Grammy weekend kicked off Friday night in Los Angeles with the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony, which honored Bob Dylan. The Recording Academy and the MusiCares foundation enlisted Bruce Springsteen, Alanis Morissette, Willie Nelson and more to perform at the gala.
Other performers included Beck; Jack White; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Tom Jones; Norah Jones; John Doe; Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks; Neil Young; Jackson Browne; Bonnie Raitt; and Aaron Neville.
Dylan didn’t perform, but he did give a speech, which surprisingly lasted a half-hour. As USA Today notes, he thanked a long list of artists who recorded his early songs and the publishers and record executives who backed him.
He shared stories about Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, Johnny Cash and Joan Baez. He mentioned how Peter, Paul and Mary turned “Blowin’ In The Wind” into a huge hit. And he thanked The Byrds, The Turtles and Sonny and cher for turning his songs into pop hits that could be used in commercials.
“They made some of my songs top-10 hits. But I wasn’t a pop songwriter. I never even wanted to be that. But it was good that it happened,” he said. “Their versions of songs were like commercials. I didn’t really mind that. Because 50 years later my songs would be used for commercials. So that was good, too. I was glad it happened.”
Proceeds from the gala go to MusiCares, a foundation set up to help people in the music world in financial, medical or personal need.
The Grammys are on Sunday, live on CBS from the Staples Center. Dylan released a new album, Shadows in the Night, on Tuesday.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com
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