International Report: Live Earth Rio

WHO PLAYED:
Pharrell, Macy Gray, Lenny Kravitz, Guilherme Arantes, Xuxa, O Rappa, Marcelo D2, Jota Quest, Jorge Ben Jor.

HIGHLIGHT:
Macy Gray and her backing vocalists decked out in dresses stamped with political messages targeting racism, the crisis in Darfur and the war in Iraq. Her band also busted out live samples of "Give Peace a Chance" sprinkled with Jimi Hendrix riffs.

MOST UNEXPECTED MOMENT:
An ecstatic Lenny Kravitz jumped off the stage and joined the audience of 400,000 during "Let Love Rule." The crowd, unsurprisingly, went crazy.

From Rolling Stone Brazil

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Tonight's the Night”

The Shirelles | 1960

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."

More Song Stories entries »

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