On Sunday, in front of Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial – and an estimated crowd of more than 500,000 people – an incredible gathering of the world’s most celebrated musicians and entertainers helped kick off the festivities surrounding tomorrow’s inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden.
Officially called “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial,” the two-hour event proved just as poignant as it was historic. Staged on the same site where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his infamous “I have A Dream” speech 45 years earlier, celebrities from Bruce Springsteen to Garth Brooks to Tom Hanks to Tiger Woods served up an eclectic mix of jubilant songs and emotional speeches, all welcoming the President-elect and his family to Washington and offering a positive, hopeful tone to the beginning of his new administration.
Flanked by the Obama and Biden families sitting stage right, and backed by a gospel choir, Springsteen was the first performer to bring the enormous crowd to its feet with an inspiring rendition of his song, “The Rising,” followed by Mary J. Blige singing her take on the Bill Wither’s classic “Lean On Me.”
Next up was Jon Bon Jovi with Bettye Lavette singing Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” then James Taylor with John Legend and Jennifer Nettle singing Taylor’s 1976 hit, “Shower The People.” Backed by another massive choir, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp performed his classic “Pink Houses,” then Josh Groban and Heather Headley took the stage for a beautiful version of “America (My Country Tis of Thee).”
Will.i.am, Sheryl Crow and Herbie Hancock offered up Bob Marley’s legendary “One Love,” and soprano Renee Fleming sang the venerable “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” before Garth Brooks took the stage for one of the afternoon’s musical highlights. Brooks opened with Don McLean’s classic “American Pie,” with the entire Mall helping him sing the song’s chorus, and then jumped straight into Otis Redding’s “Shout,” which brought the huge crowd to a near frenzy. He closed with his own 1992 hit, “We Shall Be Free,” while giving nods to the Obama and Biden families seated to his right.
An unusual combination of Usher, Shakira and Stevie Wonder knocked out Wonder’s ageless hit, “Higher Ground,” followed by the afternoon’s highlight, U2, singing their tribute to MLK, “Pride (In The Name Of Love,” then their hit, “City of Blinding Lights.”
The show closed with a rendition of “This Land Is Your Land” sung by Pete Seeger, his grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger and Springsteen, followed by “American The Beautiful” led by Beyoncé and the entire ensemble of superstars.
Celebrities that delivered speeches in between the music included Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Jack Black, Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Foxx, who brought the massive crowd to its knees with a dead-on impression of Obama that featured a few lines from the President-elect’s post-election victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park.
Festivities will continue for the next several days, including a performance by the reunited Dead scheduled for the Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball tomorrow night at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington.