Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, John Legend, St. Vincent, Dawes Open Grammys With ‘I Love L.A.’

Randy Newman‘s 1983 song “I Love L.A.” has more than a hit of irony in the lyrics, but the 67th annual Grammy Awards kicked off with a totally sincere, even moving, version of it from a one-time-only supergroup: Dawes backed by Sheryl Crow, Brittany Howard, Brad Paisley, John Legend, and St. Vincent. Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes both lost their homes in the wildfires, and they’ve been very active in relief efforts. 

The Grammy Awards ceremony was nearly postponed when the full extent of the California wildfires became clear last month, but the organizers decided to stick with the original date and shift some of the focus of the evening to relief efforts. They also wanted the event to become a celebration of Los Angeles itself. 

“Postponing the show for me didn’t feel like the right thing for the city of Los Angeles,” Grammy Awards head Harvey Mason Jr. told The New York Times. “We wanted to make sure that we showed a resilience and strength and unity in a time when I thought we were going to really, really need it.”

“I Love L.A.” originally appeared on Newman’s 1983 LP Trouble in Paradise. “There’s sort of an aggressive ignorance to it that I like,” Newman told The New York Times in 2021. “You know, he likes the redhead. I do too — and the Beach Boys and riding in an open car. Maybe people in L.A. have to apologize for those kinds of basic joys in life, but I don’t know why.”