Quincy Jones was a legend at the Grammy Awards, winning 28 Grammys in his career as a musician, producer, arranger and more.
So it felt entirely appropriate for the Grammys to honor Jones, who died in November at 91, with an extended musical tribute on Sunday that covered the breadth of his career and impact on popular music.
With jazz pianist Herbie Hancock at the piano, singer Cynthia Erivo kicked things off with “Fly Me to the Moon,” which Jones arranged for Frank Sinatra’s 1964 version.
Country singer Lainey Wilson and pianist Jacob Collier then popped out for a country-fied take on “Let the Good Times Roll,” a cover of the standard by Ray Charles, whose 1959 album “The Genius of Ray Charles” was arranged by Jones, a longtime friend and collaborator of Charles.
The focus then turned to Stevie Wonder, seated at Hancock’s piano, who together played “Bluesette,” a Toots Thielman’s song, which Jones, an acclaimed jazz trumpeter, included on his 1975 album “Mellow Madness.”
Wonder then introduced perhaps Jones’ biggest global hit, “We Are the World,” a star-studded collaboration to raise funds for Ethiopia famine relief in the ’80s.
“That day, Quincy Jones told us to keep our egos out and at the door,” Wonder said of the recording session for the song. “We are still the world, and I say to you, we are still the people who fight to save the nation.”
With that, Wonder sang the song accompanied by students from Pasadena Waldorf School in Altadena and Palisades High School, both of which were destroyed in the recent fires.
To wrap it all up, Janelle Monáe took the stage to sing “Thriller” – Jones’ work as a producer helped elevate Michael Jackson to worldwide stardom in the ’70s and ’80s. Dressed in homage to Jackson and incorporating many of his trademark dance moves, Monáe energized the crowd, wrapping up her performance by tearing off her shirt to reveal an I heart QJ tanktop.
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