A crowd estimated at somewhere between 750,000 to more than one million people gathered on the Great Lawn in Manhattan’s Central Park on Saturday, June 12, 1982, in support of nuclear disarmament and to call for a freeze in the ever-increasing Cold War arms race between the United States and the U.S.S.R. They were drawn to the rally by an all-star lineup of classic rock artists that included Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Gary “U.S.” Bonds and protest movement veteran Joan Baez.
Artist Keith Haring created artwork for the event and a poster of it was handed out to the attendees.
The demonstration coincided with a Special Session on Disarmament at the United Nations, where a march to the rally in the park began earlier in the day. It is thought to be the largest political demonstration in U.S. history. The New York Times’ coverage of the rally seems almost quaint in retrospect. But as much as the day was a high water mark in the involvement of rock musicians in political issues, it was also followed by an ever-growing dissatisfaction on the part of some fans with the acts they enjoyed using their music to support and promote partisan causes.
Watch Browne and Springsteen perform the former’s “Running on Empty”
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Watch Ronstadt belting several of her familiar covers
The event’s setlist included:
Linda Ronstadt
Tumbling Dice
Blue Bayou
The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)
Desperado
Heat Wave
Back in the U.S.A.
James Taylor
That Lonesome Road
You’ve Got a Friend
Up on the Roof
Stand and Fight
It’s Growing (with Chaka Khan)
Children’s Cry (with John Hall)
It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (with Ronstadt)
Watch Springsteen and Browne perform “The Promised Land”
Jackson Browne
The Pretender (with Bonds)
The Promised Land (with Springsteen)
Running on Empty (with Springsteen)
Related: Peace Sunday was held six days earlier at the Rose Bowl
4 Comments
No one could sing like Linda. Easily the best singer of her generation. Her bands were always made up of legends, and man they cooked. Sad to see her lose her voice to that terrible disease. She was amazing live.
100% agree, I loved her brilliance, her voice was faultless. Ill remember they way she was through all of her albums that I have.
I was there. Linda and her bandmates stole the show. She seemed unusually joyous rockin’ her heart out. Perhaps because she was already taking that voice elsewhere beyond rock – she felt some sort of liberation. Great live pipes. Linda…sigh
I was there Linda was great stole the show yoko walk passed us as we sat on the ground she stoped and said hi to my sister who said hi to he first it was a great day