Beyonce’s history-making night – becoming the first Black artist to win for Best Country Album – and Kendrick Lamar’s five awards dominated most of the Grammy headlines following the ceremony on Sunday. But during the untelevised portion of the event, another significant moment in music history took place.
The Beatles, who won their first-ever Grammy 61 years ago, secured a win for Best Rock Performance for Now and Then, a track that was billed as the “last song” from the Fab Four in 2023. The Grammy win for the Beatles comes 55 years after the band broke up.
The song employed AI technology to incorporate vocals from an unfinished demo recorded by John Lennon, guitar sessions from George Harrison in the 1990s and new contributions from surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon, 49, accepted the award on the band’s behalf, calling them “the greatest band of all time” before urging the Los Angeles crowd to keep their memory alive.
“Play the Beatles music to your kids. I feel like the world can’t afford to forget about people like the Beatles,” he said of the band, which broke up in 1969.
“We need this music in the world. We need peace and love. We need the magic of the Sixties to stay alive.”
Lennon, a musician himself who hasn’t shied away from his father’s imposing legacy, took home some gold on Sunday as well for his art direction on a special edition box set of John Lennon’s third solo album, Mind Games.
He also did his part to see that his acceptance speech for the Beatles’ hardware made it out of the obscurity of the pre-show, ending his remarks with a seemingly unprovoked shot at Canadian rapper Drake.
“And finally, I’m getting older in my middle age and I wanted to give some advice to the young people out there,” he said. “Never get into a rap battle with Kendrick Lamar. Thank you.”
The remark could very well have been a tipping of the cap to Lamar’s Not Like Us, the diss track against Drake that would go on to win Record of the Year over Now and Then later in the evening. Sporting a matching denim set – an outfit known as a Canadian tuxedo in Drake’s home country – the California rapper scored a total of five Grammys for the diss track, the most of any artist on the night.
Others, however, pointed to the Beatles tattoo Drake inked on his forearm in 2019 after he surpassed several of The Beatles records as a possible explanation for Lennon’s jab. More boastful than commemorative, the tat depicts the iconic Abbey Road image with the rapper essentially waving back at the Fab Four as he leaves them behind.
Speaking of music battles, The Rolling Stones – the other act often in conversation for the best band of all time – also took home a Grammy for Best Rock Album for Hockney Diamonds, a record that featured an array of fellow musical icons, including Sir Elton John, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and former Stones bassist Bill Wyman. The release was their first album of new material in 18 years, and their first since the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021.
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