With the touching tribute to pop diva Whitney Houston, the Grammys thought it had covered its necessary sentimental bases – not so fast, fans of entertainment luminaries Etta James and Don Cornelius said.
Fans took to Twitter to scold the Grammys for not including James and Cornelius in a memoriam that ran during the program. Songstress Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt paid tribute to James with a song. And host LL Cool J had kind words for Cornelius. But it was not enough for some.
Read more: Best Grammy moment? This burrito ad
Exhibit A was this tweet from cultural commentator and writer Toure: "I'm glad Etta got a tribute from Alicia but she still should've gotten a picture in the Memorium. It's just a picture."
Another tweet from Ignorantics mentioned another fallen star. "@TheGrammys why wasn't Vesta Williams a part of the memorial?" What a minute, Williams died last September.
But did the Grammys drop the ball on not including James and Cornelius? And did they mean the slight?
The Grammys defended itself on Twitter, saying that it did indeed honor the stars, albeit not as some fans would have liked:
"Re: Etta James tribute was by Bonnie Raitt & @AliciaKeys at the top of the telecast & @Questlove gave special attn to Don Cornelius."
Cornelius, the creator of "Soul Train," was found dead February 1 in an apparent suicide. James, a singing legend, died from complications from leukemia on January 20.
Join the conversation...