Quick Takes: Prince, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Queen, Dhani Harrison & Norah Jones

Prince will be the latest music legend honored with the upcoming special Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute To Prince, which is set for January 28th — two days after the Grammys — at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The show, which will air sometime in April, will feature Shelia E. with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis serving as the concert's musical directors. The show will feature performances by the Revolution, Foo Fighters, the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs, Beck, Common, H.E.R., Earth, Wind, & Fire, St. Vincent, Mavis Staples, Chris Martin, Gary Clark, Jr., and Juanes.
Sheila E. told Rolling Stone: “Musically, there’s so much to choose from. It’s almost unfair to do a two-hour tribute to him — we could do a full week. At the end of the day, it’s him bringing people together and having a good time.” (Rolling Stone)
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarists Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke say that true “guitar heroes” are a thing of the past. While chatting with Guitar.com, Medlocke said, “We lived through one of the most magical musical times, from the '60s to the early-'80s. But the last guitar hero to emerge was (Eddie) Van Halen. I don’t hear that magic anymore, sorry folks. (Joe) Bonamassa is a virtuoso player and I played shows with him when he was 16. But the last guitar hero was really Eddie.”
Rossington added: “I concur with Rickey about guitar heroes. (Jimi) Hendrix, (Jeff) Beck, and (Eric) Clapton started that. Then the next generation came out with the odd few, but then it stopped. There are no more coming up I guess times change, people change. I hope one day kids realize that the guitar heroes really played guitars. (Free's) Paul Kossoff was another hero of mine — he could just touch a note and it was thrilling, his touch and feel were amazing.” (Guitar.com)
In celebration of Queen's 50th anniversary of forming, the UK's Royal Mail announced the band would be featured on a new postage stamp on July 9th. Details and designs will be announced at a later date. The stamp marks the second time the band had been saluted. Back in 1999 Freddie Mercury — and avid stamp collector in his younger years — was featured on postage stamp. (Ultimate Classic Rock)
In May 2020, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar will be commemorated with a series of “Ravi Shankar Centennial Concerts” to celebrate 100 years since his birth on April 7th, 1920. The concerts will feature George Harrison's son, Dhani Harrison, Shankar's daughters Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar, as well as special guest artist Philip Glass, and an orchestra of Shankar's foremost disciples performing on venerable stages across the globe.
Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar will perform at London, England's Southbank Centre on April 7th and L.A.'s Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 19th; Anoushka also performs at San Diego Civic Theatre on May 16th, Chicago Symphony Orchestra on May 22nd, and Carnegie Hall on May 29th. Philip Glass will exclusively perform at Carnegie Hall on May 29th, and Dhani Harrison will perform at San Diego Civic Theatre on May 16th and Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 19th. A centenary concert in New Delhi, India in November 2020 will be announced soon. (Press release)