Four Together - Concert for World Hunger
Script error: No such module "Draft topics".
Script error: No such module "AfC topic".
| Four Together | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Folk_music Country_rock |
| Dates | 17 October 1977 |
| Location(s) | Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Attendance | 17,000 |
Search Four Together - Concert for World Hunger on Amazon.
Four Together was a benefit concert held on Saturday October 15, 1977 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Mich. The concert was organized by Harry Chapin to raise money to combat world hunger..[1].
The concert was labeled as Four Together - Concert for World Hunger and brought together Grammy award-winning singer-songwriters Harry Chapin, John Denver and James Taylor – and Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Terry Clemens, who played lead guitar for Lightfoot for four decades, played background guitar with all four performers.
The performance -- which lasted nearly three hours -- was played live on CKLW AM 800, the Windsor, Ont. Canada radio station that served southwestern Ontario and metropolitan Detroit.[2]. Recordings of the concert do not appear to be available.
An estimated 17,000 people attended the benefit concert, paying either $12 or $15 for their tickets. The concert yielded about $150,000 for world hunger [3]
Background[edit]
Harry Chapin was a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger. He co-founded the organization World Hunger Year with radio personality Bill Ayres, More than half of Chapin's concerts were benefit performances, with the proceeds from his concert merchandise used to support World Hunger Year.
In 1976, Chapin asked John Denver for help in raising money to combat world hunger. With the help of Denver, Chapin was a key participant in lobbying the helped Chapin lobby for the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977.
Chapin and Denver conceived the idea of the Four Together benefit concert and enlisted James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot to join them.
Performers[edit]
The Four Together concert featured four of the most renowned folk and country rock singer-songwriters of its time and raised money to combat world hunger.
- Harry Chapin
- Gordon Lightfoot
- James Taylor
- John Denver
- Terry Clemens, the former lead guitar player for Lightfoot, played background guitar with all four singers.
Concert[edit]
The performers sat on a bare circular stage placed in the center of the Olympia Stadium. The stage slowly revolved to provide an “emotional connection,” said Chapin. In what John Laycock of the Windsor Star [4] described as “K-Tel concert of greatest hits” (referring to the company’s series of compilation albums of top singles), each performer sang a pair of their best-known songs before yielding to the next singer.
John Denver began the performance with his hit songs, Take Me Home, Country Roads and Back Home Again. Gordon Lightfoot then took the stage, and sung his hit song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and “If Children Had Wings.” Next, James Taylor sang his hit songs, You've Got a Friend and Something in the Way She Moves. Harry Chapin finished the initial round of solo performances by singing Cat's in the Cradle and “I Wonder What Would Happen to Him.”
Denver then returned center-stage to sing “Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio” and Sunshine on My Shoulders. Lightfoot then sung the title cut from his album, Don Quixote. Lightfoot and Denver performed a duet called "Irish Lullaby" in memory to singer-songwriter Bing Crosby, who died one day before the concert was held. Lightfoot then performed the song, “Partners.” Taylor then sang a trio of songs, including Carolina in My Mind, Fire and Rain and Gorilla. Chapin then sang Mr. Tanner and "W.O.L.D..
On the third cycle through the quartet, Denver performed “Boy from the Country,” Grandma's Feather Bed” and Annie's Song. Lightfoot then performed If You Could Read My Mind and “Songs the Minstrel Sang.” Taylor then sung a trio of songs including Secret O' Life, "Sweet Baby James and Mexico. Chapin closed out the third round of songs with Taxi and 30,000 Pounds of Bananas.
The fourth and final rotation of songs included Taylor singing “Steamroller”; Lightfoot singing “I'm Not Supposed to Care”; Lightfoot, Denver and Taylor singing “Happy Birthday to You”; and Denver closing the show with his hit., Rocky Mountain High.
32. Rocky Mountain High (Performed by John Denver)
Set List[edit]
The full list of the 32 songs that were performed that evening included:
1. Take Me Home Country Roads (Performed by John Denver)
2. Back Home Again (Performed by John Denver)
3. Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald (Performed by Gordon Lightfoot)
4. If Children Had Wings (Performed by Gordon Lightfoot)
5. You've Got A Friend (Performed by James Taylor)
6. Something In The Way She Moves (Performed by James Taylor)
7. Cat's In The Cradle (Performed by Harry Chapin, with audience participation)
8. I Wonder What Would Happen to Him (Performed by Harry Chapin)
9. Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio (Performed by John Denver)
10. Sunshine on My Shoulders (Performed by John Denver)
11. Don Quixote (Performed by Gordon Lightfoot)
12. Irish Lullaby (Performed by John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot)
13. Partners (Performed by Gordon Lightfoot)
14. Carolina in My Mind (Performed by James Taylor)
15. Fire and Rain (Performed by James Taylor)
16. Gorilla (Performed by James Taylor)
17. Mr. Tanner (Performed by Harry Chapin and John Denver)
18. W.O.L.D. (Performed by Harry Chapin)
19. Boy from the Country (Performed by John Denver)
20. Grandma's Feather Bed (Performed by John Denver)
21. Annie's Song (Performed by John Denver)
22. If You Could Read My Mind (Performed by Gordon Lightfoot)
23. Songs the Minstrel Sang (Performed by Gordon Lightfoot)
24. Secret O' Life (Performed by James Taylor)
25. Sweet Baby James (Performed by James Taylor)
26. Mexico (Performed by James Taylor)
27. Taxi (Performed by Harry Chapin)
28. 30,000 Pounds of Bananas (Performed by Harry Chapin)
29. Steamroller (Performed by James Taylor)
30. I'm Not Supposed to Care (Performed by Gordon Lightfoot)
31. Happy Birthday to You Performed by John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor)
32. Rocky Mountain High (Performed by John Denver)
Press Coverage[edit]
A retrospective of the concert was published by Michael Peterrman, professor emeritus of English literature at Trent University[5] who said the concert must have been "a moment that played a part in defining a whole generation."
In a pre-concert interview with the Detroit Free Press, Chapin said: "It's going to be a truly magical evening. We're going to have the world's largest living room."[6].
A full-page ad for the concert with caricatures of Harry Chapin, Gordon Lightfoot and John Denver ran two weeks earlier in the Detroit Free Press to promote the event [7].
Recordings of the concert do not appear to be available.
A photo showing the four artists is posted on the website of Harry Chapin's Foundation[8]
References[edit]
- ↑ Jim Dolan (October 18, 1977). "Four Stars Shine in Benefit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ↑ Laylock, John (October 17, 1977). "Four great ones let everyone join in". The Windsor Star. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Playbill". Windsor Star. October 22, 1977. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ↑ Laylock, John (October 17, 1977). "Four great ones let everyone join in". The Windsor Star. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Michael Peterrman (July 31, 2013). "Photo recalls day when Chapin, Lightfoot shared a stage". Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ↑ Jim Dolan (October 14, 1977). "Top Pop Stars at Olympia to Benefit World's Hungry". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ↑ "The concert event of the year". Detroit Free Press. October 2, 1977. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- ↑ "GORDON,-JAMES,-HARRY,-JOHN". Harry Chapin Foundation. December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
This article "Four Together - Concert for World Hunger" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Four Together - Concert for World Hunger. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
