MusiCares Person of the Year gala, February 10, 2012

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http://www.grammy.org/news/more-stars-t ... ccartney-0

More Stars To Come Together For Paul McCartney

An impressive star-studded cast will come together to honor 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year honoree Paul McCartney during a sold-out gala on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles, two days prior to the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Hosted by actor/comedian Eddie Izzard, artists set to perform are current GRAMMY nominees Tony Bennett, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, and Katy Perry; GRAMMY-winning artists Duane Eddy, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Diana Krall, James Taylor, and Neil Young with Crazy Horse; two-time Latin GRAMMY-winning artist Sergio Mendes; and the cast of Cirque du Soleil's "Love" Beatles tribute show. The evening will also feature a special performance by McCartney.

The 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year gala, which will celebrate McCartney's exceptional artistic achievements and philanthropic work, will begin with a cocktail reception and silent auction sponsored by the Starkey Hearing Foundation that will offer an exclusive selection of luxury items, VIP experiences and celebrity memorabilia for bidding guests. The auction will be followed by a gala dinner sponsored by AEG Live, and a star-studded tribute concert sponsored by Acura/ELS. This year's red-carpet press arrivals will be sponsored by Kinect for Xbox 360 and Dance Central 2. Other event supporters include CenterStaging — A SoundCheck LA Company, Classic Wines of California, Delta Airlines, Double Platinum, Gibson, Global Art, Heineken, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Jackson Limo, Korbel, Patron Spirits Company, Pepsi, and Sweetwater.

The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week. Proceeds from the dinner and concert will provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need.

Past MusiCares Person of the Year honorees include: Bennett, Bono, Natalie Cole, Phil Collins, David Crosby, Neil Diamond, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Don Henley, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Sting, Barbra Streisand, Taylor, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, and Young.

The 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 p.m. ET/PT.

[Bud]

Hopefully, we'll somehow be able to see the performance. Here's a quote from http://www.grammy.com/live

Live GRAMMY weekend video stream kicks off Friday, Feb. 10

Go behind the velvet rope with GRAMMY Live, your exclusive VIP pass to all the excitement and glamour of GRAMMY Weekend. The action kicks off Friday, Feb. 10 and will lead you through the 54th GRAMMY Awards. Exclusive, behind-the-scenes GRAMMY cams will give you an insider’s view into the hottest GRAMMY Week events, such as the Social Media Rock Stars Summit, MusiCares Person of the Year event honoring Sir Paul McCartney, Special Merit Awards Ceremony & GRAMMY Nominees Reception, Pre-GRAMMY Gala, 54th GRAMMY Awards red carpet and Pre-Telecast, and The Recording Academy’s official after-party, the GRAMMY Celebration.

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http://www.dianakrall.com/news_d.aspx?nid=2416

Diana Krall Kicks Off Grammy® Week With A String Of Special Performances

GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz singer/pianist Diana Krall makes a stop in Los Angeles to participate in a number of special events.

First, Diana Krall joins Paul McCartney who will commemorate the release of his new album Kisses On The Bottom with a once in a lifetime streaming performance taking place live at 7:00 p.m. PST Thursday, February 9, from the famed Capitol Studios where much of the new album was created. Diana Krall, Joe Walsh (guitar), John Clayton (bass), Karriem Riggins (drums), John Pizzarelli (guitar) , Michael Mainieri (vibraphone), Anthony Wilson (guitar) and Alan Broadbent (conductor/arranger) will back Paul McCartney for the Capitol live stream event. The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma and features Diana Krall and the musicians above, minus Joe Walsh.

On February 10, Diana Krall performs three songs at one of the most prestigious events held during Grammy® week, the MusiCares® Person of the Year tribute which will celebrate Paul McCartney’s artistic achievements and philanthropic work.

As the finale for Grammy® week, Diana Krall has been invited to perform at the 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards which will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 p.m. ET/PT.

The celebrated musician, Krall, has not stopped since the release of her 2009 Grammy-winning, platinum album Quiet Nights. She has been travelling the globe, touring in Canada, Europe, UK, USA, Russia, Australia, South America and the Middle East, performing on almost every continent.

In addition to her touring and appearance schedule, the acclaimed musician took a short break to produce her first record for another artist, Barbra Streisand's Love Is The Answer, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release.

Never slowing down, Diana Krall contributed a track “Simple Twist of Fate” for the Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International released last month.

And Diana Krall has much more already planned for 2012, more details to be announced soon.

[Bud]

Just watched DK and EC on the red carpet. She said she'll accompany James Taylor on an unidentified song, then JT will accompany her, playing guitar, on an unidentified song. Then she'll accompany Sir Paul on My Valentine. She also said that she'd accompany Sir Paul on My Valentine on Sunday night.

Big weekend for Diana!

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Diana and Elvis arrive on the Red Carpet:
http://twitter.com/#!/MusicBloggersUS/s ... to/1/large
http://yfrog.com/ntt0hqsj

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerfriedm ... 100-stars/

Backstage at Paul McCartney's Night of 100 Stars

I’ve seen a lot of MusiCares tribute shows in my time, but nothing like Friday night’s Paul McCartney extravaganza. With the main ballroom of the LA Convention Center filled well beyond capacity (2500?), producer Tommy LiPuma assembled a gang of all stars to play McCartney’s music elegantly on not one but two stages–there was a huge revolving stage in the center of the room which offered acts like Alison Krauss, and Coldplay, intimacy in the massive room.

But wait you ask–who was there? Yoko Ono in her trademark white hat sat with Paul, new wife Nancy, and son James. That’s right. No Ringo, but there was a Jack Nicholson sighting and Crole King was spotted, too. Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, and Suzanne dePasse represented Motown. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Steve and Maureen van Zandt, John Stamos, and Christopher Lawford added to the Hollywood quotient.

There were plenty of musicians, and not just the ones on stage. Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Valerie Simpson, Glen Campbell, Phil Ramone, David Crosby, Jeff Lynne, David Foster, Randy Jackson were in the audience. So was Piers Morgan. I’m pretty sure I saw David Geffen. LA Reid and Doug Morris were there from Sony Music, so was Martin Bandier, Paul’s music publisher. Before the show began, Paul had long talks with Gordy, with Neil Young, and so on.

It wasn’t all geezers. Katy Perry — who sang “Hey Jude” with a ”Live and Let Die” intro–donated $250,000 to MusiCares because she was so impressed with the event. She wore a gigantic white rose hat while she sang, but she was good.

The fact is, you can’t wreck a Lennon-McCartney song. On top of that, MusiCares imported actors and acrobats from Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas “Love” show to open the evening. McCartney himself played several songs like “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Junior’s Farm,” as as well as a couple of numbers from his new “Kisses on the Bottom” album of standards.

The evening took in $6 million, according to MusiCares, which helps indigent and needy musicians. It was their biggest evening ever, a spectacle befitting a Beatle.

Here’s something funny. I was ‘stuck’ at table 228–far from the front, feeling a little left out,. So who else was there? British comic Eddie Izzard. He was also hosting the show. McCartney had so liked it when Izzard hosted a memorial for Linda McCartney in London years ago, that he has asked him to come do the honors here. Izzard was brilliant. He wrote a monologue at 4am, he told us, chucking McCartney’s well known bio and giving him a good send up. It was smashing.

Some highlights: Diana Krall and James Taylor — he sang “Yesterday” while she played piano, then they switched and she did “For No One” while he played guitar. Rock legend Duane Eddy played an instrumental guitar version of “And I Love Her” that was like poetry. Tony Bennett remade “Here, There and Everywhere.” I loved Allison Krauss’s group doing “No More Lonely Nights.” Neil Young and Crazy Horse just ripped through “I Saw Her Standing There.”

More later in an update. I didn’t see Olivia Harrison. There was little to no mention of the other Beatles. I give Yoko Ono credit for sitting there, never once acknowledged. When this behemoth of a show finally came to a semi conclusion, McCartney had little to say other than thank you. He didn’t mention John Lennon. But he sang a beautifully concise new love song to his new wife, Nancy, “My Valentine.” And you realize he simply expresses himself in music. That’s his language.

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http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/feb ... =2#article

(...)
Far more rewarding was Krauss and Union Station’s achingly tender acoustic version of “NO More Lonely Nights,” a relatively obscure song from McCartney’s 1984 album, “Give My Regards to Broad Street”; Norah Jones’ sultry interpretation of “Oh Darling”; and James Taylor and Diana Krall’s exquisitely understated versions of “Yesterday” and “For No One,” both of which feature ace jazz bassist John Clayton.
(...)

[Bud]

Video of Diana and Elvis on the Red Carpet. Unfortunately, there isn't a video of her performance yet, as far as I can tell.

http://www.grammy.com/videos/diana-kral ... f-the-year

[mapache61]

Lord have mercy, Diana looks smokin' hot in that video. For the 2012 Tour, more low-cut dresses, please.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/1 ... 70518.html

Paul McCartney, MusiCares' Person Of The Year, Draws Some Of Music's Biggest Legends

Sure, everyone gets nervous before going on stage. But when you're about to perform some of the most beloved music in history and on a grand stage in front of the man who made it all famous ... well, that calls for grander measures.

Backstage in the talent tent for the MusiCares Person of the Year gala, music legends requested everything from Advil to space heaters. Elvis Costello stood outside wife Diana Krall's dressing room, chatting with Rock & Roll Hall-of-Famer Duane Eddy, while Neil Young prepared separately in his tour bus. 85-year-old Tony Bennett made a call from his dressing room asking for vodka.

It was hard to know where to look on Friday night inside the packed LA Convention Center ballroom -- but all eyes were decidedly on the man of the night, Sir Paul McCartney. As guests sat down to his personally chosen vegetarian dinner, McCartney ceremoniously chewed the fat with a crowd full of music legends and industry heavy-hitters alike, including Smokey Robinson, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Herbie Hancock, Brian Wilson, David Crosby, Jack Nicholson, Richard Branson, Norman Lear and Lou Adler.

It's unclear if tribute concerts often begin with a performance by the person being honored, but Paul McCartney is the biggest rock star that MusiCares has honored (no offense Sting, Elton, Barbara or Stevie) -- and so he opened the night, after a quick welcome from Cirque du Soleil's LOVE acrobats, with "Magical Mystery Tour."

And a magical tour it was -- with Eddie Izzard as emcee and faux-historian, claiming that McCartney's parents were Jacques Cousteau and Katherine Hepburn and that he grew up on a fishing boat playing air guitar. It was a dizzying tale of pop culture folklore and he reminded us, "For Paul McCartney, words are not needed. The music speaks for itself."

The Foo Fighters rocked hard to "Jet" (eliciting a standing ovation from McCartney), and a stunning Alicia Keys belted out "Blackbird" on the piano after saying, "This song has [a] personal effect on me. It's a beautiful honor to be here tonight."

Bluegrass babe Alison Krauss and Union Station performed an acoustic "No More Lonely Nights" on a standalone rotating stage, Tony Bennett crooned "Here, There And Everywhere," and Duane Eddy twanged out an instrumental version of "And I Love Her."

McCartney sat close to the stage -- soaking in the unique versions of each of his songs -- and smiled and laughed with tablemates Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, Stevie Van Zandt, George Harrison's widow Olivia and a white-hatted and sunglass-clad Yoko Ono.

The tenderness of Norah Jones' stunning "Oh! Darling" brought a hush over the crowd, as a part-Victorian, part-country Katy Perry (wearing a gigantic pink petal headpiece) nailed "Hey Jude" on the rotating stage, complete with a rhinestone mic and baton, which she used when the "na-na-na-na" part came in. McCartney gladly mouthed the words.

But the showstopper was decidedly Neil Young & Crazy Horse's "And I Saw Her Standing There," an electric performance that drew an easy standing ovation from the entire audience. Coldplay's phenomenal acoustic "We Can Work It Out" brought depth and sadness to the piece, but front man Chris Martin joked halfway through the song, "Why aren't we spinning?" about the satellite stage. He also managed to squeeze in, "We're so happy to be here. We love Paul."

The evening drew to an emotional and intimate close with the duo-ed James Taylor and Diana Krall; first performing "Yesterday" (Taylor) and "For No One" (Krall).

But there's no other way to end a Paul McCartney tribute concert other than with McCartney himself, again. He hopped back on stage, and four days before Valentine's Day, played "My Valentine" for his bride Nancy Shevell. "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" and the Wing's song "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" reminded us how long, and with what depth, McCartney has created music over the last five decades. In a perfect conclusion to the night, McCartney sang a lullaby. "Golden Slumbers" melted into "Carry That Weight," and finally, "The End."

Bottles were finished, coats were draped over dates' shoulders, the crew began to strike the set and musicians stepped into black cars or floated off to McCartney's backstage after party. He said little on stage over the course of the evening aside from thanking everyone. But even after the music stopped, McCartney repeated the final words of his song: "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

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Diana did a version of "For No One" on the iTunes version of "Quiet Nights": http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/quiet- ... d309393997