Every year the Grammy Awards honor the memory of musicians we lose during the year, and the 2023 Grammy Awards had some especially moving moments during this year’s “In Memoriam” segment.
Kacey Musgraves opened the tribute, expertly singing Loretta Lynn’s classic ballad “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Lynn, a country icon and three-time Grammy winner, died this past October, a few months after her 90th birthday. Musgraves’ touching cover received a lot of love on social media and Lynn’s official account even acknowledged the performance.
Rapper Quavo performed an emotional tribute in honor of his nephew Takeoff, who was part of the trio Migos alongside Quavo. Photos of the two flashed behind Quavo as he completed his first major performance since his nephew’s fatal shooting. Quavo performed his song “Without You,” which he released last month in memory of his nephew while holding up Takeoff’s chain. He was joined by Maverick City Music who sang a touching choral version of Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again.”
Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Mick Fleetwood paid tribute to Christine McVie by performing her song “Songbird.” The singer-songwriter, known for helping catapult Fleetwood Mac to stardom, passed away at the age of 79 after a short illness.”Songbird” is from Fleetwood Mac’s celebrated album Rumors and was originally written by McVie.
Other artists were celebrated as well in a slideshow but some noticed one seemed to be missing. Taylor Hawkins, best known as the Foo Fighters’ drummer, was noticeably absent, prompting fans to think he had been snubbed. However, Hawkins, who passed away March 2022, was featured in the 2022 Grammy memorial segment.