Today I mourn the loss of Tina Turner, one of Rock and Roll’s greatest performers. She had a tough life but never lost her passion for music. Her performance with Mick Jagger for the Live Aid Concert in 1985 was truly extraordinary–it displayed all the raunchiness of Rock and Roll that my parents abhorred. But the total immersion of both Turner and Jagger in the music was, for me, breathtaking. Since it was a benefit concert, the two singers did not have much time to rehearse. But it seems clear that there was no need–they both became the song.
Freddie Mercury and Queen also performed at the concert. Mercury was quite gifted and he died at a young age in 1991. He also gave himself completely to the music.
The concert raised a lot of money to alleviate the horrible famine in Ethiopia. Some 40% of the global population watched parts of the concert which was streamed via satellite connections (quite a feat in a world without the internet). The finale was deeply moving when all the performers came together to sing “We Are the World”. It’s sad to know that many of these performers have since died.
Ultimately, a studio version of “We Are the World” was produced. It, too, is deeply moving, but in a very different way from the concert performance. Rock and Roll does, at times, attempt to save the world. When it does, it is a powerful genre.
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