The Recording Academy has announced the broadcast information for the fourth annual concert for its Special Merit Awards recipients. PBS’ Great Performances series will air Grammy Salute to Music Legends on October 18 at 9 p.m. for the group of 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award honorees. The list features Black Sabbath, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias, Sam & Dave, and Dionne Warwick, producer Lou Adler, and Ashford & Simpson. The special award presentation ceremony and concert celebrating the honorees was taped for the PBS broadcast on May 11 in Los Angeles.
The event includes performances by Warwick, Clinton, Johnny Mathis, Sam Moore and Garth Brooks, Valerie Simpson, William “Bootsy” Collins, Sheila E., and others.
Watch a fan video of Simpson and Kenny Lattimore singing an Ashford & Simpson-penned hit at the event
The Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording, while the Trustees Award honors such contributions in areas other than performance.
In its original December 19, 2018 press release, the Recording Academy issued the following descriptions of the award recipients:
From their power riffs to their dark, gothic imagery, Black Sabbath arguably invented the heavy metal signposts and influenced every heavy rock band that followed.
Among the most sampled acts of the funk/R&B era, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic’s spacey and masterfully played funk has laid the foundation for countless hip-hop hits.
Related: Who were the Lifetime Achievement Grammy honorees of 2018?
Donny Hathaway* was a versatile soul stylist who built his legend singing both urban protest songs as well as smooth, signature duets with the likes of Roberta Flack, despite his far-too-short career.
Soul duo Sam & Dave (Sam Moore and Dave Prater*) were one of the primary chart stars at the Stax and Atlantic labels in the ’60s, bringing the passion of gospel to their wailing soul sides.
Singing the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David in the ’60s, and then scoring hits that bridged pop and R&B in the ’70s and ’80s, Dionne Warwick has carved out a unique and stellar career among pop/soul singers.
From the Monterey Pop Festival to L.A.’s iconic Roxy Theatre to the careers of the Mamas and the Papas, Carole King, and Cheech & Chong, among others, Lou Adler is one of music’s most noted impresarios.
Nickolas Ashford* and Valerie Simpson were among the elite songwriting teams at Motown Records, penning modern classics such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “You’re All I Need To Get By.”
*Denotes posthumous honoree
Watch Black Sabbath perform “War Pigs” at California Jam in 1974
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