Photograph by Mark Seliger
Over two nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden last month, rock history was made again and again: Bono, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and more legends united on one stage to celebrate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary with a pair of concerts featuring some of the biggest talents of the past six decades. Metallica rocked with Lou Reed. Stevie Wonder sang with Smokey Robinson. The Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie and Will.i.am joined U2 and Jagger for “Gimme Shelter.” Rolling Stone has the story behind these epic concerts, and an unprecedented look behind the scenes of one of the greatest rock events ever in our new issue, on stands today.
Get a look at all of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s inductees.
David Fricke and Brian Hiatt trace the concerts’ journey from the first entreaties to artists (Led Zeppelin declined to reunite again; David Bowie couldn’t make it) to convincing HBO to air the shows as a prime-time special on November 29th to the incredible rehearsals, where Springsteen almost rocked his voice away trading “Fortunate Son” verses with John Fogerty. The issue also features an annotated set list for every tune performed by the two epic lineups: Crosby, Stills and Nash, Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on night one (see live photos); Aretha Franklin, Jeff Beck, Metallica and U2 on night two (see live photos). Both shows opened with Jerry Lee Lewis and featured special team-ups that helped demonstrate the evolution of rock as a cultural force. As Jann S. Wenner — the editor and publisher of Rolling Stone and the driving force behind the concerts — writes in his editors’ notes, “To me, rock & roll has always been about soul and community. These shows had to tell a ...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily