Ray Manzarek, a founding member of The Doors whose versatile and often haunting keyboards complemented Jim Morrison’s gloomy baritone and helped set the mood for some of rock’s most enduring songs, has died. He was 74.Elton John and Mumford & Sons will hit the Grammys stage to pay tribute to Levon Helm.
The Recording Academy announced Wednesday that T Bone Burnett, Mavis Staples, Zac Brown and Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes will also perform “The Weight.”
“Can you think of a song that fits (more)?” said Ken Ehrlich, producer of the Grammy Awards. “Philosophically it fits the moment.”
Helm was the drummer and singer for The Band. He died of complications from cancer last year at age 71.
The Band’s 1968 debut, “Music From Big Pink,” and its follow-up, “The Band,” remain landmark albums of the era, and songs such as “The Weight” and “Cripple Creek” have become rock standards.
– Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press
