When Woody Guthrie wrote "This Land is Your Land," he certainly understood he was expressing something important to the world. Ditto John Lennon with "Imagine" and Marvin Gaye with "What's Going On." But could any of them have known we'd still be singing them in 2021? That amid the racial nightmares of George Floyd's killing and the anti-Asian violence that just battered Georgia, we'd return to the well of songs from 50 or more years ago for healing? 

Welcome to "A GRAMMY Salute To The Sounds Of Change," a special that solemnly, respectfully paid homage to the songs that altered the course of social-justice history. But the event, which the hip-hop heavyweight Common hosted, didn't just focus on the great tracks of the 20th century; it filtered them through the musical luminaries of the 21st.

A mix of archival performances and COVID-safe new ones, the special succeeded in showing that our modern horrors aren't so new at all—and that throughout history, brave men and women have risen to address the changing tides of history in song. Thus, the young guard (LeAnn Rimes, Chris Stapleton and Andra Day) rubbed shoulders with the old (Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle), showing these well-worn standards still emanate transformative power.

WEST COAST, your turn!

Hosted by three-time GRAMMY winner @Common, A #GRAMMYSalute To The #SoundsOfChange will spotlight the iconic songs that inspired social change and left an everlasting imprint on history.

WATCH NOW on @CBS. ✨ pic.twitter.com/JBedRxTvnJ

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 18, 2021

It's no accident that Common was at the helm of "A GRAMMY Salute To The Sounds Of Change"; check out his socially conscious 1999 classic Like Water For Chocolate if you're curious about how he fits into this puzzle. (Not to mention his poignant performance of "Glory," the theme song to the 2014 film Selma, with John Legend at that year's GRAMMY Awards show.)

After the MC's dignified introduction, the night kicked off with a nocturnal version of John Lennon's "Imagine" by the pearl-covered singer Cynthia Erivo. She ended the rendition with a hair-raising vamp, surrounded by projected imagery of placards reading things like "Close The Camps" and "Unjustified War Is Criminal."

Country titan Chris Stapleton then performed Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," showing how the old chestnut easily transmutes into a variety of American idioms. (To this point: check out Jon Batiste's melancholic version from 2018's Hollywood Africans.) 

In a tonal 180, LeAnn Rimes then performs Loretta Lynn's saucy (and at the time, unspeakably scandalous) 1975 ode to birth control, "The Pill." Her masked, punked-up backing band showed us how the tune essentially invented Bikini Kill. The womens' liberation theme continued with R&B great Patti LaBelle laying into Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me." 

🎤 A powerful song. A powerful voice.

Patti LaBelle (@mspattipatti) performs #LeslieGore's "You Don't Own Me" during "A #GRAMMYSalute To The #SoundsOfChange". ✨

Watch now on @CBS or @paramountplus! pic.twitter.com/M7HBLYmAbh

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 18, 2021

That performance segued into even heavier territory with a version of the "Strange Fruit" by Andra Day—who recently won a Golden Globe for her performance in 2021's The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday. She crooned the anti-lynching classic in a crepuscular, green-screened forest. Showing that times tragically haven't changed in certain respects, "Strange Fruit" segued into Leon Bridges' "Sweeter," a response to George Floyd, featuring Terrace Martin on blazing saxophone.

"What's Going On" performed by 🎶:

🎤 @MsGladysKnight
🎸 @ihoughton
🥁 @sheilaEdrummer
🎹 @dsmoke7

Tune in to "A #GRAMMYSalute To The #SoundsOfChange" right now on @CBS and @paramountplus! pic.twitter.com/v4sQzasc5W

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 18, 2021

These issues represent mere facets of human disharmony. But Marvin Gaye's intellect and imagination were keen enough to not only grasp that vastness but channel it into a song for everyone. Enter seven-time GRAMMY winner Gladys Knight, who stepped on stage to perform the immortal "What's Going On" with Sheila E. on percussion, Israel Houghton on guitar, D Smoke on keys and musical director Adam Blackstone on bass.

"Hi, Marvin!" Knight crowed at the outset. "I miss you so much. I love your music—the way you write, the way you sing, the whole thing. You touch my spirit every time you sing a song."

GRAMMY nominee @ericchurch covers #EdwinStarr's "War" right now during "A #GRAMMYSalute To The #SoundsOfChange". 🎤🎶

Watch now @CBS and @paramountplus! pic.twitter.com/T0ihoTtqkY

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 18, 2021

The specter of war was addressed with, well, "War," the Norman Whitfield tune we know from Edwin Starr's version. And after his piano-and-gospel version of his 2021 anti-Trump song "Weeping in the Promised Land"—crescendoing with a collective wail of "I can't breathe!"—John Fogerty rocked things up with Creedence Clearwater Revival's thrilling, outraged, oft-misunderstood classic "Fortunate Son."

Cutting to the essence of the other-ness that feeds racial division, CBS's Gayle King sat down with singer-actor Billy Porter to discuss the struggles of growing up gay and Black—and how music with a social conscience is returning to the forefront in 2021. 

"I'm feeling once again the energy surrounding the power of protest music," Porter said. When asked about his choice to cover Patti LaBelle's "You Are My Friend" for the show, "I just wanted to choose something that was about chosen family," he added. "We talk often in this world about family values, but what happens when your family—your biological family—don't have the tools to understand how to love you?" 

As Porter sang the empathetic ballad on a flower-festooned stage, images of people of all colors, identities and persuasions embracing—often draped in rainbow flags—flashed on the screen. "I want to talk to you a little bit about where I've been in the world!" he crowed midsong.

Watch @bradpaisley sing "Welcome To The Future" during "A #GRAMMYSalute To The #SoundsOfChange," right now on @CBS / @paramountplus. 🎤

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 18, 2021

"A GRAMMY Salute To The Sounds Of Change" also honored and elevated Latin voices. After a brief preamble from Common about the meaning and import of the neologism "Latinx," Gloria and Emilio Estefan discussed how Latin music is woven into the fabric of American social change. Their daughter Emily Estefan then performed "This Is What," a tribute to Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and Latina member of the Supreme Court.

With her parents watching, @GloriaEstefan and @EmilioEstefanJr, @Emily_Estefan performs "This Is What" 🎹

Watch "A #GRAMMYSalute To The #SoundsOfChange" on @CBS / @paramountplus. ✨ pic.twitter.com/kl7pWZzxzk

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 18, 2021

Sotomayor was nominated in 2009 by then-President Barack Obama, and Brad Paisley touches on the legacies of our first Black president and first lady. From the floor of the Woolworth on 5th restaurant in Nashville, the country star performed his ascendant "Welcome to the Future," which he wrote in response to Obama's election. Paisley then strolled to the counter, explaining that the restaurant was a historic spot where John Lewis and his friends took a stand for racial justice in 1960.

Right now @YolandaAdams delivers a performance of #MahaliaJackson's "We Shall Overcome". 🎤🎵

Keep watching "A #GRAMMYSalute To The #SoundsOfChange" on @CBS / @paramountplus. 📺 pic.twitter.com/QUsOc9orRI

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 18, 2021

The special then homed in on "We Shall Overcome," a cornerstone of the civil rights movement. Yolanda Adams laid down a reverent monologue about the tune to the haunting strains of a gospel choir. But then, something unexpected happened. The lights flared up, and Adams upshifted several gears, launching into a raucous take on the soul-strengthening classic. 

It was a joyful capper for a heartening night, conceived and broadcast for all the right reasons. But most importantly, almost every minute of "A GRAMMY Salute To The Sounds Of Change" was stuffed with music, which is usually the loam from where real change springs.

"A GRAMMY Salute To The Sounds Of Change" is available on-demand on Paramount+.

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