Grammys have no plans to broadcast tributes to Natalie Cole or Maurice White

[Jerry Oz]

Awards shows based on judgment are subjective and should be taken with a grain of salt. If there is a racial element to who is recognized, then that's actually cool as long as it's not presented otherwise. The unfair part of it is when an artist cannot collect on being "honored" due to the fact that he or she faced a stacked deck from the beginning. If i have to be twice as good in order to win, them I'd just as soon not be considered.

But as I previously stated, it cannot be fair unless all of the judges are equally as familiar with each kind of music. That's not going to ever be true. I'm not convinced that every judge heard every song just like I'm doubt that every Oscar judge watched every movie. With that being said, country, reggae, R&B, jazz, and hard rock acts aren't as likely to win as pop and mainstream rock acts are. I may be wrong, but that's just why I don't really care for awards that are not based on objective information.

[honest man]

Sorry, but that is a load of crap. Are you denying who runs the vast majority of the entertainment industry? Music, movies, TV, etc.. All mainly controlled by white males. That is something no amount of personal offense is going to get around. In other words, stop taking shit personally and face facts. I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but the facts don't stop being the facts because you are offended by them.

What a load of verbal Diarrhea you have just spewed out,i have no problem who controls what after all i was not complaining because a singer did not get much airtime,If producers paid tribute to every passed artists[ dread to think running times.]I have better things to think about, anyway must dash i've got a life see ya.

[splanky]

As offensive as soulster's original remark was to some including our moderator it does
indeed have roots in actual ,historically documented fact. Decisions about who gets what,
plays where, receives when, etc. etc...have for decades and decades been based on race
and ethnicity with white males holding the cards and everyone else getting played. That can't be denied. What some are failing to mention is that White American, World, in fact, consciousness and ideas about race have and still are evolving. That's why in the same day
and age you can see both white supremacists Tea Party backers and white supporters of
Black Lives Matter. I really, as I said, don't give a moose booty about the folks behind the
Grammys but I imagine they probably are the kind of folks who still have come much further
than say , 1955 in their thinking. The wrong white men to be running such a popular institution. In a moving towards perfection world those positions would be held be the kind
of men [[and women) who have long been staunch supporters and interpreters of various
areas of black culture and arts. I've known more than a few who know more about our
contributions than we do ourselves. Author John Szwed, for one. Producer Bob Porter.
Musician Peter Gabriel. I'm not gonna waste the day listing them but there are others
yet some black people fail to see or acknowledge them. I guess in brief I'm saying these
would be the right white men. Yet of course to really level the playing field, those at the
top as far as control would reflect the diversity of the audience. We're not there yet in
any arena of life but it's coming.....

[timmyfunk]

That's the vibe I'm seeing, Ralph.

[timmyfunk]

What a load of verbal Diarrhea you have just spewed out,i have no problem who controls what after all i was not complaining because a singer did not get much airtime,If producers paid tribute to every passed artists[ dread to think running times.]I have better things to think about, anyway must dash i've got a life see ya.

Prove it. I do have a problem with people running any American industry that don't represent the population that keeps that industry alive and thriving. So unless you have some actual evidence to the contrary, I'm going to stand by my position, thank you very much.

[timmyfunk]

That's the vibe I'm seeing, Ralph.

[soulster]

If there is a racial element to who is recognized, then that's actually cool as long as it's not presented otherwise. The unfair part of it is when an artist cannot collect on being "honored" due to the fact that he or she faced a stacked deck from the beginning.

But as I previously stated, it cannot be fair unless all of the judges are equally as familiar with each kind of music. That's not going to ever be true. I'm not convinced that every judge heard every song just like I'm doubt that every Oscar judge watched every movie. With that being said, country, reggae, R&B, jazz, and hard rock acts aren't as likely to win as pop and mainstream rock acts are.

This, and what Timmyfunk posted is exactly what i'm saying.

I'm sorry the White men on this forum are taking offense, but why, when all I did was state a fact about whom primarily runs the entertainment business. Sure, you have female and Black presidents - figureheads - in place, but things aren't changing much. Look at the Academy Awards this year. It's getting serious and heavy criticism and boycotts for good reason.

The Grammy Awards show was very diverse, but what musical legacy of music made by Black and R&B artists of the past is gradually being diminished. That is the fault of the media as a whole. Sure, we're getting our little CD reissues and downloads, and whatnot, but it still pales in contrast to some of the most obscure rock reissues are out there, and i've been saying this for years.

[soulster]

As offensive as soulster's original remark was to some including our moderator it does
indeed have roots in actual ,historically documented fact. Decisions about who gets what,
plays where, receives when, etc. etc...have for decades and decades been based on race
and ethnicity with white males holding the cards and everyone else getting played. That can't be denied. What some are failing to mention is that White American, World, in fact, consciousness and ideas about race have and still are evolving. That's why in the same day
and age you can see both white supremacists Tea Party backers and white supporters of
Black Lives Matter. I really, as I said, don't give a moose booty about the folks behind the
Grammys but I imagine they probably are the kind of folks who still have come much further
than say , 1955 in their thinking. The wrong white men to be running such a popular institution. In a moving towards perfection world those positions would be held be the kind
of men [[and women) who have long been staunch supporters and interpreters of various
areas of black culture and arts. I've known more than a few who know more about our
contributions than we do ourselves. Author John Szwed, for one. Producer Bob Porter.
Musician Peter Gabriel. I'm not gonna waste the day listing them but there are others
yet some black people fail to see or acknowledge them. I guess in brief I'm saying these
would be the right white men. Yet of course to really level the playing field, those at the
top as far as control would reflect the diversity of the audience. We're not there yet in
any arena of life but it's coming.....

Thank you! With my use of the phrase "white guy", I did not mean to even suggest that all white men are bigots. Nothing of the sort! Shall I be offended when someone says that the NBA players are over-represented by Black guys?

Again, I am talking about how, for the most part, people act on what they know, what they are familiar with, what they are used to, and what they are comfortable with. I believe that is why we still see people upset over the slighting of Natalie Cole, or Taylor Swift beating out Kendrick Lamar [[and yes I have both albums).

And, I resent some people are trying to make me out to be something I am not.

[soulster]

In case this hasn't already been posted:
http://www.billboard.com/biz/article...riam-situation

Here's what caught my attention the most:

Counters Ehrlich, "For the record, there was an email exchange. I told Timolin what we were doing, and she seemed very happy with it." Rumors circulated that the production team tried and failed to get a female superstar to salute Cole before landing on the video. Even if that had happened, having someone cover Cole's Grammy smash "Unforgettable" would have been weirdly meta, as a salute to her salute to her late father, Nat "King" Cole. "At one point I was playing around with 'Miss You Like Crazy,' because I love that song," Ehrlich says. "But when I looked again at the Grammy show where she won for 'Unforgettable,' and I saw the last 45 seconds of that number, where her father [[Nat 'King' Cole, on the big screen) throws her a kiss, she throws him a kiss, and then she turns to the audience and throws everybody a kiss -- that just was so touching and emotional to me," and he decided that would beat any artist they could get to re-create it. "It's not like we were trying to get in there and be done with it," adds Wild. "Ken often had Natalie back on the show, went to her service, and always spoke lovingly of her. When he showed that clip to me, he was in tears because it meant so much to him."

This demonstrates my view that whatever the person in charge says, goes. Understood that it was emotional for him, and thought it was enough, but the fans, and, allegedly, the family saw it differently.

Thing is, they were able to pull up a Lemmy tribute on a larger scale, but not for Cole.

[timmyfunk]

In case this hasn't already been posted:
http://www.billboard.com/biz/article...riam-situation

Here's what caught my attention the most:


This demonstrates my view that whatever the person in charge says, goes. Understood that it was emotional for him, and thought it was enough, but the fans, and, allegedly, the family saw it differently.

Thing is, they were able to pull up a Lemmy tribute on a larger scale, but not for Cole.

Exactly. It is all about perception. Something they should have been conscious of after the Grammy debacle hit the fan. You're gonna tell me that you couldn't have Stevie perform with EWF to do a Maurice White tribute. How long would it have taken for them to run through That's The Way Of The World? Excuses.....

[soulster]

Exactly. It is all about perception. Something they should have been conscious of after the Grammy debacle hit the fan. You're gonna tell me that you couldn't have Stevie perform with EWF to do a Maurice White tribute. How long would it have taken for them to run through That's The Way Of The World? Excuses.....

Word! Look at how fast the Eagles regrouped with Jackson Browne for his tribute! Less than a week! People on this thread are insinuating that i'm accusing "white guys" of being racists. I wish they would stop, take a deep breath, and read all I have written on this thread, and realize that my intentions, nor my motivations are anywhere close to what their knee-jerk reaction was.

[timmyfunk]

Word! Look at how fast the Eagles regrouped with Jackson Browne for his tribute! Less than a week! People on this thread are insinuating that i'm accusing "white guys" of being racists. I wish they would stop, take a deep breath, and read all I have written on this thread, and realize that my intentions, nor my motivations are anywhere close to what their knee-jerk reaction was.

Agreed, Soulster. The facts are there as plain as day.

[Jerry Oz]

I'm curious about how they couldn't find a "female superstar" to do the tribute. Who would that be, exactly? Katy Perry? Nope. Gwen Stefani? Nope. Britney Spears? Haaaaahaa!! [[sorry...) Jennifer Lopez? [[Nope. LOL.)

There aren't a lot of female superstars out there who could cover one of her songs. Celine Dion probably needs time after her loss, Beyonce is likely overextended at this point, Nicki Minaj is completely in the wrong genre, Christina Aguilera might work but was she influenced at all by Natalie Cole? Jennifer Hudson, Debra Cox, and Jill Scott could have done it, but are they 'superstars'?

I just wonder how much they put into the idea. They could have found someone to do it but it sounds like they wanted to either make a splash or not do one at all. That's too bad because she wasn't a splashy personality and there were probably several artists who would have done it, either out of respect for her or for the chance to be seen.

[marv2]

I'm curious about how they couldn't find a "female superstar" to do the tribute. Who would that be, exactly? Katy Perry? Nope. Gwen Stefani? Nope. Britney Spears? Haaaaahaa!! [[sorry...) Jennifer Lopez? [[Nope. LOL.)

There aren't a lot of female superstars out there who could cover one of her songs. Celine Dion probably needs time after her loss, Beyonce is likely overextended at this point, Nicki Minaj is completely in the wrong genre, Christina Aguilera might work but was she influenced at all by Natalie Cole? Jennifer Hudson, Debra Cox, and Jill Scott could have done it, but are they 'superstars'?

I just wonder how much they put into the idea. They could have found someone to do it but it sounds like they wanted to either make a splash or not do one at all. That's too bad because she wasn't a splashy personality and there were probably several artists who would have done it, either out of respect for her or for the chance to be seen.

Gladys Knight would have been perfect for it. She had stood in for Natalie at a concert New Year's Eve.

[soulster]

Gladys Knight would have been perfect for it. She had stood in for Natalie at a concert New Year's Eve.

Again, it is possible they never thought about Gladys Knight

[marv2]

Again, it is possible they never thought about Gladys Knight

Another of their Grammy winners they forgot? Heck Gladys and them should be in the Grammy Hall of Fame if they are not already.

[Jerry Oz]

Again, it is possible they never thought about Gladys Knight

They were looking for superstars, which in my mind translates to "young", "topical", or "has had a hit in the last couple of years". They wanted to create buzz and lacking that, they weren't going to do it. That's why they chose Pentatonix [[who in a big fan of) to join Stevie instead of EWF.

[soulster]

They were looking for superstars, which in my mind translates to "young", "topical", or "has had a hit in the last couple of years". They wanted to create buzz and lacking that, they weren't going to do it. That's why they chose Pentatonix [[who in a big fan of) to join Stevie instead of EWF.

However, they got Alice Cooper to do Lemmy's tribute. When's the last time Cooper had a pop hit?

[jack020]

How about Diana Krall for a Nathalie Cole tribute? They had worked together.