New CBS special Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs debuts tonight

By
published

Hear straight from artists like Billie Eilish, Finneas, Alicia Keys and more about how their most famous songs came to life

Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs
(Image credit: CBS)

The Grammy category for "Song of the Year" is like a time capsule, and tonight CBS is opening that musical memory box with Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs, one of two new specials centered on the Recording Academy's prestigious annual awards. Co-hosted by CBS Mornings' Gayle King and four-time Grammy nominee Mickey Guyton, this two-hour special dives into the stories behind some of the most memorable Grammy winners for "Song of the Year," with insights straight from the talented musicians and songwriters behind the tunes.

Airing tonight, December 27, at 9pm Eastern Time on CBS The Stories Behind the Songs will feature a mix of newly recorded interviews, previously aired performances and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. Featured songwriters and songs include Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald and their 1980 winner "What a Fool Believes"; Sting’s 1984 classic “Every Breath You Take”; Alicia Keys' 2002 breakthrough "Fallin"; John Mayer's 2005 hit "Daughters"; Amy Winehouse's iconic 2008 track "Rehab"; Adele and co-writer Greg Kurstin's 2017 ballad "Hello"; Billie Eilish and Finneas’ 2019 single “Bad Guy”; and Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That," the title track for her 2023 studio album.

As for why tonight's special focuses on "Song of the Year" as opposed to other major Grammy categories like "Artist of the Year" or "Record of the Year," longtime Grammy Awards producer Ken Erlich told Variety: "I love reading about songs. I love talking to artists about songs. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve sat with Elton, and then this year Bernie (Taupin) because of the Gershwin show — it just gave me a whole new reason to get chills down my spine, hearing them talk about these songs, and Bernie in particular talking about the lyrics of these songs. It’s just things I never knew. I mean, we read all those books, but there’s something different about just actually hearing them talk about ’em."

Erlich added: "I can’t imagine there are many people that are going to tune the show in that aren’t gonna know every song that I did a piece about. These songs are ubiquitous. They’re truly part of our DNA."

The "Song of the Year" special will be joined this weekend by Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments, which was also executive produced by Erlich and will air on CBS this Sunday night at 9pm ET. To tune into both Grammy specials, you will need to have access to CBS, whether that is through a traditional cable subscription, a TV antenna, live TV streaming service (i.e. Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV) or a Paramount Plus with Showtime subscription, all of which gives you access to your live local CBS station through the streamer. Both specials will also be available to stream on-demand for all Paramount Plus subscribers.

Check out a teaser for Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs before tuning into the special tonight on CBS.

CATEGORIES
Christina Izzo
Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York. 

When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.