Country Stars Salute The Boss

Country stars Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, The Zac Brown Band, and Kenny Chesney took to the stage Friday night in Los Angeles in honor of Bruce Springsteen.  The Boss was the recipient of the annual Grammy MusiCares Person Of The Year Award.  Before the show, Tim spoke with Dial Global News about the song he & Faith performed on the show: “We’re gonna do ‘Tougher Than The Rest’ together, and it’s a song that I love. It’s a song that she loves, and I think it works perfectly for what we want to do together, and, I mean, I’m a huge Springsteen fan so it’s gonna be a highlight of my career. It’s also gonna be nerve-wracking. I mean, I remember Faith, a couple of years ago she did the MusiCares for Barbra Streisand and sang ‘Send In The Clowns’, and she said that when she walked out and saw Barbra sitting there watching that she couldn’t stop her knees from shaking. They just involuntarily were shaking and she had to sing that song, so I’m sure I’ll be in the same boat.”

Several country Grammy nominees were in the audience, including Hunter Hayes, who spoke with a Grammy reporter on the red carpet: “I’m excited to be here, this whole week has been a wonderful experience for me.  Being in the same tent as Bruce could be the highlight so far.”  In addition to Tim & Faith, performances included “My City Of Ruins” by The Zac Brown Band, and “One Step Up” by Kenny Chesney.  Afterwards, Kenny said, “I’d been singing that song since I was playing for tips and enchiladas at this little place by East Tennessee State.  I had always loved it, and Bruce’s writing, but I knew I needed to wait until I’d lived enough to really sing the song. I felt like I owed it what it was: don’t just sing it ‘cause it’s Bruce; wait ‘til I really understand.  Along the way, Bruce has been generous with advice, with truth – and with music,” Chesney explains. “I wanted to strip it down, and show people how good that writing really, how much emotion and truth is under that melody. That was important.”

Bruce himself took to the stage to perform a rousing set that included “Thunder Road,” “Born To Run,” and an all-star finale of “Glory Days,” where Tim McGraw got to sing with Springsteen.

 

 

 

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