We’re officially coming up on Grammy season — but right before that, in this week between Christmas and New Year’s, it’s Grammy commemoration season, thanks to a couple of two-hour throwback specials premiering on CBS. First, on Friday night, comes “Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs,” dedicated to the winners in the Song of the Year category. Following that on Sunday is “Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments,” a show largely comprised of some of the unusual or remarkable duet pairings that have been put together for the annual awards telecast over the years, along with singular moments.

Both specials are the handiwork of producer Ken Ehrlich, who bring serious enyclopedic and institutional knowledge to these “clip shows” — he was behind every Grammys telecast (bar one) from 1980 through 2020. Besides finding the right excerpts and stories to tell, Ehrlich interviewed many of the artists that are featured on the two specials,...