http://www.billboard.com/...id=2086710

Edited By Jonathan Cohen. February 09, 2004, 12:30 AM ET

Grammy Performances Looked Back Past 2003




As much as the Grammy Awards are about celebrating the past year in music, last night's (Feb. 8) ceremony was decidedly more reflective on material of an earlier vintage. Case in point: 15 minutes and two performances into the show, no song played had been younger than 20 years old.

Without introduction, Prince opened the Grammys singing "Purple Rain," the first part of a medley of songs from his 1984 film of the same name. Joined by Beyoncé, they picked up as they touched on bits of the familiar pop anthems "Baby I'm a Star" and "Let's Go Crazy."

At several points, the gala paid tribute to the Beatles on the 40th anniversary of the group's landmark debut appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." For the second performance of the night, Pharrell Williams (the Neptunes, N*E*R*D) played drums as Sting, Dave Matthews and Vince Gill traded verses on a cover of "I Saw Her Standing There."

Sting later engaged in another bit of nostalgia, performing his 1978 Police single "Roxanne" with Jamaican dancehall star Sean Paul.

Bringing the past and present together, actor Samuel L. Jackson played the part of preacher in emceeing a tribute to funk music. "Funk is good for ya, whether you're a sinner or a saint," he said before bringing Earth, Wind & Fire on to run through the classic "Shining Star." Representing a younger generation were OutKast's Big Boi ("The Way You Move") and Robert Randolph & the Family Band ("I Need More Love"), while George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic wrapped the segment with a spirited, if disjointed, rendition of the party classic "One Nation Under a Groove."

Patti Labelle was on hand to introduce a tribute to Luther Vandross, who last year suffered a debilitating stroke. Alicia Keys performed "A House Is Not a Home" and Celine Dion sang the song of the year, "Dance With My Father," accompanied by Richard Marx (who co-wrote the song with Vandross) on piano.

Even the White Stripes reached back, playing Leadbelly's "Death Letter Blues" in a medley that opened with their own "Seven Nation Army" and a wisp of "Black Math." Martina McBride delivered a soulful rendition of "Concrete Angel," a new song that appeared on her 2001 "Greatest Hits" album and is also on the DVD companion to last year's "Martina."

But there were also plenty of artists keeping things in the present. Backed by a choir, Aguilera performed her Grammy-winning ballad "Beautiful," while Sarah McLachlan was joined by roots-music mainstay Alison Krauss on violin and vocals for her hit single "Fallen."

Aguilera's one-time touring partner, Justin Timberlake, was on hand to perform "Senorita," the opening track from his debut solo album, "Justified." Backed by a chorus and a band with a horn section, Timberlake ended the song by trading scat verses with Cuban jazz trumpet great Arturo Sandoval and visibly impressed many in the audience.

Later, Beyoncé delivered "Dangerously in Love 2" among a cast of about 15 actors inside a lush, living picture set that was nearly as stunning as her vocal performance. Also grabbing a visual spotlight was OutKast's Andre 3000, who led the last performance of the night with a cartoonish Native American theme. In front of a towering teepee, Andre and a troupe of backup singers and dancers vamped in green-fringed outfits while performing the smash hit "Hey Ya!"

Perhaps the most intriguing performance of the night came midway through the broadcast, as jazz pianist Chick Corea joined the Foo Fighters for "Times Like These." Recasting the opening of the driving rock song as a ballad, Corea's trills augmented front man Dave Grohl's guitar and underscored his vocal until the song broke into its original gait. Instead of bowing out and letting the band runaway with the performance, Corea continued to flesh out the song with his flourishes.

In remembering the late Warren Zevon, an ensemble accompanied a recording of the artist singing his nominated song "Keep Me in Your Heart" as a video montage showed clips of recording sessions for his final album. Taking part were Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, the Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit, actor/singer Billy Bob Thornton and producer Jorge Calderon, as well as Zevon's daughter Ariel and son Jordan.





*** Prince is on a roll! It seems like his Pic is the one being used allot everywhere online!

In March he plays the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame so this is a 30 days!

also Tonight The House of Blues SOLD OUT !!! Tickets were $75 a piece.

Here is a ALL The Google search on Prince & The Grammys!!

It seems when you click on most of the article everyone seemed to enjoy his performance the most

http://news.google.com/ne...earch+News

From the 'Ottawa Citizen':

"...Prince gets jiggy with his electric instrument, and the crowd goes wild..."