The passing of Christine McVie, the singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and pianist of Fleetwood Mac, was a significant loss in the music industry in the past year. Her death in November 2022 sparked an outpouring of tributes, and the Grammy Awards provided an opportunity to celebrate her musical legacy. During the In Memoriam segment, Mick Fleetwood, her longtime bandmate in Fleetwood Mac, teamed up with Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt to perform “Songbird” as a tribute to her.
“For me to get to tribute Christine, because they’ve been—the band and Christine—so influential on me, but also to get to do it with Mick, it’s so deep and meaningful to me,” Sheryl Crow shared exclusively with Bobby Bones during the E! Live from the Red Carpet event. “I feel like I’m getting the honor of getting to honor.”
Fleetwood added:
“Having Sheryl and Bonnie singing this beautiful song, I think all of us collectively are here representing Christine What she meant as a person in Fleetwood Mac and of course personally to me and the band members and a lot of other family members. Outside of that, I think it’s a moment to accolade the wonder of a hugely talented, lovely unsuspecting lady known as Christine McVie.”
“There is a lot of fuss, but we are really happy to be making a fuss of her,” he continued. “It’s double edged—it comes with a celebration and a quiet prayer that contains some sadness of loss. But having it be able to come to life with this lovely lady [Sheryl], and Bonnie, is a beautiful thing for me to see happen.”
The late Christine McVie, a singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and pianist of Fleetwood Mac, was honored at the 2023 GRAMMYS with a performance by her longtime bandmate Mick Fleetwood, Sheryl Crow, and Bonnie Raitt. The tribute performance of “Songbird” was part of the In Memoriam segment, which also included tributes to Loretta Lynn and the Takeoff of Migos.
Earlier in the day, McVie was posthumously awarded a Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instruments, and Vocals with “Songbird (Orchestral Version)” by Vince Mendoza. Fleetwood played a hand-held drum tom, while Crow played piano and traded vocals with Raitt during the performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG53DQXFOSQ