The Concert for New York City

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The Concert for New York City was a benefit concert, featuring many famous musicians, that took place on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Many of the attendees were families and fellow members of the New York Fire Department and New York Police Department, honoring those lost in the attacks and those who had worked in the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts in the weeks since then.

The concert was organized by Paul McCartney and included many of his legendary British contemporaries, including Mick Jagger with Keith Richards, The Who, David Bowie, Elton John, and Eric Clapton. American artists included Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, the Backstreet Boys, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Melissa Etheridge, Five for Fighting, Goo Goo Dolls, and John Mellencamp with Kid Rock, as well as an "Operaman" performance by Adam Sandler, singing a medley covering topics including the concert, the greatness of New York City, and about Osama Bin Laden being a coward. Various celebrities and political figures such as Rudy Giuliani appeared in between the acts. Many athletes also appeared between the acts including Joe Torre, whose Yankees were on their way to competing in their fourth consecutive World Series.

The concert also included several short films made by New York City's most notable filmmakers - Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Spike Lee.

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[edit] Audience reaction

The crowd itself was extremely emotional, with family members and colleagues holding up portraits of lost ones. Three of the speakers were booed: actress Susan Sarandon (for plugging New York mayoralty candidate Mark Green), actor Richard Gere (for speaking about non-violence), and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (before saying anything at all). Hillary Clinton did not overtly acknowledge the reaction, and spoke over the noise of the crowd by raising her voice. (In contrast, former President Bill Clinton also appeared, but was positively received by the crowd.) Richard Gere did acknowledge the crowd's jeering of his pacifist stance, stating, "I know that sentiment isn't popular right now, but that's okay." The repeats and DVD version were digitally edited to remove the booing, and replaced it with fake cheering for Hillary Clinton.[1]

Adam Sandler's performance of Operaman was considered by many to be one of the highlights of the night. He sung a humorous song about Rudy Giuliani's term as mayor ending, the New York Yankees who were about to start playing in the 2001 ALCS, the musical acts of the night so far (which included how Destiny's Child gave Adam Sandler a "boner"), and how Osama Bin Laden is a coward which included the line "Osama says he's tough, Osama says he's brave/Then tell me why Osama is shitting in a cave!"

Musically, the audience responded most fervently to The Who, roaring as they came on stage with a roiling "Who Are You", drowning out the band on the famous "It's only teenage wasteland" refrain of "Baba O'Riley", and reaching a peak of excitement with a stunning rendition of "Won't Get Fooled Again". Other highlights included David Bowie's opening tandem of Paul Simon's "America" and his own "Heroes", dedicated to his local ladder company, and Billy Joel's "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" where Joel says after singing it, "I wrote that song 25 years ago as a science fiction song never thinking it would be a reality, but unlike the end of that song, WE AIN'T GOIN' ANYWHERE!!" Elton John's sentimental "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" was also well received, among other performances.

[edit] Broadcast

The five hour broadcast was executive produced by Greg Sills & Fred Graver. The producer was Paul Flattery and the director was Louis J Horvitz (who has directed many of the Oscar broadcasts). It was written by Stephen Pouliot and Paul Flattery.

The concert was broadcast live on VH1October 20, 2001, and over $35 million was raised. An additional $275,000 was also raised with a connecting auction.

The entire uncut version of the 5 1/2 hour concert was rebroadcast on VH1 Classic January 1, 2008. It was nominated for an EMMY for best music/comedy special (Greg Sills, Fred Graver and Paul Flattery) and for best production design (by SNL vet Keith Raywood).

Over 60 stars that participated in the concert signed unique memorabilia backstage at Madison Square Garden that was later auctioned off on Ebay to support The Robin Hood Relief Fund. The autographed items included 3 large posters of the concert and 3 customized 24" drumheads. Other items included a complete drumset and guitar.

The Concert For New York City's Official Website [1] is dedicated to help preserve the historic significance of the event featuring rare photos of the concert along with never before seen photos taken backstage at Madison Square Garden. Additionally there are photographs of celebrities signing rare memorabilia including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi, and President Bill Clinton surrounded by his Secret Service entourage.

A one hour highlight show was broadcast on CBS the following month. An album and DVD of the event was released in January 2002.

[edit] Lineup and songs

In order of appearance:

[edit] Critical reaction

In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine selected this concert, along with the earlier America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon, as one of the 50 moments that changed rock and roll. It was also voted the #4 greatest moment in the history of Madison Square Garden.[2]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Booing of Hillary Transformed into Applause
  2. ^ MSG 50 Greatest Moments

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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