Amy Winehouse's parents accepted her Grammy award at tonight's 54th annual ceremony (February 12, 2012) at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. The award was a joint one, given to Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse, for their duet, 'Body and Soul.' When he took to the stage to accept the award, Bennett took the time to invite Mitch Winehouse and Amy's mother Janis onto the stage.
According to CBS News, Mitch Winehouse told the audience "We shouldn't be here. Our darling daughter should be here." Amy passed away in July last year, after several years of widely publicized substance abuse and a troublesome private life. Mitch went on to say that Amy had been "thrilled" to perform the song with Tony Bennett. Bennett also won an award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Duets II. Amy herself has previously been the winner of five Grammy Awards, all from 2008, the year that her seminal album Back to Black was released.
Mitch made mention of other recent tragedies in the music word, acknowledging the deaths of Whitney Houston and Etta James, saying "What can I say? There's a beautiful girl band up there in heaven." Tribute was paid to Whitney Houston throughout the evening. LL Cool J began the evening with a joint prayer and Jennifer Hudson performed an emotional version of Whitney's biggest hit, 'I Will Always Love You.'