Mick Jagger Rules Grammys

It's hard to define the genuine article sometimes, but you know it when you see it. Mick Jagger is the real deal, and that was obvious at last night's Grammy Awards.

Jagger paid tribute to the great Solomon Burke and literally brought the house down with his performance of 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love'.

King Solomon had to be smiling down as Mick did the song righteous justice. At 67 years of age, his voice was in fine form and he owned the evening. Despite all of the excellent performances, none of 'em even came close to Mick. He conveyed the soul and power of the artist he was honoring; and had great accompaniment from guitarist Raphael Saadiq. Mick just flat outperformed the other acts, many of whom were young enough to be his grandkids.

It's easy to forget that the Rolling Stones have been absolute students of American R&B since day one. They were performing Solomon Burke songs as early as the 'Out Of Our Heads' album, and doing those tunes on stage even earlier in the '60's.

By the way, if you haven't heard King Solomon himself, a good place to start is his 'Don't Give Up On Me' album recorded in 2002. The big man lived up to his royal moniker in just about every way. He would come on stage on a giant throne bedecked in jewels and satin. He was a larger than life figure with a big resonant voice to match his large girth.

That voice was also capable of conveying sweetness and finesse. I was blown away by the 'Don't Give Up' album; and it's amazing that Solomon performed and recorded almost all the way up to his passing last year. Go to amazon.com to listen to song samples.

An amazing tribute to an amazing artist. Thanks Mick.