On This Day, October 20, 2001…
The Concert for New York City was held at Madison Square Garden to honor the city’s NYPD and NYFD first responders in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Alongside many of the first responders, victims’ families and colleagues attended the concert, which raised $35 million.
The concert, organized by Paul McCartney, featured performances by The Who, Elton John, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Bowie and Billy Joel, among others.
The Who’s set — their final one with bassist John Entwistle, who died eight months later — was among the best-received.
New York native Joel performed his classic “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out On Broadway),” telling the crowd that when he wrote it 25 years ago, “I thought it was gonna be a science fiction song. I never thought it would really happen.” He added, “But unlike the end of that song … we ain’t going anywhere.”
The concert was broadcast on VH1, and an album and DVD of the event were released in January 2002.
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