{"id":91822,"date":"2024-04-12T11:49:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T15:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=91822"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:02","slug":"junos-2024-art-of-musical-tribute","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/junos-2024-art-of-musical-tribute\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Musical Tribute, Including Maestro Fresh Wes Hip Hop Sampling, Moved Fans During JUNOs 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n The Art of Musical Tribute, Including Maestro Fresh Wes Hip Hop Sampling, Moved Fans During JUNOs 2024\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

This article is republished<\/a> from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by The Conversation<\/a> from various sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Deaville<\/a> and Jesse Stewart<\/a> are professors of music at Carleton University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Annual music award ceremonies \u2014 like the recent JUNO Awards of 2024 in Canada \u2014 afford opportunities to pay tribute to artists who have passed away and acknowledge the living art of creative musical and cultural interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the JUNOs 2024, memorial tributes were given to musical greats Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot<\/a>. Yet another form of memorialization \u2014 and musical re-interpretation \u2014 was witnessed via hip hop sampling when Maestro Fresh Wes<\/a> performed in celebration of his induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as the “godfather of Canadian hip hop.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards events carry on older traditions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“In Memoriam” features at annual awards ceremonies allow contemporary industries to remember artists who have gone before, including by appreciating contemporary music that pays tribute to and builds upon earlier artists’ legacies across genres and styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honouring the memory of prominent figures is a practice that dates at least back to the monuments of ancient Egypt<\/a> and Greece. Funerary monuments in Europe have been erected to mark the final resting place for<\/a> arts celebrities, while composers have dedicated memorials in sound \u2014 like Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” for noted Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In Memoriam” segments of yearly awards events have carried on this tradition. Still images or video clips of the departed appear in a (quick) montage over an appropriate musical accompaniment, with special tributes occasionally interspersed. The choice of music is typically determined by its combination of a contemplative vibe with a broad audience appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oscars established the “In Memoriam” as a regular feature in 1994<\/a> and the Grammys<\/a> and Emmys were not<\/a> far behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not without controversy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although intended as a moment of reflection in the midst of the excitement of an awards show, the “In Memoriam” segment has not been without controversy. According to the former executive director of the Academy<\/a> Bruce Davis<\/a> “it is the single most troubling element of the Oscar show every year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For any performing arts field, the number of deceased far exceeds those who can be featured in the segment. An internal adjudicatory body must select names for the program. The exclusion (or inclusion) of names inevitably draws complaints in what Vanity Fair<\/em> called “the toughest Oscar vote of all<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recognition of the selectiveness of the process, the program\/sponsoring organization provides a fuller list of departed members on their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controversies \u2014 perhaps unsurprisingly \u2014 do erupt surrounding arts memorializations. Prior to the death of folk musician Stompin’ Tom Connors in 2017, Connors forbade the JUNOs from including him<\/a> in the “In Memoriam” portion of the program. Connors famously returned six of his JUNO awards in 1978 to protest the fact that JUNOs were being given to Canadian musicians who didn’t live in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canadian cultural workers tribute<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian arts scene is smaller than in the United States, which means awards ceremonies like the JUNOs can be more comprehensive in their memorialization of Canadian cultural workers who have passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2024 opening night awards, for example, the JUNOs honoured a long list of Canadian music industry professionals who died the previous year while Manitoba singer Begonia solemnly performed her piece “Butterfly<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the televised portion of the awards the following night, an all-star band featuring Aysanabee, Allison Russell, William Prince and Julian Taylor performed moving renditions of “If You Could Read My Mind” and “The Weight.” The performances honoured Canadian music legends Lightfoot and Robertson, respectively, and were viewer favourites<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n