston. Other inductees include the Broadway cast recording of "Lost In The Stars," and recordings by James Brown, Bob Dylan, Carlos Gardel, Buck Owens, Richard Pryor, and Little Richard, among others.
This latest round of inducted recordings helps celebrate 40 years of highlighting diversity and recording excellence, and acknowledges both singles and album recordings of all genres at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. Recordings are reviewed annually by a special member committee comprised of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts, with final approval by The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees.
For more information on the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, visit www.grammy.org.
Tune in to the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. For updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.
The Recording Academy, AEG Ehrlich Ventures and CBS will honor the legacy of nine-time GRAMMY winner Frank Sinatra by presenting "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert," a primetime entertainment special celebrating the late icon's 100th birthday. The live concert taping will be held Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Wynn Las Vegas' Encore Theatre. The special will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, Dec. 6 from 9–11 p.m. ET/PT.
Initial performers announced for the tribute are 17-time GRAMMY winner Tony Bennett, two-time GRAMMY winner Garth Brooks, 15-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys, nine-time GRAMMY winner John Legend, three-time GRAMMY winner Adam Levine, seven-time GRAMMY winner Carrie Underwood, and eight-time GRAMMY winner Usher. Additional performers will be announced shortly.
In close partnership with the Sinatra family, "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert" is the only televised concert special celebrating Sinatra's centennial. Through the generosity of the family, the concert will feature artists performing instantly recognizable arrangements originally orchestrated for the "Chairman of the Board" by renowned arrangers Don Costa, Gordon Jenkins, Quincy Jones, and Nelson Riddle. The special will keep the honoree center stage throughout the night by integrating tribute performances of Sinatra classics with rare archival footage narrated by Sinatra himself.
"Frank Sinatra is a voice for all generations. His showmanship and artistry have remained unmatched since he began performing professionally in the 1930s to his last recording 21 years ago," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Today, he continues to gain popularity for his classic sound and signature style. It's only fitting that we join the global celebration in honor of his 100th birthday."
"My personal memories of Frank remind me that he was a class act who also knew how to have fun. That's what this celebration will be," said executive producer Ken Ehrlich of AEG Ehrlich Ventures. "By partnering with Steve Wynn and featuring Las Vegas as the backdrop, the evening will be a party the Rat Pack would be proud of."
"The name Frank Sinatra is synonymous with excellence that is timeless. As a performer, he possessed undeniable charisma and masterful artistry that resonate throughout generations," said Jack Sussman, executive vice president, specials, music and live events, CBS Entertainment. "To have the opportunity to celebrate the life and art of the Chairman of the Board on his 100th birthday, and witness the lasting effects his music has had on artists today with a star-studded GRAMMY concert, is a true honor."
Among Sinatra's nine GRAMMY wins are three for Album Of The Year for Come Dance With Me (1959), September Of My Years (1965) and A Man And His Music (1966). Additional recognition from The Recording Academy includes a Lifetime Achievement Award, GRAMMY Legend Award and 13 recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.
"Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert" continues the tradition of previous Emmy Award-winning TV specials presented by The Recording Academy, AEG Ehrlich Ventures and CBS: "Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life — An All-Star GRAMMY Salute" and "The Beatles: The Night That Changed America — A GRAMMY Salute."
"Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert" is produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC. Ehrlich is the executive producer, Lou Horvitz is director, and David Wild and Ehrlich are writers.
For ticket sales information, please email ticketing@grammy.com.
Photo: Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images
From the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to the streets of Ferguson, activism certainly has a sound. Whether it’s the slow hum of Pete Seeger's "We Shall Overcome" or the energetic repetition of YG’s "FTP," when the chants of freedom slow, we often hear an emotional outcry about political issues through music. The current state of unrest in the United States surrounding the violent treatment of Black people and people of color at the hands of police has caused a resurgence of music addressing the current state of affairs directly in lyrics and tone.
As we celebrate Juneteenth (not to mention Black Music Month), a date that signifies liberation for African American people as Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, TX that the enslaved people there were free in 1865, we have to recognize the importance of music when it comes to freedom, protest, survival and celebration in Black culture.
Music has always been deeply rooted in African culture. It only continued after men and women were captured and enslaved in the U.S through the Middle Passage. For slaves, it was a form of communication and later became so much more. That tradition of music has continued over centuries as each new movement—specifically involving the fight for self-love, equality, and fair treatment for Black Americans—creates its own soundtrack.
2020 will see its own host of songs that highlight the times, from Meek Mill’s "The Otherside of America" to H.E.R.'s "I Can’t Breathe," which she recently premiered in her performance for IHeartRadio’s Living Room Concert Series. But before this moment, there were a few of the songs that have been at the center of protest, revolution, and radical political change over the years.
Being proud to be Black was almost a foreign concept commercially during this time and James Brown took the lead on empowering Black people all across the world. "Say it loud, I’m Black and I’m proud," became an affirmation recited far and wide specifically in such a turbulent year as 1968. This was at the height of the Civil Rights movement and the same year Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
A poem featured on his debut album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, Heron was challenging the white left-wing student movement. In his estimation, there was no common ground based on what Black people had endured for centuries that college-educated students from the suburbs would understand. The song was later sampled by Kanye West in "Lost In The World" featuring Bon Iver.
Based on the real-life experience of Gaye’s brother who returned from Vietnam with a much different outlook on life, this song asked what was happening in America. This was a turbulent time where Black soldiers were not receiving the same benefits as their white GI counterparts when returning home from the same fight. And much like Scott-Heron, Gaye was exploring the hippie era clash that, to many Black people, didn’t have a real grasp on poverty and systematic racism plaguing the community.
A song met with much discourse including the arrest of N.W.A. members in Detroit during a 1989 tour stop. The group was apprehended following their show after being told by the DPD not to play the song in their set. Unfortunately, not much has changed and streams have skyrocketed amidst global protests for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor more than 20 years later
The song originally appeared in Spike Lee's "Do The Right" thing, which explored racial tension in a Brooklyn neighborhood and would become Public Enemy’s most popular song to date. Later released on their album Fear of a Black Planet, the song was received with high acclaim including a GRAMMY nomination for Best Rap Performance.
2Pac was seen as both an activist and a young man wise beyond his years, though his career was also marred by controversy and rap beefs. Songs like "Changes" are more representative of the former. Here, Pac was chronicling the fact that things have been the same in Black communities over the years. When listening back, you can hear how poignant his words were over 20 years later.
The Oscar-winning song from the original motion picture soundtrack to "Selma" directed by Ava Duvernay came at the epicenter of the country’s most recent unrest. Two years after the death of Trayvon Martin, the song was the perfect bridge from the Civil Rights movement of the '60s depicted in the film into today's current fight for equality.
To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar’s sophomore release, was a sharp contrast to the cinematic good kid, m.A.A.d. City but yielded the freedom song of a generation. Crowds at protests and university auditoriums across the country erupted into the song's potent lyrics, "But if God got us then we gon be alright!" The GRAMMY-winning song became the unofficial anthem to the Black Lives Matter movement after the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mich., and Sandra Bland in Waller County, TX at the hands of police.
A nod to the 90s hip hop apparel company, the acronym stands for For Us, By Us. The song appeared on her third studio album A Seat at the Table, her most critically acclaimed and political album to date. Both the song and album highlight Black entrepreneurship, culture, and trauma.
This hard-hitting track samples "Let Me Try" by Frank Tirado and comes as a reprieve in the album sequencing but packs a powerful message. The ending also features audio from Jay-Z’s grandmother Hattie White. At her 90th birthday party she explains, "I was served lemons, but I made lemonade"—apropos in the discussion of the American Black experience.
Accompanied by a captivating visual directed by Hiro Murai that paired dancing with African influence, and violent yet thought-provoking imagery, Gambino's effort made everyone pay attention. The song garnered the multi-disciplined artist a GRAMMY for "Song Of The Year," and his first No. 1 single while leaving both critics and fans alike in deep conversations about its political symbolism.
Torae Talks Fighting For Change & Overhauling The Music Industry's Business Model
