Benefit Concerts were a popular form of nonviolent protest and activism throughout the twentieth century as artists donated their talents to raise awareness and funds for social and environmental causes, poverty relief, cultural organizations, healthcare, and human rights efforts. During the 1930s and 1940s artists like
Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and later, the Weavers, raised funds for political movements and labor organizations. Clara Ward, the Clark Sisters, and other gospel artists raised funds for religious organizations and charities. In later years benefit concerts evolved into large, organized events featuring popular artists and raising tremendous sums of money. The first was the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, featuring George Harrison and Bob Dylan, which raised nearly $250,000 for relief in that country. Unfortunately, the organization failed to set up tax-exempt conduits and the money remained in an Internal Revenue Service escrow account for years. The concert and its affiliated recording, products, and promotions, however, suggested that musical activism could be used on a large scale.
In 1979 Bonnie Raitt and fellow performers formed MUSE, Musicians United for Safe Energy, and held a five-night No More Nukes concert in Madison Square Garden. In 1979 the international human rights organization Amnesty International held its first benefit concert in London and has continued to host benefit concerts, which has greatly increased its budget as well as awareness of human rights abuses. In 1985 USA for Africa, the creation of musician Bob Geld of and promoter Bill Graham, which brought together a group of recording stars for the hit song and video "We Are the World," and the inter-nationally televised concert Live Aid, raised $67 million for African relief. This was followed later that year by the first of a series of Farm Aid concerts. This brainchild of Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp raised over $7 million for America's family farmers and continued annual concerts into the twenty-first century.
In 2001, following the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the twin towers of the World Trade Center, numerous benefit concerts were held to raise funds for families of victims and rescue workers, as well as relief for the city of New York. Among these was the "Concert for New York City," held at Madison Square Garden and featuring an impressive roster of performers, the "United We Stand" music festival held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and the two-night "Alliance of Neighbors" concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. The September 11 attacks spawned numerous other benefit concerts as well as long-term relief efforts that continued to use benefit concerts as a form of fundraising.
Bibliography
Crosby, David, and David Bender. Stand and Be Counted: Making Music, Making History: The Dramatic Story of the Artists and Causes that Changed America. San Francisco: Harper, 2000.
Ward, Ed, Geoffrey Stokes, and Ken Tucker. Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. New York: Rolling Stone Press, 1986.
—Deirdre Sheets
