To honor the life of Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson, who died Wednesday (June 11) at age 82, CBS will re-air A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys on Sunday from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.
The live concert special was taped at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 8, 2023, three days after the 65th annual Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles. The special originally aired on April 9, 2023. It was No. 1 in its time period with 5.18 million viewers and was the night’s No. 2 primetime broadcast in viewers. (The night’s champ was its lead-in, the venerable 60 Minutes, with 6.43 million viewers.) The two-hour program had the largest audience for a Grammy Salute special since A Grammy Salute to Prince, which aired on April 21, 2020.
A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys featured performances by Andy Grammer, Beck, Jim James, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Fall Out Boy, Foster the People, Hanson, Norah Jones, Lady A, John Legend, Little Big Town, Luke Spiller, Taylor Momsen, Michael McDonald, Take 6, Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, Pentatonix, LeAnn Rimes, St. Vincent and Weezer.
It also featured appearances by fellow music icons Elton John and Bruce Springsteen; actors Tom Hanks, Drew Carey and John Stamos; Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.; and former chair of the academy’s board of trustees Jimmy Jam.
The special was produced by Tenth Planet Productions. Joel Gallen, Rick Krim and Irving Azoff served as executive producers and Rick Austin as co-executive producer. Gallen also directed the special.
The Beach Boys entered into a partnership with Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group (Iconic) in 2021 to preserve and grow their legacy in a digital era. “This celebration highlights, once again, the power of the Beach Boys music to influence today’s biggest artists and reach new generations of fans,” said Jimmy Edwards, president of Iconic.
The Beach Boys special followed such previous Grammy-branded specials as The Beatles: The Night That Changed America (2014), Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All Star Grammy Salute (2015), Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of The Bee Gees (2017), Elton John: I’m Still Standing – a Grammy Salute (2018), Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul (2019), Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince (2020) and Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the songs of Paul Simon (2022).
