Day #8 of Appreciating Great Canadian Musicians. Heres someone who needs no introduction--from the pantheon of the greatest music gods. Neil Young singing Hey Hey, My My (Rust Never Sleeps) in 1985 at the very first of many Farm Aid charity concerts. Neil co-founded Farm Aid along with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. The three agreed that family farmers were in dire need of assistance and decided to plan a concert for America. The 12-hour show was put together in six weeks and was held on September 22, 1985 in Champaign, Illinois before a crowd of 80,000 people. It raised over $9 million for Americas family farmers. Performers included Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Alabama, John Fogerty, Vince Gill, The Beach Boys, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Carole King, Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Don Henley, Ry Cooder, Bon Jovi, fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell, and many more. Farm Aid also brought national attention to the plight of the family farmer. Congress subsequently passed the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 to help save family farms from foreclosure. Today, Farm Aid is an organization that works to increase awareness of the importance of family farms, and puts on an annual concert of country, blues and rock music with a variety of stars. The board of directors includes Young, Nelson, Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews. Youngs speeches about the environment are a highlight of the annual shows. After the initial concert, the organization established emergency hot lines for farmers and farm associations. Farm Aid holds a farm disaster fund for farmers who lost their belongings and crops through natural disasters, such as the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 tornadoes. The funds raised are used to pay the farmers expenses and provide food, legal and financial help, and psychological assistance. https://youtube/watch?v=LQ123T3zD2k
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 00:38:03 +0000
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