Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie Wins Posthumous GRAMMY Ahead of In Memoriam Tribute

Fleetwood Mac singer and keyboardist Christine McVie, who died in November at age 79, won a posthumous GRAMMY at the pre-telecast Sunday afternoon. 

McVie was honored with the GRAMMY for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for "Songbird (Orchestral Version)" by Vince Mendoza, who previously won in the same category last year.

McVie was credited as an arranger on the song, which she wrote for Fleetwood Mac's GRAMMY-winning album, Rumours, in 1977. The win was shared on Twitter by the Recording Academy.

McVie's posthumous GRAMMY comes just hours ahead of a planned In Memoriam tribute during the televised awards ceremony. Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood will be joined on the GRAMMY stage by Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt in a special performance of "Songbird" in honor of McVie.

ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with Fleetwood on the GRAMMYs carpet about honoring his late bandmate. "It's a big moment," he acknowledged. "I mean selfishly, privately it's another step in closure for having lost Chris so recently. She was very much like a sister to me, fellow band member obviously in Fleetwood Mac and a dear, dear, dear friend."

McVie died Nov. 30 following a short illness. At the time, her family issued a statement announcing her death: "On behalf of Christine McVie’s family, it is with a heavy heart we are informing you of Christine’s death. She passed away peacefully at hospital this morning, Wednesday, November 30th 2022, following a short illness. She was in the company of her family."

McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, playing alongside her ex-husband, John McVie, as well as Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood.

"She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure," the band said in a statement following her death. "She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed."

Nicks also honored McVie in a personal letter she posted to Instagram. "See you on the other side, my love," Nicks wrote, sharing lyrics from the Haim song "Hallelujah" and a photo of herself and McVie, calling the late singer "my best friend in the whole world since the very first day of 1975."

When asked on the GRAMMYs carpet on Sunday whether the group would continue on without McVie, Fleetwood admitted he didn't see it in the cards. "I somehow doubt it," he said. "I think elements of the band with Stevie and Lindsey [Buckingham] and Neil Finn and Mike Campbell and me and my own funny world, we all do separate things. The dream would be for in some context to do something but I truly feel that probably that's sort of a closed door as well, so it was a double loss in many ways."

Prior to Sunday's GRAMMY win, McVie had earned two gramophones as part of Fleetwood Mac, including Album of the Year for Rumours. 

The 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards are taking place at Crypto.com Arena and are being broadcast and streamed live on CBS and Paramount+. Follow along at ETonline.com for full coverage from music's biggest night, including performances, GRAMMY winners and more.

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