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Paul McCartney, legendary singer/songwriter and 14-time GRAMMY winner (as well as Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement and Trustees Award recipient), will be honored as the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year at its 22nd annual benefit gala, it was announced today by Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the MusiCares Foundation and The Recording Academy, and Scott Pascucci, Chair of the MusiCares Foundation Board. Proceeds from the dinner and concert — to be held in Los Angeles during GRAMMY Week on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, two days prior to the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards — will provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need. For ticket information, contact MusiCares at 310.392.3777.

The legendary performer is being honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year in recognition of his singular creative accomplishments as well as his charitable work, which has included an extraordinary range of philanthropic activities over the years.

"Paul McCartney exemplifies the phrase 'artist/philanthropist,' and his extraordinary career is certainly a testament to the multifaceted power of his creative genius," said Portnow. "The unique talent, dedication and spontaneity he brings to his projects and live performances are unsurpassed, but are equaled by the impressive generosity and commitment he consistently devotes to a range of important charitable causes."

"Paul immediately brings to mind artistic excellence and passion for causes that are dear to him," said Pascucci. "It is very inspiring that one of music's true icons makes philanthropy such a force in his life."

"I've been given a great gift — a life making music — and it's my privilege to try to make the world a better place by giving back," said McCartney. "For more than 20 years, MusiCares has helped so many music people in times of crisis — whether with emergency financial assistance or access to addiction recovery resources — and it is an honor to be recognized as the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year."

The 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year gala will begin with a reception and silent auction offering an exclusive and unparalleled selection of luxury items, VIP experiences and one-of-a-kind celebrity memorabilia for bidding guests. The reception and silent auction will be followed by a dinner, the award presentation and a star-studded tribute concert. The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute ceremony is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week. The celebration culminates with the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. The telecast will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Paul McCartney has been directing the tide of musical history since writing his first song at the age of 14. He changed the world of music forever with the Beatles, whose legendary albums include Abbey Road, Revolver, Help!, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and The Beatles ("The White Album"). McCartney has continued to push boundaries over the last 30 years, first as a solo artist, then with Wings (with albums such as Band On The Run and Wings At The Speed Of Sound) and following that as a solo artist again, with recent highlights including 2007's Memory Almost Full. In 2008 he received high critical acclaim as part of the Fireman, a collaborative project with revered producer Youth, and their Electric Arguments album, which topped Billboard's Independent Albums chart. McCartney is also an accomplished award-winning classical composer. His classical album, Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart), was released in September 2006 and won the Album of the Year Award at the 2007 Classic BRIT Awards, while his first ever ballet, Ocean's Kingdom, will be performed for the first time by the New York City Ballet on Sept. 22, with the release of its score following in October.

McCartney's many distinctions include a special award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at the 2008 BRIT Awards, an MTV Icon Award, multiple GRAMMY Awards, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, GQ's Man of the Year, and an honorary doctorate of music from Yale University, among others. As he received his diploma, Yale President Richard C. Levin told him, "Your songs awakened a generation, giving a fresh sound to rock and roll, and rhythm and blues. We admire your musical genius and your generous support of worthy causes." He is a freeman of the City of Liverpool and lead patron of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. McCartney was appointed fellow of the Royal College of Music in 1995 by the Prince Of Wales, and in 1996 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music. McCartney is also committed to a number of animal rights and humanitarian charities. He has also participated in several significant benefit concerts, including Live Aid in 1985, the Concert for New York City in 2001 and Live 8 in 2005.

Equally renowned as a live performer as he is a songwriter, McCartney has spent much of the last decade performing sold-out concerts to millions of people all over the world, winning rave reviews along the way. Standout moments in 2003 included his performance to more than 500,000 people outside the Colosseum in Rome and his first show in Red Square, Moscow. In 2004 he gave the Glastonbury Festival its most legendary moment to date, and 2005 saw him making history again as he performed live to the International Space Station to wake up NASA astronauts. McCartney performed a string of secret and surprise gigs in intimate venues in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris throughout 2007.

In 2008 McCartney performed a series of special event concerts. He started by headlining the Liverpool Sound concert at Anfield Stadium, and then gave the Ukraine its largest-ever outdoor music event in Kiev with more than 400,000 people lining the street to watch his Independence Concert. He found time to join Billy Joel onstage for the Last Play at Shea show in July, marking the last concert at New York's famous Shea Stadium, and then travelled to the city of Quebec for yet another huge headline-making event as he performed to 300,000 people in the city's national park, the Plains of Abraham, to help celebrate Quebec's 400th anniversary. In September McCartney played his Friendship First concert in Tel Aviv, marking his first visit to Israel since the Beatles were banned from performing there at the height of Beatlemania in the '60s.

McCartney kicked off 2009 by teaming with Dave Grohl to perform "I Saw Her Standing There" at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards, where he was nominated for two awards, adding to his lifetime total of 71 GRAMMY nominations. McCartney embarked on a five-week tour of the United States, which began with an inaugural run of shows at New York's Citi Field — the site of the former Shea Stadium where the Beatles made history in 1965 when they played a concert that set the precedent for the modern-day stadium rock show. These shows were immortalized on a special CD/DVD package, Good Evening New York City. In October McCartney announced a special eight-date European tour in December, titled Good Evening Europe. The tour began in Hamburg, Germany, a place that McCartney originally visited with the Beatles almost 50 years before, putting it on the map as a musical mecca. The tour came to a memorable finale at the O2 arena in London, his only UK show of 2009.

McCartney's Up And Coming Tour kicked off in March 2010 in Phoenix, featuring 35 shows — including two sold-out dates at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Last year also saw many career firsts for McCartney, including performing at the White House in front of the President as the first-ever British recipient of the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Paul was joined by a star-studded cast of musicians who came along to pay tribute, including Elvis Costello, Grohl and Stevie Wonder. President Obama addressed the assembled VIP guests and dignitaries in the East Room, telling them that Paul's "gifts have touched billions of lives" and thanking "the Englishman who shared his dreams with us." He returned to the White House again in December to be awarded at the 33rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors, with the president joking that McCartney was becoming something of a regular there.

McCartney's 2011 live agenda began with his first-ever show in Peru, and two blockbuster shows at Rio de Janeiro's Estádio Olimpico João Havelange, which also resulted in the first-ever concert to be broadcast live on the Internet throughout Latin America — allowing more than 1.5 million online fans tickets to share in the show's magic. McCartney's current On The Run tour kicked off with New York's music event of the summer: two historic sold-out July shows at Yankee Stadium that kept approximately 90,000 fans singing along for nearly three hours each night and generated possibly the most enthusiastic reviews ever penned by the local media.
 

While in a studio, Andrew Watt bounces off the walls. Just ask Mick Jagger, who once had to gently tell the 33-year-old, "Look, I can deal with this, but when you meet Ronnie and Keith, you have to dial it down a little bit."

Or ask Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard. "He really got the best out of [drummer] Matt [Cameron] just by being excited — literally jumping up and down and pumping his fist and running around," he tells GRAMMY.com.

As Watt's hot streak has burned on, reams have rightly been written about his ability to take a legacy act, reconnect them with their essence, and put a battery in their back. His efficacy can be seen at Music's Biggest Night: Ozzy Osbourne's Patient Number 9 won Best Rock Album at the 2023 GRAMMYs. At the last ceremony, the Rolling Stones were nominated for Best Rock Song, for Hackney Diamonds' opener "Angry."

On Pearl Jam's return to form, Dark Matter, due out April 19. Who was behind the desk? Take a wild guess.

"You want to see them live more than you want to listen to their albums, and they have the ability to look at each other and play and follow each other. I don't like my rock music any other way, as a listener," Watt tells GRAMMY.com. "All my favorite records are made like that — of people speeding up, slowing down, playing longer than they should."

As such, Watt had a lightbulb moment: to not record any demos, and have them write together in the room. "They're all playing different stuff, and it makes up what Pearl Jam is, and singer Eddie [Vedder] rides it like a wave."

If you're more of a pop listener, there's tons of Watt for you — he's worked with Justin Bieber ("Hit the Ground" from Purpose), Lana Del Rey ("Doin' Time" from Norman F—ing Rockwell) and much more. Read on for a breakdown of big name rockers who have worked with Andrew Watt.

Pearl Jam / Eddie Vedder

Watt didn't just produce Dark Matter; he also helmed Vedder's well-received third solo album, Earthling, from 2022. Watt plays guitar in Vedder's live backing band, known as the Earthlings — which also includes Josh Klinghoffer, who replaced John Frusciante in the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a stint.

The Rolling Stones

Dark Matter was a comeback for Pearl Jam, but Hackney Diamonds was really a comeback for the Stones. While it had a hater or two, the overwhelming consensus was that it was the Stones' best album in decades — maybe even since 1978's Some Girls.

"I hope what makes it fresh and modern comes down to the way it's mixed, with focus on low end and making sure the drums are big," Watt, who wore a different Stones shirt every day in the studio, has said about Hackney Diamonds. "But the record is recorded like a Stones album."

Where there are modern rock flourishes on Hackney Diamonds, "There's no click tracks. There's no gridding. There's no computer editing," he continued. "This s— is performed live and it speeds up and slows down. It's made to the f—ing heartbeat connection of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Steve Jordan.

"And Charlie," Watt added, tipping a hat to Watts, who played on Hackney Diamonds but died before it came out. "When Charlie's on it."

Iggy Pop

Ever since he first picked up a mic and removed his shirt, the snapping junkyard dog of the Stooges has stayed relevant — as far as indie, alternative and punk music has been concerned.

But aside from bright spots like 2016's Josh Homme-produced Post Pop Depression, his late-career output has felt occasionally indulgent and enervated. The 11 songs on 2023's eclectic Watt-produced Every Loser, on the other hand, slap you in the face in 11 different ways.

"We would jam and make tracks and send them to Iggy, and he would like 'em and write to them or wouldn't like them and we'd do something else," Watt told Billboard. "It was very low pressure. We just kept making music until we felt like we had an album." (And as with Pearl Jam and Vedder's Earthlings band, Watt has rocked out onstage with Pop.

Ozzy Osbourne

You dropped your crown, O Prince of Darkness. When he hooked up with Watt, the original Black Sabbath frontman hadn't released any solo music since 2010's Scream; in 2017, Sabbath finally said goodbye after 49 years and 10 (!) singers.

On 2020's Ordinary Man and 2022's Patient Number 9, Watt reenergized Ozzy; even when he sounds his age, Ozz sounds resolute, defiant, spitting in the face of the Reaper. (A bittersweet aside: the late Taylor Hawkins appears on Patient Number 9, which was written and recorded in just four days.)

Maroon 5

Yeah, yeah, they're more of a pop-rock band, but they have guitars, bass and drums. (And if you're the type of rock fan who's neutral or hostile to the 5, you shouldn't be; Songs About Jane slaps.)

At any rate, Watt co-produced "Can't Leave You Alone," featuring Juice WRLD, from 2021's Jordi. Critics disparaged the album, but showed Watt's facility straddling the pop and rock worlds.

5 Seconds of Summer

When it comes to Andrew Watt, the Sydney pop-rockers — slightly more on the rock end than Maroon 5 and their ilk — are repeat customers. He produced a number of tracks for 5 Seconds of Summer, which spanned 2018's Youngblood, 2020's Calm and 2022's 5SOS5.

Regarding the former: Watt has cited Youngblood as one of the defining recording experiences of his life.

"I had started working with 5 Seconds of Summer, and a lot of people looked at them as a boy band, but they're not," Watt told Guitar Player. "They're all incredible musicians. They can all play every instrument. They love rock music. They can harmonize like skyrockets in flight. They just were making the wrong kind of music."

So Watt showed 5 Seconds of Summer a number of mainstays of the rock era, like Tears for Fears and the Police. The rest, as they say, is history.

Elton John

A year after Britney Spears was unshackled from her highly controversial conservatorship, it was time for a victory lap with the God of Glitter. What resulted was a curious little bauble, which became a megahit: "Hold Me Closer," a spin on "Tiny Dancer," "The One" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" that briefly launched Spears back into the stratosphere.

"Britney came in and she knew what she wanted to do," Watt recalled to The L.A. Times. "We sped up the song a little bit and she sang the verses in her falsetto, which harkens back to 'Toxic.' She was having a blast."

Blink-182

Watt has also worked with pop/punk heroes Blink-182 — but not after Tom DeLonge made his grand return. He produced "I Really Wish I Hated You" from 2019's Nine, back when Matt Skiba was in the band.

Where in the rock world will this tender-aged superproducer strike next? Watt knows.

Songbook: The Rolling Stones' Seven-Decade Journey To Hackney Diamonds

Artists on the rise got their metaphorical flowers on Feb. 1, when GRAMMY House played host to the Beats & Blooms Emerging Artist Showcase. The performance-heavy event was produced in conjunction with PEOPLE and Sephora and hosted by comedian Matt Friend.

Some took the floral theme quite literally — like Texas rapper and singer Teezo Touchdown, who took to the stage clasping a giant flower bouquet, his microphone tucked somewhere inside. With his crisp white leather jacket and white gloves, Teezo looked fresh as he performed tracks from his recently released debut album, How Do You Sleep at Night? It wasn't hard to see how late legends like Prince and Rick James have influenced his artistry, and the audience appreciated his fly sartorial style.

Another dynamic performance came from Cocoa Sarai, a Jamaican-American singer/songwriter who has worked with artists such as Dr. Dre and Anderson .Paak (the latter of whom helped Sarai earn a GRAMMY in 2020 for her work on his Best R&B Album-winning project, Ventura). The Brooklyn-born artist — who is part of the new Music Artist Accelerator initiative presented by MasterCard, GRAMMY House’s primary sponsor — delivered an impactful set that included her bird-flipping anthem "Bigger Person" and was assisted by a great beatboxer named Fahz.

As many attendees got glammed up at Sephora's makeup station, the event co-sponsor also presented one of the night's performers. Sephora Sounds highlighted twin sisters Inah and Yahzi of the viral group Ain't Afraid, whose energetic performance hit home. During their charismatic set, which featured the sisters both singing and rapping, the pair told the crowd that their lighthearted stage presence is a way to turn some of their trauma into positive art.

Inah and Yahzi weren't the only sibling duo to take the stage at Beats & Blooms. Brandon and Savannah Hudson — aka BETWEEN FRIENDS — first got national attention as quarter-finalists on "America's Got Talent" in 2013, and have since racked up millions of monthly plays on Spotify for what they like to call "laptop dream pop". BETWEEN FRIENDS performed songs from their 2023 album, I Love My Girl, She's My Boy.

Tiana Major9 closed out the event with an exciting performance that featured a song debut and a sing-along. After premiering a new track called "Braids," the Motown artist got everyone to join together for an exquisite cover of Faith Evans' smoldering "Soon As I Get Home". 

GRAMMY House's three days of events are a place for a diverse array of music industry professionals, musicians and social creators to immerse in the pulse of culture, take the torch and carry it forward — and Beats & Blooms was a powerful example of just that.

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For many in America, Meet the Beatles! marked their first introduction to the legendary Fab Four — and their lives would be forever altered.

Released on Jan. 20, 1964 by Capitol Records, the Beatles' second American studio album topped the Billboard 200 within a month and stayed there for 11 weeks — only to be ousted by their next U.S. album release, The Beatles' Second Album.

It's almost impossible to put into words the impact of Meet the Beatles! on an entire generation of the listening public. But Billy Corgan, of the Smashing Pumpkins, gave it a shot as an early fan of the Beatles in a series of LiveJournal remembrances — in this case, of himself at five years old, in 1972.

"I am totally overwhelmed by the collective sound of the greatest band ever blasting in mono thru a tin needle into a tiny speaker," he wrote. "I associate this sound forever with electricity, for it sends bolts thru my body and leaves me breathless. I can not stand still as I listen, so I must spin… I spin until I am ready to pass out, and then I spin some more."

So many other artists remember that eureka moment. "They were doing things nobody was doing. Their chords were outrageous, just outrageous, and their harmonies made it all valid," Bob Dylan said of the opening track, "I Want to Hold Your Hand." "I knew they were pointing the direction of where music had to go." Everyone from Ozzy Osbourne to Sting and Questlove agreed.

From Meet the Beatles!, the Fabs would have the most astonishing five-or-six-year run in music. And so much of their songwriting and production innovation can be found within its grooves; truly, the world had no idea what it was in for. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of Meet the Beatles!, here's a quick track-by-track breakdown.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"

The Fabs' first American No. 1 hit may have been about the chastest of romantic gestures. Still, there's nothing heavier than "I Want to Hold Your Hand," because it's clamor and fraternity. That seemingly saccharine package also contained everything they'd ever do in concentrate — hints of the foreboding of "Ticket to Ride," the galactic final chord of "A Day in the Life," and beyond.

"I Saw Her Standing There"

A few too many awards show tributes have threatened to do in "I Saw Her Standing There," but they've failed. As the opening shot of their first UK album, Please Please Me, it's perfect, but as the second track on Meet the Beatles!, it just adds to the magnitude. What a one-two punch.

"This Boy"

Songwriting-wise, "This Boy" drags a little; it becomes a little hazy who "this boy" or "that boy"  are. But it's not only a killer Smokey Robinson rip; John Lennon's double-tracked vocal solo still punches straight through your chest. (Where applicable, go for the 2020s Giles Martin remix, which carries maximum clarity, definition and punch — said solo is incredible in this context.)

"It Won't Be Long"

Half a dozen other songs here have overshadowed "It Won't Be Long," but it's still one of the early Beatles' most ruthless kamikaze missions, an assault of flying "yeahs" that knocks you sideways.

"All I've Got to Do"

Lennon shrugged off "All I've Got to Do" as "trying to do Smokey Robinson again," and that's more or less what it is. One interesting detail is the conceit of calling a girlfriend on the phone, which was firmly alien to British youth: "I have never called a girl on the 'phone in my life!"he said later in an interview. "Because 'phones weren't part of the English child's life."

"All My Loving"

"All My Loving" was the first song the Beatles played on the American airwaves: when Lennon was pronounced dead, eyewitnesses attest the song came over the speakers. It's a grim trajectory for this most inventive and charismatic of early Beatles singles, with Lennon's tumbling rhythm guitar spilling the composition forth. (About that unorthodox strumming pattern: it seems easy until you try it. And Lennon did it effortlessly.)

"Don't Bother Me"

As Dreaming the Beatles author Rob Sheffield put it, "'Don't Bother Me,' his first real song, began the 'George is in a bad mood' phase of his songwriting, which never ended." Harrison wouldn't pick up the sitar for another year or two, but the song still carries a vaguely dreamy, exotic air.

"Little Child"

"I'm so sad and lonely/ Baby, take a chance with me." For a tortured, creative kid like Corgan, from a rough background — and, likely, a million similar young folks — Lennon's childlike plea must have sounded like salvation.

"Till There Was You"

McCartney's infatuation with the postwar sounds of his youth never ended, and it arguably began on record with this Music Man tune. As usual, McCartney dances right on the edge of overly chipper and apple-cheeked. But here, George Martin's immersive, soft-focused arrangement makes it all work.

"Hold Me Tight"

Like "Little Child," "Hold Me Tight" is a tad Fabs-by-numbers, showing how they occasionally painted themselves into a corner as per their formula. Their rapid evolution from here would leave trifles like "Hold Me Tight" in the rearview.

"I Wanna Be Your Man"

Tellingly, Lennon and McCartney tossed this half-written composition to the Stones — and to Ringo Starr. Mick Jagger's typically lusty performance works, but Starr's is even better — the funny-nosed drummer throws his whole chest into this vocal workout.

"Not A Second Time"

Meet the Beatles! concludes with this likable Lennon tune about heartbreak — maybe C-tier by his standards, but it slouches toward his evolutionary step that would be A Hard Day's Night. 

Soon, these puppy-dog emotions ("And now you've changed your mind/ I see no reason to change mine/ I cry") would curdle and ferment in astonishing ways — in "Ticket to Ride," in "Girl," in "Strawberry Fields Forever." And it all began with Meet the Beatles! — a shot heard around the world.

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The Recording Academy has announced three-time GRAMMY winner NE-YO as the headliner of the exclusive 2024 GRAMMY Celebration — the Recording Academy’s Official After-Party for the 2024 GRAMMYs, which honors the winners and nominees of Music’s Biggest Night. As well, current GRAMMY nominee SuperBlue: Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter will perform in the GRAMMY Celebration Jazz Lounge; Ben Bakson will be the evening’s DJ.  

Taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center immediately following the 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, on Sunday, Feb. 4, the GRAMMY Celebration will bring the industry together to commemorate a year of musical milestones and honor the GRAMMY nominees and winners who shaped the year in music.

“The GRAMMY Celebration serves as the perfect finale to Music’s Biggest Night, uniting the nominees and winners of the 66th GRAMMY Awards to revel in their year’s worth of accomplishments,” Recording Academy Chief Operating Officer Branden Chapman said. "As an Academy committed to serving, uplifting and advancing the music community, we look forward to the GRAMMY Celebration each year — a momentous occasion where our shared passion for music is celebrated and meaningful connections are made."

Levy, the hospitality partner at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will present this year's chef-curated menu. Following the event, the Recording Academy will once again partner with the charitable organization Musically Fed — whose mission is to mobilize the music industry in the fight against hunger — to repurpose leftover food to feed those in need in the local community. The organization works with artists, promoters, management, and venues nationwide to donate unused backstage meals to community organizations that feed the unhoused, hungry and food insecure. Musically Fed will also repurpose food from this year's GRAMMY Awards and the MusiCares Person of the Year Gala.

The 2024 GRAMMY Celebration is a private, ticketed event.

The 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, will air live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, from 5-8:30 p.m. PT/8-11:30 p.m. ET, broadcasting live on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+. (Live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs)^.

^Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to stream live, but will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.

Stay tuned for more updates as we approach Music's Biggest Night!

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