If David Bowie, Glenn Frey and Lemmy hadn't died, only vague and diluted versions of Rock would have represented at all in the 2016 ceremony.  The fact they did produced trio of performances during Monday's (2/15) ceremony. Surprisingly, the least interesting or inspired tribute was done by the actual band mates of the musician that died.  The Eagles went through the motions playing Take It Easy with Jackson Browne in honoring Glenn Frey.  If they were feeling more than it appeared, they kept it in check during a perfunctory rendition of the song Frey helped complete when Browne was living below them and couldn't figure out what to follow the line 'I was standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona' with.  Imagine how special it would have been to share that with the audience and viewers. Instead, they just played the song without a hint of the special meaning it had to Glenn and to them.

In contrast, Lady Gaga's Bowie tribute was surprisingly strong. It was obvious from the outset that her love of David's music was genuine - and the condensed clips of songs from Bowie's most prolific periods were well chosen, well sung and brilliantly choreographed.

Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Duff Mckagan, Matt Sorum and Johnny Depp cranked out a pyro infused, high energy tribute to Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead that was intense enough that it was surprising to see that the rows of seats filled by pop, country, rap and hip-hop acts were still occupied when they wrapped it up.

Bonnie Raitt and Best Country artist Chris Stapleton also did a tasty tribute to Blues legend BB King.