When they get their acts together, pop stars can help a cause
Issue date: 6/23/05 Section: News
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The idea was hatched on the Live Aid stage in Philadelphia in 1985, when Bob Dylan asked the crowd, "Wouldn't it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?"
Since then, cofounders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young have testified before Congress on behalf of family farmers and have hosted an annual concert in various venues (the specifics of this year's show have not yet been announced). Their efforts have raised more than $26 million.
Farm Aid has a board of directors and a paid staff of nine. It no doubt learned a lesson from the Concert for Bangladesh, the 1971 benefit organized by former Beatle George Harrison to raise money for the millions made homeless after a killer flood tore apart the South Asian country.
Billed as George Harrison and Friends, 75 artists - including Dylan, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr - rocked Madison Square Garden. Though the concert was a success, spawning an album and a documentary film, problems ensued because Harrison had failed to set the show up as a charitable organization. It took a team of tax lawyers 11 years to finally release the $64.8 million raised to UNICEF, the designated charity.
Nevertheless, says Robert E. McQuiston, a Philadelphia lawyer who worked to untangle the mess, the Concert for Bangladesh was a success "because it was the initial signature concert promoted by (rock stars) for the benefit of charitable causes. And it's still influencing everybody today."
Since then, cofounders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young have testified before Congress on behalf of family farmers and have hosted an annual concert in various venues (the specifics of this year's show have not yet been announced). Their efforts have raised more than $26 million.
Farm Aid has a board of directors and a paid staff of nine. It no doubt learned a lesson from the Concert for Bangladesh, the 1971 benefit organized by former Beatle George Harrison to raise money for the millions made homeless after a killer flood tore apart the South Asian country.
Billed as George Harrison and Friends, 75 artists - including Dylan, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr - rocked Madison Square Garden. Though the concert was a success, spawning an album and a documentary film, problems ensued because Harrison had failed to set the show up as a charitable organization. It took a team of tax lawyers 11 years to finally release the $64.8 million raised to UNICEF, the designated charity.
Nevertheless, says Robert E. McQuiston, a Philadelphia lawyer who worked to untangle the mess, the Concert for Bangladesh was a success "because it was the initial signature concert promoted by (rock stars) for the benefit of charitable causes. And it's still influencing everybody today."