Mick Jagger to salute Solomon Burke during Grammy ceremony

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A Rolling Stone will fete the King of Soul during the 53rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Mick Jagger, whose early work with the Stones drew inspiration from the late Solomon Burke, will perform on the Staples Center stage along with Grammy winner Raphael Saadiq -- whose forthcoming album is called ‘Stone Rollin’.’

Surprisingly, it will mark the first time that the lead singer of the Rolling Stones will step on the Grammy stage -- even though he has received the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and has been a visible presence in the pop world for almost 50 years.

It’s a good fit, though. The Rolling Stones have covered numerous Burke songs over the years, most notably ‘Cry to Me’ and ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.’ What is surprising, though, is that Jagger is the only Stone who’ll be paying tribute; Keith Richards has long expressed admiration of Burke, and given that the rumors of a 50th anniversary Rolling Stones tour seem to have been confirmed in recent days, a full band tribute wouldn’t have seemed out of the question. (Still, Saadiq’s ‘’Stone Rollin’’’ proves he and his band will be able to keep up, and then some.)

Burke spent much of his life in Los Angeles, and he left behind 14 daughters, seven sons, 90 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren, according to his website, many of whom remain in the region.

Jagger and Saadiq will join these other Grammy-nominated performers during the Feb. 13 telecast: Arcade Fire, Eminem, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, Muse, and Katy Perry; nominees Justin Bieber and Usher, with Jaden Smith; nominees B.o.B, Bruno Mars, and Janelle Monáe; nominees Drake and Rihanna; and nominee Cee Lo Green, with Gwyneth Paltrow and the Jim Henson Company Puppets.

-- Randall Roberts