From Stevie to Shady: The Greatest Grammy Performances

Was there ever a Grammy broadcast where Stevie Wonder didn’t unite everyone attending? For the 17th annual Grammy Awards at the Uris Theatre in New York City, Wonder slid out onstage to sing “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” for a performance that had host Andy Williams vibing during his introduction. Wonder (who went onto win four Grammys that night for his 1973 release Innervisions) was pointedly clear about the political and social commentary in the lyrics couched in an infectious funky beat: “The best way to get an important and heavy message across is to wrap it up nicely. It’s better to try and level out the weight of the lyrics by making the melody lighter.” -- Amy Hughes

This superstar pairing at the conclusion of the February 27, 1980 broadcast of the 22nd Grammy Awards was a showstopper... that almost didn’t happen the way it was originally planned. The backstory of the song: Diamond and Streisand had each recorded their own version of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” in 1978. However, when intrepid DJs spliced them together, it brought about their in-studio pairing. When the duo came together with a staging by Streisand (who had disliked the original idea of a vase of flowers with the two seated next to one another) – the audience at the Shrine Auditorium went berserk. -- A.H.

One of the most genuinely revelatory Grammy moments of the ceremony’s first several decades, this magnificently staged performance introduced scratching and breakdancing to the ceremony for the first time. Neither discipline was new, exactly, but considering the Grammys wouldn’t introduce its first hip-hop category for another five years, it’s hard to overstate the importance of this early showcase. The fact that this particular blast of future-shock came courtesy of Hancock, a man with an impeccable jazz pedigree, surely helped convince some skeptics (it didn’t hurt that his sidemen for the performance included Stevie Wonder and Thomas Dolby), but for everyone else, the coolness of Hancock strapping on a keytar amid some eye-popping breakdancers was self-explanatory. -- Andrew Barker

The Grammys of the 1990s didn’t get much more ‘90s Grammys than this, with Houston giving a predictably note-perfect rendition of her then-inescapable Dolly Parton cover at the beginning of the night’s ceremony. But goddamn, even the most cold-hearted bastard has to acknowledge sheer schmaltzy perfection when they hear it, and Houston’s gale-force voice and sense for razzle-dazzle drama were never more perfectly calibrated. The rest of the show was sort of a let down from there, at least until Houston returned to the stage to accept a statuette for Record of the Year, to the surprise of absolutely no one. -- A.B.

If you put this story in a film, people would chastise it for being too far-fetched, but it’s true. It starts 10 minutes into a live Grammy Awards broadcast, when producer Ken Erlich got a phone call from Luciano Pavarotti: “Mr. Ehrlich... I am sick and I cannot sing for you tonight. I promise you I will come and sing for you next year, but I cannot do it tonight.” Hanging up the phone, Erlich asked himself, “'That's great, but what the f*** do I do now?” Cut to Erlich going to Aretha Franklin’s dressing room and saying, “I know that you did ‘Nessun Dorma’ a couple of nights ago. I’d like you to sing it tonight.” She agreed, and when she walked to the side of the stage and saw the setup, she grabbed Erlich’s hand and said, “Ooh, this is gonna be fun.” Sure, “fun” is one word for it. -- A.H.

When Eminem released “Stan” in 2000, the track’s massive popularity was met with some pushback from LGBTQ+ activists who found the lyrics to be homophobic. On the night of the Grammys, there were even picketers protesting the rapper outside of what was then known as the Staples Arena. That’s why many viewers were shocked when gay icon Elton John joined Eminem on stage for the performance. John’s lush piano accompaniment suited the glum track perfectly. His signature vocals were also a great addition to the track which originally sampled Dido’s “Thank You.” None of this quelled the outrage about the lyrics on “Stan,” but it was a memorable performance nonetheless. -- Noah Zucker

At the time of his death in 2002, the great Clash frontman Joe Strummer, auteur of several of the most seminal albums of the late 20th century, had received exactly zero Grammy nominations. He would finally receive a Grammy two years after his death for a Bob Marley cover, which is just about par for course for the Grammys, and it’s hard to imagine that Strummer regarded the institution more fondly than it regarded him. Nonetheless, when it came time to pay tribute to the fallen legend, the Grammys at least had the presence of mind to call up a few people who did properly appreciate the man’s legacy, and they delivered a fiery, gimmick-free rendition of “London Calling” with a rawness that this particular ceremony rarely makes room for. -- A.B.

Never miss a story — sign up for the Q newsletter for the latest music news on all your favorite artists, all in one place.

The Foo Fighters rocked the 50th anniversary of the Grammys with a particularly memorable performance of their radio staple “The Pretender.” They were joined on stage by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones. The legendary bassist conducted a full orchestra through a string- and horns-heavy accompaniment he had composed for the track. Although Dave Grohl was front and center, as expected, the late Taylor Hawkins’ intense drumming and passionate backup vocals quietly stole the performance that night. “The Pretender” received three Grammy nominations in 2008, but only ended up winning the Best Hard Rock Performance title. -- N.Z.

Kendrick Lamar’s first Grammy performance was an odd one: paired with Imagine Dragons for one of longtime producer Ken Erlich’s signature orange juice-and-toothpaste stylistic mashups, he performed well enough, though the whiplash staging left little room for the magic of his 2014 debut album. For his second appearance, however, the vision behind Lamar’s performance felt fully his own. Matching out in a prison lineup and finally exploding into full fire-and-brimstone, the performance of “The Blacker the Berry” and then-emerging anthem “Alright” presented a fully theatrical spectacle that brought all of the passion and confrontation of his To Pimp a Butterfly album. -- A.B.

The most lauded artist at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards was supposed to be nine-times nominated Beyonce. But on February 12, 2017, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, a different sort of performance grabbed the spotlight instead. Adele, who would emerge victorious with five Grammys suffered a bad case of anxiety in her musical tribute to the late George Michael. After a ceremony-opening performance of “Hello,” Adele came back to sing her rendition of “Fastlove,” which she had chosen and Michael’s family deemed could only be done by her. But at just over the one-minute mark, she stopped, cursed, apologized and asked for everyone to start over, saying, “I’m sorry, I can’t mess this up for him.” She finished to a standing ovation and audience tears. -- A.H.