.

Van Zandt, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Bill Medley Rock Right 2 Rock

10/21/2013
.
(Radio.com) Last Thursday (October 17) at Cipriani's on Wall Street in New York City, a handful of legendary artists- Little Steven Van Zandt, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers- came together to pay tribute to Darlene Love.

It was the fifth annual "Right 2 Rock" event, raising funds for Little Kids Rock, an organization that works to restore and revitalize music education in public schools, mainly in disadvantaged areas that are threatened by budget cuts.

Last year's honoree, E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt is an avowed Love fan, having produced and written for her, he also led a successful campaign to get her inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He served as the night's musical director, playing guitar while conducting the band and looking ecstatic the entire time.

Last year, Love performed in Van Zandt's honor. Before last night's show, she told Radio.com that being honored this year "Is a weird feeling. It's also humbling" Always gracious, she deflected attention away from herself, saying "It's not about me, even though they're honoring me. It's about the kids. To be able to give them something they need, and can't afford, and that the government won't help them with. "

She says that, were it not for her vocal lessons in school, she may not have become a singer. "There wasn't really musical instruments in school, but there were glee clubs and a cappella choirs, vocal things. Which was really great, because we got the chance to sing at other schools, representing our school. And our choirs always had like 50 or 60 voices. It was amazing,"

She learned her chops while singing in large groups, as she came to fame singing in a number of combos including the Blossoms, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans and most famously, the Crystals. And while none of those groups had 50 or 60 voices, they all sounded like they did due in part to Phil Spector's "Wall Of Sound" production technique. more including photos.

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

Darlene Love CDs, DVDs and MP3s

Darlene Love T-shirts and Posters

Share this article

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it Share on Reddit email this article


...end



advertisement