Jagger to make first appearance on Grammy stage
The Recording Academy is finally getting some satisfaction, with Mick Jagger’s first appearance on the Grammy stage.
The Rolling Stones frontman will perform at the Feb. 13 ceremony as part of a tribute to soul great Solomon Burke, who died last year. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer opened for the Rolling Stones several times during his career comeback late in life.
Jagger will perform with soul singer Raphael Saadiq during the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, which will air live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles (8 p.m. EST).
“We’re thrilled, delighted, excited and very much looking forward to Mick doing his debut on the Grammy stage,” said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy. “It’s extraordinary to many of us that the fact is, this will be the first time; he has never performed on the Grammy stage.”
This won’t be Jagger’s first appearance on a Grammy telecast. In 1986, the Rolling Stones were given a lifetime achievement award by Eric Clapton, and they performed on the show by satellite.
We did a remote from London, and it was at least three o’clock there,” said show producer Ken Ehrlich.
“I think they had been celebrating a little time before we went on camera,” he said. “It was quite a moment.”
Ehrlich has produced the show for 31 years and has always wanted Jagger and the Stones to perform, but it didn’t work out until this year.
Ehrlich said it was Jagger’s admiration for Burke that brought him to the Grammy stage.
“He’s asked me not to go into detail about what he’s doing, but I think when you see the performance, it will make a lot sense,” said Ehrlich. “I think it was the idea of the performance that was intriguing to him and really brought him here.”
Jagger will join a performers list that includes Rihanna, Cee Lo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Eminem, Arcade Fire, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Usher, Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum and Justin Bieber.
When asked who was left on his list of must-have Grammy performers, Ehrlich, noting the numerous legends who have appeared on the Grammy stage, said: “In all honestly, that’s about it.”
Source: Associated Press
