Bay area icon left out of Grammy ‘In Memoriam’ segment

Somebody in the Grammy Awards’ research department has got some ‘splaining to do.

The 64^th annual awards ceremony, broadcast live Sunday night on CBS, included the traditional “In Memoriam” segment, in which music business luminaries who died over the past year are honored.

Sunday’s segment was somber and respectful, as a quartet of vocalists performed songs by the late Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim. “In Memoriam” ended with an image of Sondheim, who died in November, projected behind the singers.

Honored with similar projections were singers, songwriters, musicians and executives, many of them famous, many familiar only to those who work in or around the recording industry. Some had not been active in decades.

Missing from the posthumous honor roll was violinist, singer and songwriter Robby Steinhardt, a core member of the pioneering classic rock band Kansas, and a longtime resident of the Tampa Bay area. In the band’s ’70s heyday, Kansas scored nine gold and three multi-platinum albums.

“Robby and I used to watch the memorandums and cry for those we lost,” the musician’s widow said Monday. “I would tell him that if he died first, my one regret would be not being able to show him the bad picture they chose or how brief the announcement was of him. I didn’t even get that.”

Cindy Steinhardt said she was watching the telecast and waiting for Robby’s tribute.

“It’s always comforting to see anyone, whether it’s your idol or your husband, and in my case both, receive accolades from his peers especially after his death,” she said. “To be forgotten, snubbed, whatever word you want to use, is just another blow to our hearts that the world has already forgotten such a wonderful and talented musician and man. It’s my worst nightmare come true.”

“In Memoriam” paid tribute to Rusty Young, the lead singer and steel guitarist from the country/rock band Poco, but ignored Cotton’s bandmate, guitarist and co-lead singer Paul Cotton. Both men died in 2021.

Popular West Coast rapper Drakeo the Ruler did not make the cut, nor did Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge, Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar, songwriter and producer Tommy West, Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison, Iron Butterfly drummer Ron Bushy or longtime Crosby, Stills & Nash pianist Michael Finnigan, who’d also played with everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Bonnie Raitt to David Coverdale.

And the surname of Uilleann pipes player Paddy Moloney, the founder and longtime leader of the popular Irish band The Chieftains, was misspelled as “Maloney.”

A call to the Recording Academy, requesting comment, was not immediately returned.