Going into tonight, I believed that the best Grammy tribute to Levon Helm, the deceased drummer/singer for the Band, would be no tribute at all. The Grammys has a tendency to mean well, yet ultimately choose an awful combination of artists to honor great musicians. But credit where credit’s due: tonight’s tribute to Helm was great.
Elton John, Mavis Staples, T. Bone Burnett, Zac Brown, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, and Mumford & Sons, who would later take home the award for Best Album of the Year, performed a stirring rendition of “The Weight,” one that ended with Mavis screaming, “YEAH YEAH YEAH” over and over again. (Meanwhile, T-Swift thinks Levon Helm is a Canadian tree.) You can watch a clip of the performance below, and the whole thing over at Deadspin.
Zac brown Band Elton John Mumford Sons Mavis… by dm_51181cced0274
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/photo/679/thumb)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/02/regine-150x150.gif)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/02/gotye-gotgrammy-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/02/jt-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/02/Jacksons-Grammys-150x150.gif)
Brittany Howard has one of the most amazing soulful emotional voices I have ever heard
Yes she does. This is even more pronounced when she sings live.
She is a force of nature live. Unbelievably talented.
SPOILER ALERT
This was so great. Especially after the Bob Marley Tribute was so terrible.
And, if I recall correctly, Mavis Staples sings on “The Weight” during The Last Waltz, so now I have delightful comparisons to make.
Brittany can sang, not sing, SANG!
Trivia: The title charcter of the Elton John song “Levon” was named after Levon helm.
That was good, but it would have better if they had just run this on the monitors: [www.youtube.com]
I was most excited for this tribute, and I’m so happy I wasn’t disappointed.
I was so happy this was actually good! I was lucky enough to attend some of Levon Helm’s midnight rambles at his house in Woodstock and while nothing compares to hesring Levon sing the Weight, this tribute definitely lived up to my expectations!