musicares

The roster of artists set to perform at the 2023 Persons of the Year tribute concert honoring Motown founder Berry Gordy and one of its greatest stars, Smokey Robinson, includes both Motown royalty (The Temptations, Four Tops and Lionel Richie) and non-Motown artists paying their respects.
Persons of the Year 2023 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Feb. 3, two nights before the 65th annual Grammy Awards. This marks the first time that there have been co-honorees. Gordy is also the first executive to receive the honor.

The roster of performers includes The Isley Brothers, who recorded two albums for Motown’s Tamla subsidiary in the 1960s but achieved their greatest success elsewhere; Valerie Simpson, who teamed with her late husband Nick Ashford to write many of Motown’s greatest hits; and Michael McDonald, who received a 2013 Grammy nomination for best pop vocal album for Motown, a tribute album to the label.

It also includes EGOT recipient John Legend whose huge crossover success owes a great deal to the trails blazed by Motown in the 1960s.

The roster includes three artists who are Grammy-nominated in Big Four categories this year – Brandi Carlile, who is vying for record and album of the year, and best new artist nominees Samara Joy and Molly Tuttle.  

Also on the bill: Jimmie Allen, Dionne Warwick, Sheryl Crow, Lalah Hathaway, PJ Morton, Mumford & Sons, Trombone Shorty, Sebastián Yatra, Chloe x Halle and Rita Wilson.

“I am so excited to share the always wonderful MusiCares event with my best friend Smokey Robinson and I can’t wait to hear these wonderful artists celebrate the Motown music,” Gordy said in a statement.

“I’m so excited for this year’s MusiCares lineup,” Robinson added. “These artists are my friends and I not only love them, but I’m honored that they will be performing my music, along with hits from the Motown catalogue.”

“We are thrilled to see such an incredible array of talented performers coming together to honor Smokey and Berry, two legends who have helped define modern music,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy.

“We’re bringing together such a unique lineup of artists not only to pay tribute to Mr. Gordy, Mr. Robinson and Motown, but also to raise awareness of the critical health and social service needs within the music community,” said Laura Segura, executive director of MusiCares.

The event includes a reception and silent auction, followed by a dinner and tribute concert. Since 1991, money raised from this gala has gone toward MusiCares programs that assist the music community, including physical and mental health, addiction recovery, preventative clinics, personal emergencies, and disaster relief.

The event will again be produced by live event broadcast company Lewis & Clark, comprised of Joe Lewis and R.A. Clark. Greg Phillinganes, who hails from Detroit, Motown’s home town, will serve as musical director. Phillinganes won a 2015 Primetime Emmy as music director of  Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All-Star Grammy Salute.

Tables are available for purchase at http://personoftheyear.musicares.org/. For more information, visit MusiCares.org or email personoftheyear@musicares.org.

Motown legends Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson are poised to make history as the 2023 MusiCares person of the year recipients. As we reported when the news was announced on Thursday Oct. 20, it’s the first time that two individuals have been co-honorees at the annual fund-raising gala.

But that’s not the only way in which Gordy and Robinson will be making history. The two music greats will be the oldest person of the year honorees to date. Gordy turns 93 on Nov. 28. Robinson is 82. The oldest honoree until now was Joni Mitchell, who was 78 when she was honored earlier this year.

And Motown founder Gordy will be the first non-artist to receive the honor, as well as the first honoree who has not won a Grammy in competition. Gordy has received just one nomination – as a co-writer of the Jackson 5 smash “I’ll Be There,” a 1993 nominee for best R&B song. That requires explanation: The song wasn’t nominated when the J5 record was a hit, but it was nominated 22 years later when Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz covered it. (Gordy probably wasn’t too disappointed when it lost to a then-current Motown smash – Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.”)

Gordy and Robinson are the third and fourth person of the year honorees who are Motown royalty. Stevie Wonder received the honor in 1999. Lionel Richie received it in 2016.

According to MusiCares, the person of the year award “celebrates our honoree’s creative accomplishments and philanthropic work. This star-studded dinner and concert experience raises funds for MusiCares’ vital programs and relief efforts.”

That blurb hints at what MusiCares is looking for in an honoree. They certainly want to recognize an accomplished artist who seems worthy of the honor, but just as important, they want to sell tables and individual tickets, ads in the program book and auction offerings. So, they’re looking for someone who has the connections and history in the music industry to fill the room. That’s why most of the honorees are well along in their careers by the time they are selected.

The next person of the year event will be held on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 at Los Angeles Convention Center – two days before the 65th annual Grammy Awards are presented at the adjoining Crypto.com Arena.

Here are all of the person of the year honorees to date, shown in reverse chronological order. All years refer to the year the person of the year event was held and the year of the corresponding Grammy telecast (or year of award presentations for the years before the launch of the live telecast in 1971.)