Jeff Lynne Bringing Electric Light Orchestra to Grammy Show

From out of the blue comes word that Jeff Lynne will bring his latest version of the Electric Light Orchestra to the Grammy Awards tonight, likely setting a new world record for number of viewers the band has ever played for on live television.

Lynne and ELO will be joined by singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, whose 'x' LP is up for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year honors; he's also nominated for the Best Song Written for Visual Media Grammy, thanks to his song 'I See Fire' (from 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug').

ELO's Grammy performance comes amidst a semi-flurry of renewed activity from Lynne's latest iteration of the long-dormant band, which faded away following 1986's 'Balance of Power' and seemed to be on permanent hiatus as Lynne started a solo career and made a name for himself as one of rock's most in-demand producers. He resurrected the Electric Light Orchestra mantle for 2001's 'Zoom' LP, which featured mostly new members, but a planned U.S. tour fell through.

In 2014, Lynne returned to the stage with ELO for a well-received U.K. show, and although he readily admitted he had a great time doing it, he still seemed somewhat ambivalent about the prospect of putting together a full-fledged tour, musing, "It would be nice to find a way of doing it without going anywhere."

Getting up onstage at the Staples Center in L.A. isn't exactly going nowhere, but playing at the Grammys is one of the last few avenues performers have for getting their music in front of a major television audience; in terms of sheer numbers, Lynne will play to more people than he might on an entire tour -- many of whom might be making an ELO discovery for the first time. Something tells us AC/DC aren't the only classic rockers who will be seeing a post-Grammys sales bump.