Pick a Day

Music History Events: Good Deeds

October 20, 2001 Raising money for victims of the September 11th attacks, Paul McCartney leads "The Concert For New York" in Madison Square Garden. Elton John, Billy Joel, David Bowie, The Who, and Eric Clapton all participate.

January 23, 1997 Tori Amos performs at a benefit concert for RAINN (The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. As a rape survivor, the cause is close to Tori's heart (she wrote her debut single, "Me And A Gun," about her rape experience).

January 7, 1997 David Bowie's 50th birthday bash takes place at New York City's Madison Square Garden in the form of a charity concert benefiting Save the Children. Bowie's famous pals - including Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Robert Smith, Billy Corgan, and Foo Fighters, among others - pay tribute with renditions of the singer's tunes. Bowie closes out the event with his 1969 hit "Space Oddity."

October 28, 1995 At Neil Young's ninth annual Bridge School benefit concert, the Pretenders pay tribute to the late Shannon Hoon, whose band Blind Melon was supposed to play the event, with a cover of Young's "The Needle And The Damage Done." Beck, Hootie & the Blowfish, and Bruce Springsteen also perform.

November 6, 1993 Melissa Etheridge electrifies the crowd at Neil Young's annual Bridge School benefit concert with a rendition of Janis Joplin's "Piece Of My Heart." Warren Zevon, Bonnie Raitt, Ann and Nancy Wilson (of Heart), Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen, and Simon & Garfunkel also perform.

June 4, 1992 The Children Of The Night foundation opens a shelter in Van Nuys, California for teenagers who have been forced into prostitution. It is funded in part from proceeds from Richard Marx' song "Children Of The Night," which he wrote after spending time with kids who were helped by the organization.

March 28, 1992 INXS, Crowded House and other Australian acts play the "Concert For Life" benefit at Centennial Park in Sydney to help continue the work of Victor Chang, a leader in heart research who was murdered in 1991. The crowd is estimated at 100,000; no alcohol is allowed (a rarity at an Australian concert) because the park must be protected.

October 14, 1990 In Baghdad, Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), secures the release of four British prisoners (all Muslin) detained as Iraq prepares for the Gulf War.

December 6, 1989 The Grateful Dead play the Earthquake Relief Fund Benefit at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to help raise funds for victims of the Loma Prieta earthquake. They open their act, fittingly, with "Shakedown Street."

January 30, 1989 With Steven Adler in rehab, Don Henley fills in on drums for Guns N' Roses when they play "Patience" at the American Music Awards. Axl Rose had recorded vocals for Henley's song "I Will Not Go Quietly," which appears later in the year.

October 16, 1988 U2, Ziggy Marley and Keith Richards are among the performers at the Smile Jamaica concert, which benefits victims of Hurricane Gilbert.

July 13, 1985 Tears for Fears bow out of performing at Live Aid, Bob Geldof's star-studded charity concert for famine relief in Africa, after two members of their band quit. The group donates concert funds to the cause, but feels the weight of Geldof's disapproval. TFF's Roland Orzabal says, "He made us feel very guilty. All those millions of people dying, it was all our fault. I felt terrible. I tell you, I know how Hitler must have felt."

July 13, 1985 Piggybacking on Live Aid, top Australian acts play a benefit concert in Sydney called Oz For Africa. INXS, Little River Band and Men At Work are all on the bill.

December 3, 1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?," the first charity single on a grand scale, is released in the UK with proceeds going to help famine victims in Ethiopia. It becomes the biggest-selling single in UK history, a record that stands until 1997 when it's overtaken by Elton John's updated version of "Candle In The Wind." The single is released in America a week later.

December 27, 1982 Billy Joel plays a benefit concert in Allentown, Pennsylvania as his song "Allentown" makes its way up the charts.

October 2, 1982 Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett reunite with Genesis for a concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl in England to help pay off debts Gabriel accrued on his WOMAD tour.

July 31, 1982 Kim Wilde visits injured soldier Michael Barnett at Woolwich Army Hospital in England on his 21st birthday. Barnett, who has Wilde's name tattooed on his arm, lost a hand in the Falklands War.

November 8, 1977 At the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, Elvis Costello performs his debut album, My Aim Is True, with the band Clover, which backed him on the album. Members of Clover go on to form Huey Lewis & the News.

December 5, 1976 Two days after he is shot in an assassination attempt, Bob Marley performs at the Smile Jamaica concert, which he organized in an effort to promote peace in the country. The concert becomes more of a political event after the shooting, which was carried out by a political party who saw Marley as a threat. About 80,000 Jamaicans attend the concert, where Marley takes the stage for 90 minutes.

December 2, 1976 The Bee Gees play a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in New York City to benefit the Police Athletic League in the city.

May 30, 1973 George Harrison releases his second post-Beatles album, Living In The Material World. It goes to #1 in America, where the single "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" also hits the top spot. Publishing royalties from that song and others on the album go to Harrison's Material World Charitable Foundation.

July 28, 1971 George Harrison releases his song "Bangla Desh," which brings attention to the refugee crisis in that country. He performs it three days later at his Concert For Bangladesh, the first major rock fundraiser.