This year, the GRAMMYs will showcase a special tribute to 4x GRAMMY Award winning artists Lionel Richie. John Legend, Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan and Meghan Trainor will perform a medley of hits produced by Lionel Richie. Richie will also take the stage to perform a special rendition of one of his classics along with the other artists. Lionel Richie will be the recipient of the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year award. MusiCares is a charity created by the Recording Academy that provides financial assistance and drug addiction recovery resources for those in the music industry. Since 1989, MusiCares has helped an estimated 80,000 people and provided $40 million in financial assistance. Here’s a few fun facts about Lionel Richie: Born in 1949 on and/or near the campus of Tuskegee Institute [University] in Tuskegee, Alabama. Member of Alpha Phi Alpha male fraternity and Kappa Kappa Psi, band fraternity. In 1968, his group, the Commodores, signed to Atlantic Records (for one record) and then on to Motown Records as a support act for the Jackson 5. Sold over 100 million records worldwide. Performed “Jesus Is Love” at Michael Jackson’s funeral. Hugely popular in the U.K. and Arab states. It’s reported that Iraqi men get “misty eyed” by the just mentioning Richie’s name. The 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be hosted by LL Cool J. This is is fifth consecutive year as host. The GRAMMYs will take place on Monday, Feb. 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show will broadcast live on CBS at 8 pm ET.
