Grammys to mourn loss but promote the present

When the nominations for this year's Grammy Awards were announced December 7, the music community could hardly have anticipated the high-profile losses it would endure before the Feb. 15 ceremony.

Since Christmas, a string of major artists spanning pop, rock and R&B — among them Lemmy, Natalie Cole, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Paul Kantner and Maurice White — have died, all still in their 60s or early 70s, with many of their peers and collaborators active.

That left the Recording Academy with "challenges on a personal and human level, because we knew and loved a lot of these folks," says its president, Neil Portnow. "And also a practical challenge: Because we lost a number of iconic artists back to back in a short period of time, it's tough from a production standpoint" to fully acknowledge everyone. "We have three and a half hours to do everything, and the premise of what we do, at its core, is to acknowledge excellence in music in the past year."

Lady Gaga is scheduled to perform a tribute to Bowie — who actually released a new album, Blackstar, on Jan. 8, just two days before his death — at the show, which will be broadcast live from Los Angeles on CBS. Members of Frey's band, The Eagles, including current Grammy nominee Don Henley, and Jackson Browne will pay homage to him; and country star Chris Stapleton, who's up for four Grammys this year, will team with Bonnie Raitt and Gary Clark, Jr. to celebrate B.B. King, who died May 14 at 89.

There could be other surprises, but the emphasis will be on the present. As usual, Portnow will address the audience; in the past, he's used the forum to bring up issues from music education to the fallout of Hurricane Katrina. This year, he'll touch on the subject of music consumption in the digital age.

"I'm going to be talking about the importance of supporting music creators," Portnow says. "I'd like to engage the fans and create a conversation about the value of music, to give a better understanding of some of the issues our community faces — and if you're a fan of music, how that can translate, what you can do to demonstrate how you feel about music."

On the subject of diversity, one that has been prominent in recent award seasons, Portnow says that his Acdaemy "would not write a proclamation as an institution. We highlight social issues through our nominees and other musicians who make statements about the current times."

This year, performers will include, in addition to the previously mentioned names, opener Taylor Swift, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, John Legend, Pitbull, Rihanna, Lionel Richie, Rihanna, Robin Thicke, Carrie Underwood and The Weeknd. Portnow expects the number of musical numbers and featured artists in total to be "equal to, if not more than, any show we've done before."