Grammy Salute to Music Legends

PBS and The Recording Academy®  will honor its Grammy Salutes 2017 Special Merit Awards recipients with an awards ceremony and live tribute concert on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are Shirley Caesar, Ahmad Jamal, Charley Pride, Jimmie Rodgers, Nina Simone, Sly Stone, and the Velvet Underground.

Led by GRAMMY®-winning industry icon Paul Shaffer as musical director, the tribute concert will feature rare performances by honorees and never-seen renditions by those they’ve inspired. Just confirmed to perform are past GRAMMY nominee Catherine Russell, five-time GRAMMY winner Dionne Warwick, and past GRAMMY nominee Charlie Wilson.

Now in its second year, the “GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends™” event will be produced in partnership with THIRTEEN as part of the “Great Performances” series on PBS, set to air later this year. Previously held during GRAMMY Week, this is the second year the Recording Academy has celebrated the Special Merit Awards with a stand-alone TV event and musical tribute. In addition to the tribute concert, special celebrity guests will present recipients their award statues and guests will enjoy never-before-seen video packages celebrating each of the honorees’ contributions to the music industry and our cultural heritage.

A production of PBS THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, “GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends” will be written by David Wild and directed for television by David Horn, with Mitch Owgang as producer, and David Horn and Neil Portnow as executive producers. The official ground transportation by Bermuda Limousine International. Transportation Logistics by Billy Amato for Bermuda Limousine International.