September 19th, 2007

At Radio City Music Hall, Tuesday September 18th, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin led an all-star night to raise money for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

The memorial fund is at $87 million after taking in $4 million Tuesday night. They still need $13 million to meet their goal. Why should it be so difficult? A memorial for Dr. King seems like such a no-brainer.

But the raising of money for it is all the more fun. Along with Stevie and Aretha there were performances from Carlos Santana, Wyclef Jean, Bebe and Cece Winans, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, India.Arie, John Legend, Robin Thicke, Joss Stone, Ludacris and even Garth Brooks, who impressed the crowd with a stirring take on "Abraham, Martin, and John."

But the night belonged to Stevie and Aretha. The latter came out as the penultimate act, a vision in pink chiffon as she slugged out "Respect" and brought the audience to its feet.

It was the gospel shout-out, though, that made the Queen of Soul dance on stage, and her performance was as natural and unbridled as ever.

Meanwhile, backstage, before he performed several numbers including "Happy Birthday" — the song he wrote two decades ago to make Dr, King's birthday a holiday — Stevie entertained in his usual gregarious mode.

Among his visitors: Garth Brooks, who declined a chair and knelt on one knee to have his audience with the legend, and a seriously wizened Gil-Scott Heron, who suggested he and Stevie write a song together.

"I'll give you a song, you give the lyrics," Stevie told him.

"Why do I feel the Holy Ghost right now, y'all?" asked Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. from the podium. "God is in the building!"

Quincy Jones then took the stage to introduce Stevie Wonder, saying Martin Luther King could have been talking about Wonder when he said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Wonder entered and spoke his mind about how far we still have to go in the struggle for equality. He was then presented with an honorary award for his work in establishing the King National Holiday.

"We have grown, but we have not grown so much that we have something like Jena Six… Do you think that Dr. King would be happy about now? I would say no," Wonder stated firmly.

"I'd like to do a song that I think is appropriate for this moment that we're in," Wonder said in introducing "Love's in Need of Love Today," about ending hatred and then giving a rousing rendition of  "Living for the City". During "Visions," on which Wonder was joined by the neo-soul singer India.Arie, he spoke with declaring: "Stop the hate, stop the war, stop the segregation!"

Stevie then topped things off with "Superstition" and his renowned "Happy Birthday," the very song he used to help spearhead the fight to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day an official holiday in 1980. More than two decades later, it's about time for a monument, and hopefully, for a movement.