2008 Woodie Awards
Live Aid Celebrates 20th Anniversary
David Rochford
Issue date: 2/9/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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There are many instances when music has a profound effect on one's individual life. There are, however, far fewer examples of how music influenced millions of people around the globe at one given time. This year marks the 20 Anniversary of the Live Aid concerts, along with Band Aid and U.S.A. for Africa projects. To celebrate the cause and the effect the concert has had on millions who watched it on July 13, 1985, a DVD containing four discs and over ten hours of material was released in November 2004. All of the profits from the DVD are going to the cause of fighting against hunger worldwide.
The reason for the greatest musicians at the time to collaborate, create two singles, and two concerts was to help destroy hunger in Eastern Africa-a place in which people were dying of hunger by the minute due to an epic drought. In November 1984, Bob Geldof, lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, created an idea to release a new single featuring Bono, Sting, David Bowie, and many other British artists who topped the charts. The project was called Band Aid. The single, "Do They Know It's Christmas," became one of the greatest selling singles in England's music history.
American artists noted the success of the British single and decided to respond with a single of their own. On January 28, 1985, "U.S.A. For Africa" was formed and later recorded a single to end hunger. "We Are the World," featuring Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Jackson, was one of the fastest selling singles in Billboard's history.
Geldof decided to take the success of the two songs further and hold a concert spanning two continents at Wembley Stadium in London and at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The following summer, his dream became a reality, as the concert was broadcasted around the world on television for more than fifteen hours. The DVD captures around two-thirds of the material that was seen live. There are some obvious omissions, including Led Zeppelin, who asked not to be included because of their "substandard" performance. Despite the omissions, ten hours of material is quite substantial and all the important bases are covered.
It can be argued that this concert was one of the most important in rock history due to the total amount of acts who decided to contribute to the show. Some of the greatest moments in rock concert history are finally captured on DVD. These include Queen's six song set at Wembley amongst 100,000 people clapping in unison and U2's performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" at the height of their popularity in England.
This week, to honor the anniversary of "U.S.A. for Africa", a DVD has been released taking an in-depth look at the recording and cause for "We Are the World." The most intriguing thing will be to see the chemistry popular musicians had with one another during the recording. There is also a plan to release the song as a single for the aid of the tsunami disaster in South East Asia. Since the profits go to a good cause and are a piece of popular music history, they are vital to any serious music collection.
The reason for the greatest musicians at the time to collaborate, create two singles, and two concerts was to help destroy hunger in Eastern Africa-a place in which people were dying of hunger by the minute due to an epic drought. In November 1984, Bob Geldof, lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, created an idea to release a new single featuring Bono, Sting, David Bowie, and many other British artists who topped the charts. The project was called Band Aid. The single, "Do They Know It's Christmas," became one of the greatest selling singles in England's music history.
American artists noted the success of the British single and decided to respond with a single of their own. On January 28, 1985, "U.S.A. For Africa" was formed and later recorded a single to end hunger. "We Are the World," featuring Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Jackson, was one of the fastest selling singles in Billboard's history.
Geldof decided to take the success of the two songs further and hold a concert spanning two continents at Wembley Stadium in London and at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The following summer, his dream became a reality, as the concert was broadcasted around the world on television for more than fifteen hours. The DVD captures around two-thirds of the material that was seen live. There are some obvious omissions, including Led Zeppelin, who asked not to be included because of their "substandard" performance. Despite the omissions, ten hours of material is quite substantial and all the important bases are covered.
It can be argued that this concert was one of the most important in rock history due to the total amount of acts who decided to contribute to the show. Some of the greatest moments in rock concert history are finally captured on DVD. These include Queen's six song set at Wembley amongst 100,000 people clapping in unison and U2's performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" at the height of their popularity in England.
This week, to honor the anniversary of "U.S.A. for Africa", a DVD has been released taking an in-depth look at the recording and cause for "We Are the World." The most intriguing thing will be to see the chemistry popular musicians had with one another during the recording. There is also a plan to release the song as a single for the aid of the tsunami disaster in South East Asia. Since the profits go to a good cause and are a piece of popular music history, they are vital to any serious music collection.