NEW YORK – The Eurythmics are reuniting – to pay tribute to the Beatles.
The Recording Academy announced Monday that Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart will perform as a duo for “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles.” The event will be taped at the Los Angeles Convention Center Jan. 27, a day after the Grammy Awards.
Longtime Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, who is also producing the Beatles special, thought the Eurythmics would be ideal to honor the iconic group.
“When it came around to booking this show, what I felt was important was to try and find those artists who not only would be able to interpret Beatles songs, but would also have an ... understanding of what they meant,” he said in an interview.
The Eurythmics, who sold millions of albums and whose hits include “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” released their debut in 1981. Ehrlich said Lennox and Stewart, who have launched successful solo careers, are thrilled to perform in tribute to the Beatles.
The special will air on CBS on Feb. 9 – exactly 50 years after the Beatles made their U.S. debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” An estimated 73 million viewers tuned in to watch that event, which has become one of the world’s top cultural moments.
“They really did change people’s lives, so what I’m hoping this show ... gets across is the message that occasionally in history we are touched by certain artists who have a profound effect on us beyond just the music that they make,” Ehrlich said.
He wouldn’t confirm if Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr would attend the event, though the Beatles will be honored with a lifetime achievement award two days earlier at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards in Los Angeles.
