The 65th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday with lots of things to celebrate, from 50 years of hip-hop to Beyonce breaking the record for most Grammys awarded to a single artist. But there was also mourning, as we remembered musicians and industry members who left us this past year.
During the In Memoriam segment of the award show, there were three different performances, starting with country singer Kacey Musgraves paying tribute to Loretta Lynn by singing, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”.
Following that, rapper Quavo from the group Migos performed a mix of songs for his late group member and nephew, Takeoff, who died in November. Quavo also honored “Gangsta’s Paradise” rapper Coolio, and the beloved Stephen “tWitch” Boss.
The third and final performance was played by Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood, who honored Fleetwood’s late bandmate Christine McVie by covering McVie’s “Songbird”. During their performance, they flashed a photo of Lisa Marie Presley, which received applause from the audience.
Lisa, following in the footsteps of her father, had three studio albums which she recorded, To Whom It May Concern, Now What, and Storm & Grace.
Lisa Marie passed away earlier this year after going into cardiac arrest at the age of 54.
Since her passing, drama and legal troubles have all but left her surviving family alone. From figuring out custody for her 14-year-old twin daughter, Harper and Finley, to investigating her trust and determining who’s entitled to what.
Last week, Priscilla took to court to invalidate a 2016 amendment made to Lisa’s trust which removed Priscilla from the trust and Elvis’ estate, leaving it to Lisa’s children, Riley and Ben. Since Ben passed away in 2020, Riley was the sole heir to the trust.
However, Priscilla claimed that a number of issues occurred regarding the amendment being made which would cause legal problems and could put Priscilla back in the will as a co-trustee with her granddaughter.
Last Friday, Priscilla spoke with People to clear up any negative air regarding her family and the recent issues that have transpired, as well as to express her frustrations with other people speaking “on behalf of our family”.
“I loved Elvis very much as he loved me. Lisa is a result of our love,” she started her statement. “For anyone to think anything differently would be a travesty of the family legacy and would be disrespectful of what Elvis left behind in his life.”
Priscilla went on to call out “an individual” who she claims “bought their way into the family enterprise [and] is trying to speak on behalf of our family”.
“This person is not a representative of Elvis or our family,” she continued. “Please allow us the time we need to work together and sort this out. Please ignore ‘the noise.’ As I have always been there for Elvis’ legacy, our family and the fans, I will continue to forge a pathway forward with respect, honesty, dignity, integrity and love.”
Although no names were given, many believe she is referencing the managing partner for Elvis Presley Enterprises, Joel Weinshanker, who appeared on Sirius XM’s Elvis Radio where he expressed his own feelings on what he thinks Lisa would have wanted for her trust, having worked very closely with her in recent years.
“Everyone knew that when Elvis passed away, he left everything to his little girl. He did so knowing that she would be the one to keep his legacy going,” he started. “We got along so well because we were both trying to do what was best for Elvis, regardless of what somebody else was trying to do, regardless of what a family member would do.
“We discussed this many many times [before] she passed, and that was always Riley and Ben,” Joel said about who the trust was to be left with. “There was never a question in [Lisa’s] mind that they would be the stewards, that they would look at it the exact same way that she did. And obviously when Ben passed, it really sat with Riley.”
As of now, a court hearing for the matter will take place on April 13.
Sources:
https://people.com/music/priscilla-presley-slams-noise-amid-lisa-marie-presley-trust-battle/
usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/grammys-2023-lisa-marie-presley-honored-after-death/
