Dianne Reeves Was Shocked When Sheryl Lee Ralph Sang Her Song ‘Endangered Species’ in Her Emmys Acceptance Speech: ‘I Just Lost My Breath’
Jazz singer Dianne Reeves received a wave of renewed attention in September 2022 after Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph sang Reeves’ song “Endangered Species” during her acceptance speech at the 2022 Emmy Awards. For her part, Reeves was blown away by the honor, and by Ralph’s rendition.
Sheryl Lee Ralph sang Dianne Reeves’ ‘Endangered Species’ at the 2022 Emmy Awards
When Sheryl Lee Ralph took to the microphone to accept her Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2022 Emmy Awards, rather than start with words, she started with song. “I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim’s song,” Ralph sang. “I am a woman, I am an artist, and I know where my voice belongs / I know where my soul belongs, I know where I belong.”
The song, Dianne Reeves’ “Endangered Species,” was part of Reeves’ 1994 album Art & Survival. The song contains uplifting lyrics about staying strong and true to yourself and never forgetting who you are — the essence of Ralph’s acceptance speech after her vocal performance.
Ralph made history by becoming only the second Black woman to win an Emmy in the category after Jackée Harry, who won for 227 in 1987.
Dianne Reeves was blown away by Sheryl Lee Ralph’s rendition
In an interview with NPR after the Emmys ceremony, Reeves herself expressed her joy with Ralph honoring her, and with her take on her song.
“I’ve known Sheryl for some time. She always loved the song. And she was always singing it. But I never would have thought that in this great moment that she would even start with a song and that it would be a song that I know, that I wrote,” Reeves admitted. “I just lost my breath. It was just an amazing moment.”
She boiled down the message of the song, saying “just keep moving forward because there’s no one else like you in the world that can say it like you can say it.”
The song came at a pivotal time in Reeves’ life
Reeves went on to speak about what the song meant to her at the time of its release in 1994.
“At that time, I was doing a record called Art & Survival. And it was a kind of a crazy time because there were a lot of things going on. And for some reason, I thought maybe this would be my last record. I didn’t know. There were a lot of things going on in the industry. And so I thought, I’m going to just put on this record, this entire record, everything that I feel, that I know, that I believe in. And this was one of the songs from the record,” she said.
“And it just – I mean, it has been out there for so long. I have seen people skate to it. I’ve seen people do their dance routines to it. It’s been – you know, it’s just been amazing,” she continued. “I think in 1995, Hillary Clinton, when she had the women’s conference in China, it opened that. I mean, so it’s been out there. The record did not garner any great popular success, but those people who felt it kept it moving forward.”
Reeves herself has won five Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album, most recently in 2015 for her album Beautiful Life.
Dianne Reeves felt it was the perfect song for the moment
When it comes to Ralph singing “Endangered Species” with her inspiring speech, Reeves felt that it couldn’t have been a more perfect song choice.
“Like she was saying in her speech, keep dreaming, keep moving forward, keep doing what it is that you need to do. You never know where things are going to land or when they’re going to land. But the most important thing is being respectful of, you know, what it is that you have to offer this world,” she said. “You don’t know what other young person is going to hear you, be inspired. Sometimes, you know, the excitement of it is, you know, put out in the populous. And sometimes it’s just in the room of some young woman who’s trying to find her way or some young man that is trying to find their way. You just never know. But just keep being who you are, and keep pushing forward.”
