Recommendations of the Editorial team
We lost countless legends this year, from Brian Wilson to D’Angelo – and the Recording Academy honored them at the 68th annual Grammys.
The segment began with a voiceover from Bruce Springsteen, who delivered a heartfelt tribute to Wilson, the Beach Boys genius who died last summer at age 82. “The last of the Wilson brothers may be gone, but he leaves behind so many great songs and good vibes,” said Springsteen.
The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir died just last month at the age of 78, and his Dead & Company bandmate John Mayer also spoke beautifully about him in a voiceover: “He understood songwriting to the core and wrote and performed some of the most enduring songs in American music history,” he said. “Bob was an ambassador, not only for the music he made with the Grateful Dead, but for the diverse influences from which it was born…Bob has left us, but the songs he sang will continue to show us the way to a better, more meaningful life. We’ll see you sometime, Ace.”
Nod to Ozzy Osbourne
Reba McEntire then took the stage and performed for the first time ever at the Grammys as the names of those who died flashed across the screen. Surrounded by flowers and candles, she sang “Trailblazer” with Lukas Nelson and Brandy Clark.
Post Malone’s tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne followed, during which he performed Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” with an all-star backing band that included producer and guitarist Andrew Watt, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, and Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Duff McKagan.
Lauryn Hill then took the stage and gave her first Grammy performance since 1999. She honored D’Angelo, who died last fall at age 51, with a performance of their collaborative song “Nothing Even Matters” from the album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Lucky Daye sang “Brown Sugar,” Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton performed “Lady,” while Leon Thomas performed “Devils Pie.” Bilal rocked “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” and Jon Batiste closed the night with “Africa,” the final track from the 2000 album “Voodoo.”
Hill then paid tribute to Roberta Flack, who died in February 2025, and performed “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” with Batiste. The Flack segment also featured the great Chaka Khan, who performed “Where Is the Love” with John Legend.
Hill and Wyclef Jean then performed the Fugees’ hit “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and the in-memoriam portion ended with a tribute to Sly Stone, who died in June 2025 at the age of 82.
The last 12 months have been a devastating year for music fans, who have had to say goodbye to so many greats.
Rock fans said goodbye to Garth Hudson of The Band, David Johansen of the New York Dolls, Blondie drummer Clem Burke, Jill Sobule, Dave Burgess of The Champs, Rick Derringer, Terry Reid and John Lodge of the Moody Blues. The hard rock world had to say goodbye to Kiss founding member and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, former Mastodon guitarist and singer Brent Hinds and Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates.
R&B and soul fans mourned The Time’s Jellybean Johnson, Tony’s Angie Stone and D’Wayne Wiggins! Tony! Tone! Country and Americana fans had to cope with the loss of Raul Malo of The Mavericks and Todd Snider. And then there were artists whose work spanned multiple genres, like Connie Francis, Cleto Escobedo III, leader of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Roy Ayers.
Did the Grammy Academy mention everyone who died?
It was a breathtaking show from music’s greatest, forcing fans to pay close attention for fear of missing the name of someone they love and to ensure no name was left out of the segment.
In the event that this does happen, the Recording Academy keeps a running list of names of people across the music industry, not just musicians, who have died, and updates it regularly.
The Grammys were broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday (February 1st). As with the last five Grammy Awards, the moderator was Trevor Noah.
