Elton John to Join Grammy Awards Tribute to Levon Helm
Elton John will join a stagefull of musicians to honor the late Levon Helm during the in memoriam moment at the 2013 Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 10). The all-star lineup will perform the Band song 'The Weight' as the Academy honors musicians who died in the last 12 months.
Joining Elton John will be legendary producer T Bone Burnett, bluegrass/rock superstars Mumford & Sons, country singer Zac Brown and country-rocker Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes. Ken Ehrlich, producer of the 55th annual Grammy Awards said the diverse lineup was intentional.
"Generationally it's very mixed, and genre-wise it's certainly mixed," he tells the Associated Press. "That's what (Helm) was all about. He was about old and young, country and pop. He was this incredibly eclectic artist."
Helm died from complications of cancer last April at the age of 71. He was known as the drummer and vocalist for the Band, as well as a succesful solo artist who set up a home studio known as 'The Barn,' which proved to be a gathering place for a variety of musicians. Late in life he won three Grammy Awards, most recently a Best Americana Album Grammy for 'Ramble at the Ryman' from 2011.