Tim McGraw, John Fogerty Among Performers At Grammy Salute To Essential Workers
The star-studded ‘United We Sing’ special will benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund, No Kid Hungry and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in New Orleans.
Tim McGraw, John Fogerty, Cyndi Lauper and Herbie Hancock are among the artists who will perform at next month’s United We Sing: A Grammy Salute To The Unsung Heroes. Hosted by Harry Connick Jr, the two-hour special will also feature appearances by Oprah Winfrey, Queen Latifah and Brad Pitt, among others. United We Sing will air Sunday, 21 June on CBS.
The special centres around Connick Jr and his filmmaker daughter, Georgia, who capture their travels across America, as they meet with essential workers, and listen to their stories – from sanitation and healthcare workers to law enforcement personnel, truckers and those in the food preparation services.
The duo conclude their journey in Connick’s hometown of New Orleans, where viewers will enjoy a performance from the Grammy award-winning artist and actor, as well as from local legends like Irma Thomas and Trombone Shorty.
The special, which will invite viewers to donate to MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund, No Kid Hungry and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in New Orleans, will also include appearances by Sandra Bullock, Renée Zellweger and Drew Brees, while performances will also be made by Dave Matthews, Andra Day, Jamie Foxx, Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis, among others.
McGraw, meanwhile, has been making the rounds on shows like The Tonight Show, Ellen and Today, with remote performances of his newest single, ‘I Called Mama’. The emotional tune, which marks the country star’s first release since his return to Big Machine Records, has been racing up the charts. As of last week, ‘I Called Mama’ had Most-Added status at country radio according to Billboard.
“When all of this sort of upheaval in the world came along, it really started making more and more sense that this song really meant a different thing in a lot of ways,” McGraw told The Boot. “There was a lot of carrying a lot of weight along with it, and as you listen to it and you think about the personal level…when the world changed, it was hard to ignore.”
Listen to the best of Tim McGraw on Apple Music and Spotify.