Music’s late heroes were honoured at the Grammy Awards on Monday (15.02.16).
Stars including David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Lemmy Kilmister and Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, who all recently passed away, were remembered with touching tributes at the ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The Hollywood Vampires, led by Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp, remembered their late friend Lemmy, with a version of Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’, while the late rocker’s face was projected onto a screen behind them.
Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Bernie Leadon and Timothy B. Schmit joined Jackson Browne to honour Glenn Frey with a poignant performance of ‘Take It Easy’.
The Eagles manager Irving Azoff told the Los Angeles Times: "We wanted something simple and elegant, and in discussing it with the family, we wanted an uptempo moment."
Lady Gaga took to the stage to sing nine of Bowie’s classic songs in a stunning six-minute performance that ended with ‘Heroes’.
Backed by Nile Rodgers, who produced Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ album – Gaga sang ‘Space Oddity’, ‘Changes’, ‘Ziggy Stardust’, ‘Suffragette City’, ‘Rebel, Rebel’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Fame’ and ‘Let’s Dance’.
Her conclusion ‘Heroes’ drew a standing ovation from the star-studded audience at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
And Stevie Wonder performed with a cappella group Pentatonix to pay tribute to Maurice White.
However, Natalie Cole’s sister was furious that her sibling did not get a special musical tribute.
She fumed to the New York Post: "Where is the tribute to our sister?
"It’s very bittersweet. We were hoping that there will be some sort of actual tribute to her fitting of her artistry and stature. She had 21 Grammy nominations and nine wins. She was such a force in the music industry and she transcended genres . . . I think she should be recognized for the impact she has had."
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar were the biggest winners on the night, taking home three and five awards respectively, including sharing one for Best Video for ‘Bad Blood’.
Hollywood Vampires’ Grammys tribute to Lemmy
