Chaka Khan, Cher, Whitney Houston, Fela Kuti Get Grammys Life Achievement Awards
“Music has been my prayer, my healing, my joy, my truth,” Khan said as she accepted the award. “Through it, I saved my life.” She was the only Lifetime Achievement recipient who appeared at the ceremony at the small Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on the eve of Sunday’s main Grammys ceremony. She was preceded by a short documentary on her career that highlighted her hits as a member of the funk band Rufus and as a solo artist, including 1974’s Stevie Wonder-written “Tell Me Something Good,” 1983’s “Ain’t Nobody,” 1978’s “I’m Every Woman” and 1984’s Prince-penned “I Feel For You.” Wearing a shimmering sea green gown, she thanked her many collaborators while admitting not all of them were entirely sane. “Over 50 years I am blessed to walk alongside extraordinary artists, musicians, writers, producers and creatives,” she said, pausing before adding, “and cuckoos.” Family accepted the Lifetime Achievement Awards for the Nigerian Afrobeat legend Kuti, who died in 1997, and the singing superstar Houston, who died in 2012. “Her voice — that voice! …
