The Magic of a Moment: Exploring Iconic One-Time Music Performances

Can one performance define a musical performer? Can one performance launch a career? It has happened, but it is rare. What happens all the time, however, is a musician RE-defining themselves with one performance. Witnessing a ground-breaking performance can change how YOU feel about the artist. I have been thinking about such performances that I have seen either live or on film. The list below are my personal favorite one-off performances in music. Check out the accompanying videos and see if these performance rock your world too.

Stairway Surprise!

British rockers Led Zeppelin were among the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012. The Wilson sisters of Heart and many other artists collaborated on an extraordinary finale performing the iconic song “Stairway To Heaven”. The three remaining group members were in attendance, sitting in the Presidential Balcony, wearing their Kennedy Honor regalia. The actual performance was a multi-layered production full of surprises.  The Wilson sisters started the song quietly, just vocals and acoustic guitar. Ann Wilson’s powerful voice, restrained at first. Of course sister, Nancy, playing that famous ‘Stairway’ lead flawlessly on acoustic guitar . Quietly the strings come, then a choir..still subdued. The song is building as the drummer’s cymbals can now be heard. The choir and the strings grow a little louder as the song’s pace picks up. Ann Wilson sings though the well known verses and a horn section appears. The camera swings to the balcony to catch Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page completely engaged. They are nodding their approval. The drummer, Jason Bonham, is wearing a bowler hat just like his father did. Jason is the son of original Zeppelin drummer, the late John Bonham . His appearance behind the kit visibly surprised the members of Led Zeppelin. Now the song is reaching it’s epic parts as the guitarist onstage does a stellar job playing the solo in front of THE soloist (who is shown smiling proudly). The put-together ensemble was really cooking, barreling towards the song’s familiar conclusion. Suddenly the whole backdrop behind the band slowly begins to rise. Revealed behind the backdrop was a 100 voice youth choir, all wearing bowler hats! Their voices swelled as they backed Ann Wilson on the final push. The members of Led Zeppelin, the other honorees, President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama and various other celebrities sighted in the audience were all feeling the moment. Robert Plant had tears in his eyes. The hectic pace suddenly stops and the lights dim as Ann Wilson performs her last duty of singing the final line. Backed by the swelling drone of the 100 voices, she ends the epic performance. There is a stunned, silent pause in the theater before the place erupts in a well-deserved standing ovation.

He’s a Prince of a Guitarist

Most of these performances came as part of a bigger event. In this case, it was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in 2004. It was a stellar class of inductees that year. ZZ Top, Traffic, Bob Seger, Prince, George Harrison, The Dells and Jackson Browne were being honored. The night of a R&R HOF ceremony is FULL of music business big-timers. Between the inductees and the people doing the inducting, it is a “night of a thousand stars”.  George Harrison died in 2001, so his induction was posthumous. When it came time for the live performance honoring George, the stage filled with well-known superstars.: Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, Dhani Harrison and others all strapped on instruments. This all-star band launched into the George-penned Beatle classic, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. The singers in the group took turns at the mic. The song, famously, ends with an urgent, extended guitar solo (by Eric Clapton on the original). When it came time for this solo, a lone figure emerged from the backstage darkness. It was Prince!  He looked especially Prince(ly) in his dark suit with an open red shirt and red fedora. He didn’t say a word, he just started HIS version of this ending solo. Fans of Prince already knew that he was an accomplished guitarist. A week before the ceremony, Rolling Stone Magazine listed the 100 greatest guitarists. Guess who they left OFF the list? I say this disrespect motivated Prince. He showed the rest of the world that night. Right there in a building BUILT for guitar players! This solo must be heard to be believed! The look on George’s son, Dhani’s face, was priceless. Even Petty and Jeff Lynne were shooting glances at each other. Petty claimed that he urged Prince to continue the solo because it was epic. The song came to a rollicking end with Prince tossing his beautiful Fender guitar into the crowd and strutting off stage. It was his way of saying, “Don’t be mistaken! If I wanted to play like this all the time, I could”.   A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame moment, as yet unmatched. BTW, the next Rolling Stone list of the greatest guitarists placed Prince at #14.

Grammy Surprise

The year was 1980. I remember this moment as being very exciting and quite a surprise. In 1980, I was in high school and knee-deep in popular music so watching the Grammys was a MUST. Some of my favorites, to this day, won Grammys that year. The Song of the Year was “What a Fool Believes” by the Doobies. Billy Joel’s ‘52nd Street’ won Album of the Year. The Doobies also won in the ‘Best Pop Vocal by a Duo , Group or Chorus’ category for the album, “Minute By Minute”. Another nominee in this category was the SURPRISE of the show. Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand had a hit single with “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”. They had never performed it live before. They didn’t even record the song together. It was recorded and released separately by each artist. Then a DJ in Kentucky took the two recordings and mashed them together to make it sound like a duet. Listeners went crazy about the song, forcing Diamond and Streisand to do the duet for real. Even THEN, because of tight schedules, they recorded their own parts separately. Their surprise appearance at the Grammys was their first time singing the popular song together in public. The Grammy show that night on CBS had just come back from a commercial break. The camera was set on a wide shot of the stage. Then suddenly two figures emerged from opposite sides of the stage. It was a man and a woman, facing each other. It did not take long for the audience to gasp when they recognized the two unannounced superstars. They knew what was coming and they started to show their excitement. Barbara started the song. She looked extremely nervous. Neil looked extremely cool as he sang his part. As they traded the verses, they slowly walked toward each other. They meet mid stage as the woeful song comes to an end. Barbara lightly touches Neil’s face (queue the crowd reactions). Neil grabs her hand and kisses it. The two hug it out and kiss each other on the cheek. Everyone in the crowd and in my living room rose to their feet. We had just witnessed Grammy History! Barbara was just glad it was all over.

Tribute Show Gold

Tributes to fallen rock stars are prime hunting grounds for amazing performances. The combination of famous musicians singing someone else’s famous songs can be revolutionary. One of the most star-filled tributes I have ever seen was the one for Freddie Mercury.  Freddie died in November of 1991. The Tribute concert was held in April of the next year. The HUGE AIDs benefit was broadcast worldwide from Wembley Stadium . Musicians from every genre showed up to pay their respects. One after another hit the stage to sing a Queen classic backed by Queen themselves. As far as I know, Queen only released one song that included an a singer from outside the band. The song was “Under Pressure”. An afterthought recorded during Queen’s “Hot Space” recording sessions. Singer David Bowie was in the same studio working on a song. Bowie stepped into the Queen studio and one thing led to another. Queen was struggling with a song called “Feel Like” so Bowie started brainstorming ideas with Freddie. “Under Pressure” was born with vocal help from Bowie. It became a huge song for Queen. Now fast forward to the day of Freddie’s Memorial. Bowie surprises the crowd as he walks out on the big Wembley stage with Eurythmics singer, Annie Lennox. Everyone in the crowd and at home KNEW what song was coming. The duo did not disappoint. Bowie is rock royalty and Lennox is a rare vocal talent. The song itself is a proven winner. The slow start builds and builds to a fever pitch before it suddenly stops, leaving everyone breathless. Bowie is the epitome of cool and Annie Lennox looks a little odd with her blacked out eye makeup. The two perform a surprisingly intimate version of the song.  A special moment on day full of them.

Old Is New

I recently came across this 2006 live performance of a 1967 hit.  British rock group Procol Harum debuted in 1967 by releasing a single song, “A Whiter Shade of Pale”. The song was an international hit. It was the Bach inspired organ and the white soul vocals that excited the hip crowd of 1967. The song became an anthem to the Summer of Love. It doesn’t hurt that singer/composer, Gary Brooker, has a distinctive voice that carries the surreal lyrics. This 2006 performance takes place at an outdoor concert at Ledreborg Castle, Denmark. Procol Harum is accompanied by the Danish National Concert Orchestra and choir. The setting is quite lovely. A large castle-shaped tent houses the stage. The patrons are politely seated on folding chairs on the large lawn. The sun is shining and as the orchestra plays their introduction, you could hear a pin drop. Then the moment happens and Gary Brooker opens up his ‘older’ throat. He shows all watching that he STILL has the goods. The addition of the choir and orchestra adds to the amazing Brooker vocals. An already immensely popular song is lifted to new heights. 

The Way To Monterey

The Monterey International Pop Festival was a 3-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in California. One can hand pick any number of performances from this festival and mark them as EXTRAORDINARY! Otis Redding, Janis Joplin and The Who all made big splashes at the yearly Monterey festival in 1967. Perhaps, the biggest moment belonged to Jimi Hendrix. It’s hard to imagine but Hendrix was relatively unknown in America when he played Monterey. So was Janis Joplin. Otis Redding played mostly to black audiences. The Who had not hit it big in the States yet, either. Hendrix had already wowed the crowds in England as well as impressed the British rock royalty. Hendrix was scheduled to play on the final night. The Who would follow him to end the night. Jimi’s set left the crowd awestruck. He played at a higher volume than everyone else. (Allegedly, his manager sneaked around and turned up the knobs). His guitar screeched and dive-bombed in ways never before heard. Jimi himself was a walking attraction. His clothes, his mannerisms and erotic stage moves were all trendsetting. Now, Jimi was aware how wild The Who behaved on stage. They smashed instruments and ended their show with an explosion. Jimi wanted to do something that would stand out to his potential new fans. Hendrix asked around for a can of lighter fluid that he placed behind his amp. Jimi’s finale was an unhinged version “Wild Thing” which he ended by pouring lighter fluid all over his Fender guitar and setting it on fire. He then smashed it against the stage (a reported seven times) before giving the pieces to the crowd. This performance launched Jimi Hendrix in the States and, consequently, world-wide, introducing a guitar technique that has been often imitated but never quite duplicated. ICONIC!

East Coast Wake up call

The Monterey International Pop Festival may have been the blueprint. But 2 years later another festival was held on a much larger scale. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair.  3 Days of Peace and Music (Aug. 15 -18, 1969) happened in upstate New York.   Hendrix was the headliner, closing on the final day. It was just 2 years after Monterey Pop and he was no longer a mystery. He was the KING. But this story is not about him. This groundbreaking performance was from an unknown (at the time) band. The story has a few versions but it goes something like this: Bill Graham was a powerful promoter out of San Francisco and New York. He had experience with big festival-type shows. The organizers of Woodstock were in over their heads and panicking days before the show. They asked for Graham’s help. He agreed, on one condition. He would help if one of his new bands was allowed to perform. The agreement was made and Graham’s new band, SANTANA was scheduled to perform late on the final day, Sunday. (Another version of the story has one of Graham’s other bands, Chicago, booked to play Woodstock. Graham purposely booked Chicago somewhere else so they couldn’t make it. He then lobbied for Santana to play). Either way, Santana had not even recorded their first record yet. NO ONE knew who they were but Bill Graham had a feeling..Santana’s set was something special (Bill knew it would be). The fusion of the Latin rhythms and rock was fresh and the crowd ate it up. Santana’s performance of “Soul Sacrifice” at Woodstock was fierce. However, it was the Woodstock film that brought Santana to the masses. On behalf of the masses, I say “Thank You!”. A funny story that Carlos tells centers around the band’s scheduled start time. The band was scheduled to go on much later than they actually did. No worries, unless you were timing the drugs you just took. Carlos and others in the band were tripping on mescaline when they hit the stage because the effects of the drug had NOT worn off yet.  Carlos remembers the 100,000 fans as a “sea of hair and teeth”.

Now WE’RE Here

They were, at one time, a hit making machine. World renowned, a musical juggernaut. But, like many other bands, they had fallen off the charts while new energy was taking over the music business. Many people wrote them off as ‘has-beens’. The band themselves were thinking about calling it quits, when they got an offer. The offer was to join many other top acts for a benefit concert. Not just any benefit concert but actually TWO concerts on TWO continents. Founder Bob Geldof’s brainchild was to have fundraising concerts in the UK  and, at the same time, one in the US. The event was called ‘Live Aid’ and the world would be watching. It happened on July 13th, 1985.  The event raised money for Ethiopian Famine Relief. The top acts of the day were invited. Geldof did not want this band to play. Although they were still creating music and touring, they were far from their height. Geldof felt they were out of touch with modern fans. Geldof could not have been more mistaken. The band in question was Queen and their lead singer, Freddie Mercury, had something to prove. He had been hearing the criticism. “Queen hasn’t produced anything important in years.”, “They’ve lost their edge.” Things were difficult internally with the band. Sales were down. A recent tour of South Africa got them scorned for supporting Apartheid. Lead singer Freddie Mercury was growing bored with the routine. The band decided that appearing at Live Aid, besides being a great cause, could give them a boost. But Freddie had a plan. The plan was to use their time on stage as efficiently as possible. Fit in as many fan favorites as they could in the short time they were allotted. Queen was very good at performing to stadium crowds, so they leaned into it. They got the fans in the stadium involved with the show with a fun call and response exercise. Also a visually stunning ‘clap-along’ to “Radio Ga-Ga”. They rehearsed and rehearsed until they had a tight 18 minute set of hits., There was very little fluff and a lot of FREDDIE! Freddie Mercury was the ultimate front man. Every move was a picture. Every note sung with conviction. A brilliant choice was to open their set with their biggest hit, “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The crowd LOVED Freddie and his sassy attitude. He had 72,000 wrapped around his little finger. The band never looked or sounded better. There were questions surrounding the band, THIS performance put all those questions to rest. Queen were the KINGS on this day. Without a doubt. All the rehearsal paid off and this short 20 minute performance has grown in infamy. The history of Queen played out live in front of the world. The best they had to offer was given and it was more than enough. The whole thing quickly became legendary. Freddie Mercury was a vision of health on this day. Just 2 years later, Freddie was diagnosed with a new, deadly disease. Even though he kept it secret, the years after showed the disease’s effects.  Freddie died from complications from AIDs on November 24th, 1991. The world still mourns the loss. Queen’s performance that day encapsulated their career. It stands as one of the most celebrated live performances ever. A celebration of Freddie Mercury and the music he and his band mates created.

Like My Virgin Eyes!

MTV broke a lot of new ground. I was lucky enough to be there to see its launch in 1981. It was transformative right away! Music videos became a huge marketing tool for artists. Videos were being produced for MTV at a feverish rate. So much so that, in 1984, they held the 1st Annual MTV Video Music Awards show (the VMAs). The inaugural awards show had seven live performances from 1984’s biggest stars. One of these stars was a new one named Madonna. Madonna’s debut album was full of dance hits and she was perfect for this new visual MTV medium. She performed the hit “Like a Virgin” on the award show. The performance raised a few eyebrows and definitely had my full attention very quickly. The song starts with Madonna descending a 17 foot wedding cake. She is wearing a see-through wedding dress with a bustier. She is sporting a large belt buckle with the words, “BOY TOY”, written in silver. As she came down the stairs, she lost a shoe. This was largely unseen by the audience. She dived on the floor to cover up the ‘wardrobe malfunction’. She continued to slink across the floor, singing the whole time, while she fetched the shoes. I had no idea about the shoes until today! She continued to writhe on the floor putting the shoes on. Apparently, Madonna liked being on the floor because towards the end of the song she returned there. This time she concluded the song by rolling on her side, her dress opened exposing her underwear in full view! She got away with it. No one noticed the shoe but EVERYONE was talking about the “risqué”  and “racy” performance. I wondered if any other strippers had a hit record. This gave Madonna a boost into infamy . She became an icon and has lived up to her sexually outrageous debut for all these years. 

Honorable Mentions

1995 – KISS surprises a small crowd on MTV Unplugged by bringing back original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss for a few songs. It was the first time the four men played together without the KISS makeup. The positive public reaction spurred a reunion (in full KISS regalia) and tour. First in 17 years. The original kiss lineup had a 13 year run (all in makeup) , this second time around lasted 23 years! Ace and Peter did not, however.

1986 – Van Halen introduces new lead singer, Sammy Hagar, and hit the road. It is safe to say the lead singer change from David Lee Roth to Sammy was huge. One of the BIGGEST personnel changes in rock ever! For some reason, the band decided to stream their 2nd concert ever live to the world on MTV from New Haven, CT. It was a triumphant success for Sammy and Van Halen. Sammy Hagar still had to fight for VH fan approval. But the concert was undeniably fantastic. The album sold more than any previous VH album. The streamed concert was released on DVD and VHS. The new Van Halen hit ground running and reached major milestones during their Sammy-era. It all started in New Haven…of all places.