Grammy Salute
America still loves The Beach Boys. A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys, which aired on CBS on Sunday April 9, was No. 1 in its time period with 5.18 million viewers and was the night’s No. 2 primetime broadcast in viewers. (The night’s champ was its lead-in, the venerable 60 Minutes, with 6.43 million viewers.)
The two-hour program had the largest audience for a Grammy Salute special since A Grammy Salute to Prince, which aired on April 21, 2020.
Here’s a sign of how just long The Beach Boys have been a cultural institution. The band first hit the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1962, more than six years before 60 Minutes, one of the longest running shows in TV history, went on the air.
A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys was produced by Tenth Planet Productions. Joel Gallen, Rick Krim and Irving Azoff served as executive producers and Rick Austin as co-executive producer. Gallen also directed the special.
The special featured performances by Andy Grammar, Beck, Jim James, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Fall Out Boy, Foster the People, Hanson, Norah Jones, Lady A, John Legend, Little Big Town, Luke Spiller, Taylor Momsen, Michael McDonald, Take 6, Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, Pentatonix, LeAnn Rimes, St. Vincent, and Weezer.
It also featured appearances by fellow music icons Elton John and Bruce Springsteen; actors Tom Hanks, Drew Carey and John Stamos; Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and former chair of the academy’s board of trustees Jimmy Jam.
The Beach Boys entered into a partnership with Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group (Iconic) in 2021 to preserve and grow their legacy in a digital era. Iconic also represents such artists as Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Linda Ronstadt, David Crosby and Stephen Stills.
“This celebration highlights, once again, the power of the Beach Boys music to influence today’s biggest artists and reach new generations of fans,” said Jimmy Edwards, president of Iconic.
A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys has an air-date – Sunday, April 9. The show was taped at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Feb. 8, three days after the live broadcast of the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
Like past Grammy Salutes specials, the show features a broad range of artists performing the honoree’s songs. The salute to The Beach Boys includes a mix of artists who seem to be on Grammy producers’ speed-dials (Brandi Carlile, John Legend, Norah Jones, Pentatonix, Take 6), and a few less automatic choices (Fall Out Boy, My Morning Jacket, Weezer).
In addition, the special will feature appearances by music legends Sir Elton John and Bruce Springsteen; actors Drew Carey, Tom Hanks and John Stamos; Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.; and former chair of the Recording Academy’s board of trustees, super-producer Jimmy Jam. Beach Boys members Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love, David Marks and Brian Wilson will appear as featured guests as well.
John did the honors when The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the subject of his own special in 2018, Elton John: I’m Still Standing — A Grammy Salute.
A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys is produced by Tenth Planet Productions. Joel Gallen, Rick Krim and Irving Azoff serve as executive producers and Rick Austin as co-executive producer. Gallen also directed the special.
AEG Ehrlich Ventures, headed by Ken Ehrlich, the former executive producer of the Grammy Awards telecast, oversaw past Grammy Salutes specials.
The special airs during a year-long celebration of The Beach Boys 60th anniversary. (As is often the case with anniversary commemorations, it’s a little late. The Beach Boys were formed in Hawthorne, Calif., in 1961. The group first cracked the Billboard Hot 100 with “Surfin” in February 1962. But 61st or 62nd anniversary doesn’t have the same ring to it.)
A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys will air less than four months after the airing of the previous Grammy Salutes special. Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, aired on Dec. 21.
The Beach Boys special will air on Sunday April 9 from 8 – 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. In a first for these Grammy Salutes specials, a one-hour version of the tribute will air on MTV at a future date to be announced.
Here’s something they probably won’t tell you on the special: The Beach Boys never won a Grammy in competition, despite four nominations. Even their masterwork “Good Vibrations” went 0-3 at the Grammys. (During The Beach Boys’ 1960s heyday, Grammy voters were still trying to decide what they thought of contemporary pop/rock.)
Grammy voters have since decided they like it – and The Beach Boys in particular – very much. The group received a lifetime achievement from the Recording Academy in 2001. Wilson was named MusiCares person of the year in 2005. Five Beach Boys recordings have been voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which functions as a second chance for the Grammys to reward worthy records they may have missed the first time around.
Since The Beach Boys’ heyday, Brian Wilson has received six more Grammy nominations, winning twice – best rock instrumental performance for “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” (2004) and best historical album for The Smile Sessions (Deluxe Box Set) (2012).
In additon, Wilson was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007.
Check out a complete list of the performances set for A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys below:
“Darlin’” – Andy Grammer
“Sloop John B” – Beck
“Good Vibrations” – Beck, Jim James
“In My Room” – Brandi Carlile
“God Only Knows” – Brandi Carlile & John Legend
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – Charlie Puth
“Do You Wanna Dance” – Fall Out Boy
“Do It Again” – Foster The People
“Barbara Ann” – Hanson
“The Warmth of the Sun” – Norah Jones
“Surfer Girl” – Lady A
“Sail on Sailor” – John Legend
“Help Me Rhonda” – Little Big Town
“Surfin’ USA / Fun Fun Fun” – Luke Spiller & Taylor Momsen
“Don’t Worry Baby” – Michael McDonald & Take 6
“I Know There’s an Answer” – Mumford & Sons
“I Get Around” – My Morning Jacket
“Heroes and Villains” – Pentatonix
“Caroline No” – LeAnn Rimes
“You Still Believe in Me” – St. Vincent
“California Girls” – Weezer
UPDATE (Dec. 14): CBS will air Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon on Dec. 21 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT. The show will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Eric Church, Susanna Hoffs, Jonas Brothers, Sting and Stevie Wonder performed on the show, in addition to the previously announced artists.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Jimmy Cliff joined the previously announced Shaggy for a performance. Brandi Carlile, originally announced as a performer, is not included in the final lineup. Presenters and special appearances include Sofia Carson, Herbie Hancock, Woody Harrelson, Dustin Hoffman, Elton John, Folake Olowofoyeku and Oprah Winfrey.
PREVIOUSLY (March 24): On April 6, three days after the 2022 Grammy Awards telecast in Las Vegas, the Recording Academy will tape a salute to the songs of Paul Simon at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.
Brandi Carlile, who was in the first batch of performers announced for the April 3 Grammy telecast, will also perform on this concert special, which is titled Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon. Other performers set for the show — all current or past Grammy nominees — are Rhiannon Giddens, Angélique Kidjo, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Brad Paisley, Billy Porter, Shaggy, Take 6, Irma Thomas and Trombone Shorty.
Simon will make a “special appearance” at the tribute, which joins a long line of Grammy salutes, including The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles, Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince, Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of The Bee Gees, and We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston.
The Simon salute is produced by Ken Ehrlich Productions. Ehrlich, who was producer or executive producer of the Grammy Awards telecast for 40 years, from 1980 through 2020, is executive producer.
Tickets will go on sale to the public on Saturday March 26 at 10 a.m. PT. The public link to purchase tickets will be active here on that date.
The show will air on CBS later in 2022.
The Hollywood Palladium was the home of the first live Grammy telecast in 1971 – which was the year Simon & Garfunkel‘s Bridge Over Troubled Water swept the major awards. Simon won seven Grammys that night, which set a new Grammy record which stood until Michael Jackson won eight Grammys at the show in 1984. (Santana tied Jackson’s record in 2000.)
Simon was the first recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982; received that organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in 1998; and its Towering Song award for “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in 2010.
Simon has been voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – with Simon & Garfunkel in 1990 and as a solo artist in 2001.
He has won 16 Grammys, including a record three awards for record of the year, a record-tying three awards for album of the year and one award for song of the year. Simon & Garfunkel received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2003.
Billboard reported on March 18 that Simon is shopping his master recording royalties from his recorded works with Simon & Garfunkel. Simon sold his song catalog to Sony Music Publishing a year ago.
-
Pages