Grammy Highlights:Mavis Staples Wins First Grammy,Aretha Tribute,Solomon Burke Tribute,John Mayer's New Look and Other Notable Moments

                                    

It did my heart good to see such respect paid by the Recording Academy at Sunday night's Grammy Award show to some of the more seasoned among the artists honored. I am happy for Mavis Staples who received her first Grammy award ever after nearly 60 years in the business. If you are a Baby Boomer you certainly remember growing up listening to some of the hit tunes performed by the Staple singers consisting of Mavis ,her dad and sister. It was a family affair for sure. There was always a place that we were willing to have them take us. "I'll Take You There" was one of their most renown hits.

What pleases me most about her big win-and,yes she won only one Grammy- but it was a gigantic win for her because of what it represented.  It must have justified her many years of perserverance,pressing on in faith and conviction even when the chips were down. The irony of it is that the record consists of spiritual songs  produced and written by Jeff Tweedy, the lead member of the successful Chicago rock band Wilco. Mavis went back to her roots. She started out singing Gospel. "You Are Not Alone" won in the Americana category,but it still is church music. Staples beat out Rosanne Cash, Los Lobos, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant for the Grammy. She stated "this isn't the last the world has seen from Mavis Staples." That is good to know.






The tribute to Aretha Franklin was on fire and filled with soul. The Queen of Soul could not have been represented by a better group of voices. Yolanda Adams,Jennifer Hudson,Christina Aguillera,Martina McBride and Florence Welch did a wonderful job. Although she earned her credentials as a blue-eyed soul sister when she performed "This Is A Man's World" for the late James Brown, Christina Aguillerra definitely deserved her "soul" diva props for her handling of "Ain't No Way". It would be safe to say that she sang with almost as much soul as Aretha if not on a par. Jennifer Hudson definitely gets "Respect" for her performance of that classic Aretha song--the one that started it all. Martina McBride, Yolanda Adams and Florence welch demonstrated their vocal chops as well.

The Queen of Soul has been faced with health challenges lately. Unfortunately she could not be present for what would have certainly been a healing dose of music. She watched it from her home. But,music connoisseurs and plain music lovers alike know how good music can make you feel when you're their live and in concert. Let's keep Aretha lifted in prayer and keep her songs alive. Was it just me or did anyone else think that Mick Jagger's performance was "off the hook"? He really proved why he is a rock music legend. Hands down! That tribute to Solomon Burke was incredible. He is still going strong at nearly 70 years old. I feel that Solomon himself could feel that performance at the Grammy Awards. He done Mr. burke proud. I must admit I've been a Stones fan since the early days. I've seen Jagger get soulful with onstage appearances with Tina Turner,but this performance was extra special. This was also his first appearance on the Grammy stage. I gained a new appreciation for his range as an entertainer,artist and,of course, rock legend. He got the audience thoroughly stoked. Take a look:



I also thought Barbra Striesand did a wonderful job on Evergreen. Her pipes are still in excellent shape. She can still hit those notes. She seems to have gotten over her stage fright as well. She looked stunning.

Eminem and Dr. Dre were awesome. That slowed down version of "Love the Way You Lie" made me see the song in a whole different light. They took the song to another level. The lyrics that Dr. Dre rapped were either different or he gave the original words a whole new twist. His skills as a legendary rapper came shining through.


There were so many good performances I feel I could write pages before I got all of my opinions out. The music production was particularly good as well. The arrangements were all very polished and the notes were on key. It must have been something about the acoustics. But, I have noticed in the past during live Grammy shows where the music has not always been consistently excellent throughout each performance. Whoever the sound mixers and engineers were-and I'll have to do my research on that- they did a great job.

Props to Jaden Smith and Justin Beiber for that very energetic performance. Will and Jada really enjoyed it. You could see them glowing about their son's performance in the audience. Jonelle Monae. One word-- dazzling. Great performances and wins by Arcade Fire, Muse and Lady GaGa.

Last but not least, another suprising segment for me was to watch John Mayer do a very short guitar and vocal performance with Keith Urban and Norah Jones before presenting the Song of the Year Award. I was expecting a guitar solo or at least a full song. But,anyway it was good to see him there enjoying himself and sticking to the script performing the Dolly Pardon classic "Jolene". He looked marvelous in his white and black.
I certainly don't want to slight anyone. I enjoyed the entire show. Just sharing what were highlights for me.

Well done. Bravo!