I know I am going to catch some hate for that title, but seriously. It was sleepy time over here. I know it was an acoustic performance and featured just a piano and John, but I tell you, I fought to make it through these full clips…
Check out his acoustic version of “Wake Up Everybody” and the other two you can see after the jump below:
On Aug. 19 John Legend dropped by The Recording Academy headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to perform a few songs, chat with GRAMMY.com and even pick up a surprise replacement GRAMMY Award. Legend is in the midst of a tour with the Roots supporting their new album Wake Up, a collection of classic ’60s and ’70s R&B. During his visit, Legend played a few solo songs at the piano, including the album’s title track, originally a hit for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (and their vocalist, Teddy Pendergrass), and “Shine,” the album’s only original song.
“[These] songs evoke an era of activism and a time when musicians were really a part of the social movements that were happening, and their music reflected that,” says Legend on why the concept of the album appealed to him.
He also performed versions of “Shine” which is the other new song on the album and also “Save Room”. I just can’t get into this “Wake Up Everybody” cover. I’m trying, but it just zaps all the zeitgeist that the song exemplified for that moment in time. His version is slightly bland and undercooked. Just my opinion!








