Following the footsteps of Oscars, the Grammy Awards also left out legendary Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar in the In Memoriam section during the ceremony. The 2022 Grammys’ In Memoriam section paid tribute to songs by the late Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, performed by Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler. Taylor Hawkins and Tom Parker were also remembered.
Lata Mangeshkar, however, along with late singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, got a mention on the Grammys’ website. The absence was sourly noticed by members of the South Asian community. Lata, whose career began as a playback singer and spanned more than 70 years, left behind a treasure trove of songs.
Dissatisfaction with her absence from the ceremony was made evident on social media sites. One wrote on Twitter, “Lata mangeshkar wasn’t in the tribute? disappointed but not surprised. #GRAMMYs.” Another one wrote, “Such a shame @RecordingAcad failed to recognize Indian legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar who passed away last year. #GRAMMYs.”
One tweeted, “So both the Oscars and the Grammys failed to honor the late great Lata Mangeshkar in their respective Memoriam segments? That’s a shame. #GrammyAwards #Oscars.”
Lata was the recipient of Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Her solos and immortal duets with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh, along with a legion of other prominent Indian singers, are among Hindi cinema's most memorable songs.
