We lost countless legends this year, from Brian Wilson to D’Angelo — and the Recording Academy honoured them at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
The segment kicked off with a voiceover from Bruce Springsteen, who delivered a heartfelt tribute to Wilson, the Beach Boys genius who died last summer at the age of 82. “The last of the Wilson brothers may be gone, but he leaves behind so many great songs, and good vibrations,” Springsteen said.
The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir died just last month at the age of 78, and his Dead & Company bandmate John Mayer spoke beautifully about him, also in a voiceover: “He understood songwriting to its core, having written and performed some of the most enduring music in American history,” he said. “Bob was a messenger, not only for the music he made with the Grateful Dead, but for the tapestry of influences that birthed it … Bob has left us, but the songs he sang will remain a road map for a better, more meaningful life. See you down the road, Ace.”
Reba McEntire then took the stage, performing at the Grammys for the first time ever, as names of the departed flashed across the screen. Surrounded by flowers and candles, she sang “Trailblazer” alongside Lukas Nelson and Brandy Clark.
That was followed up by Post Malone’s salute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, in which he performed Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” with an all-star backing band featuring producer-guitarist Andrew Watt, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, and Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Duff McKagan.
Lauryn Hill then took the stage, marking her first Grammys performance since 1999. She honoured D’Angelo, who died last fall at the age of 51, performing their collaboration “Nothing Even Matters,” off The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Lucky Daye sang “Brown Sugar,” Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton linked up for “Lady,” while Leon Thomas performed “Devils Pie.” Bilal tore through “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” while Jon Batiste closed with “Africa,” the final track off 2000’s Voodoo.
Hill continued by honouring Roberta Flack, who died in February 2025, performing “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” with Batiste. The Flack segment also included an appearance by the great Chaka Khan, who performed “Where Is the Love” with John Legend. Hill and Wyclef Jean then teamed up for the Fugees hit “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and the In Memoriam segment closed with a moment for Sly Stone, who died in June 2025 at the age of 82.
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The last 12 months made for a devastating year for music fans, who have had to say goodbye to so many luminaries. Rock fans bid farewell to the Band’s Garth Hudson, the New York Dolls’ David Johansen, Blondie drummer Clem Burke, Jill Sobule, the Champs’ Dave Burgess, Rick Derringer, Terry Reid, and the Moody Blues’ John Lodge. The hard rock world had to say goodbye to founding Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley, former Mastodon guitarist-vocalist Brent Hinds, and At the Gates’ Tomas Lindberg.
R&B and soul fans mourned the losses of the Time’s Jellybean Johnson, Angie Stone, and Tony! Toni! Toné!’s D’Wayne Wiggins. Country and Americana fans made sense of losing the Mavericks’ Raul Malo and Todd Snider. And then there were artists whose bodies of work spanned genres like Connie Francis, Jimmy Kimmel Live! bandleader Cleto Escobedo III, and Roy Ayers.
It made for a stunning show of music’s greatest, forcing fans to pay close attention out of fear they might miss the name of someone dear to them, and to make sure that the segment didn’t omit any names. In case it did, the Recording Academy keeps a running list of names of people from throughout the music industry, not just musical performers, who have died, updating it frequently.
The Grammys aired live on Sunday from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. The host, as with the last five Grammy Awards ceremonies, was Trevor Noah.
From Rolling Stone US
