Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Spring Benefit Concert @ Public Hall 5/14/11
It’s Only Rock and Roll
The old wooden floors at Public Hall were rockin’ Saturday night as the all-star line up rolled in one after the other including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Wanda Jackson, Mavis Staples and Darlene Love. Also performing were Curt Smith of Tears for Fears, Chuck Jackson and the incomparable Cyndi Lauper. All this amazing talent assembled for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s Spring Benefit Concert, It’s Only Rock and Roll.
Wanda Jackson started the evening in the way-back machine, her voice and presence much more vigorous than her years would seem to allow. Moving up in time only slightly, Chuck Jackson sang a few of his standards, but was over shadowed by the next act when Curt Smith of the classic ’80s band Tears for Fears gave the crowd three of their most well-known songs including “Head Over Heals,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout.” This is when the crowd really started to connect with the music.
Mavis Staples kept the audience pumped and in motion especially with her rendition of “Take A Load Off Annie,” during which Cyndi Lauper made a surprise on-stage appearance. The two cajoled each other through the song like two old friends exchanging stories, obviously thrilled to be in each other’s company. An even higher point of Ms. Staples’ performance was a crescendo-building rendition of “I’ll Take You There,” when she reminded the audience that The Staples Family has been takin’ us there for 60 years! Ms. Staples also warmly informed us that her family wrote that song for everyone, and Saturday night, everyone in the building sang it.
Darlene Love, who worked with producer Phil Spector early in her career, kept the musical momentum building with her powerful voice, and added some humorous perspective as well. Ms. Love asked the audience to notice where she is now — on stage, featured in the Rock Hall’s Women Who Rock exhibit and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee — in contrast to where her former producer is. Besides her own headlining tunes, she was made famous for all the legends she sang back up for such as Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, The Beach Boys, Elvis and many more.
And finally Cyndi Lauper bopped back on stage with her unique blend of explosive energy and funky attitude, culminating in a rendition of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” in which Mavis Staples and Darlene Love came back on stage. Then, to the delight of the audience, there was a surprise appearance of Ronny Spector as well, adding to the fun the girls were having. Cyndi Lauper ended the evening with a soul-stirting performance of “True Colors,” during which she stood alone on stage playing her dulcimer and pouring her heart into her voice while she sang.
With all these girls having fun, the concert was a fitting kick off for the opening of a groundbreaking and provocative new exhibit at the Rock Hall: Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power, celebrating the women of rock. All evening the audience was swept along with each performer, they were on their feet, bouncing and singing along. It was only Rock and Roll, but they really liked it.
Carol Drummond has been a professional designer for 25 years. Prior to starting her award-winning graphic design studio 15 years ago, Drummond Design, she graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, worked at a graphic design studio, a video production company, and a consumer products company. She has been an art docent for Mayfield City Schools and currently serves on the COSE Arts Network Advisory Committee. http://www.DrummonDesign.com
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