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Part-time rocker, full-time humanitarian
Bill Clinton, others sing Bono's praises
By George Varga
POP MUSIC CRITIC
March 2, 2003
NEW YORK ? Bono didn't turn water into wine at the 13th annual MusiCares Person of the Year tribute dinner-concert in his honor here Feb. 21.
But U2's charismatic singer and frontman was hailed for achieving at least one near-miraculous act when he was honored by former President Bill Clinton at the black-tie gala in a Times Square hotel ballroom.
Clinton credited Bono as "the person most responsible" for getting Congress to pass the 2000 bill that provided $435 million in debt-relief to 33 impoverished Third World countries.
"He did something I couldn't do ? he got Jesse Helms to sign it," said the ex-president.
Bono was also saluted in song by Grammy queen-to-be Norah Jones, B.B. King, Elvis Costello, Patti LaBelle, Garbage, No Doubt, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow and two upstart bands that sent older attendees scurrying for the exits, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead.
But only Clinton received two standing ovations from the star-studded crowd, which included everyone from Robert De Niro, author Salman Rushdie and Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, to David Bowie, Diana Krall and members of R.E.M. And the salute to Bono by MusiCares, the Grammy Awards' charity for musicians in need, may have been a prelude to a far greater honor.
It was disclosed Monday in Norway that U2's leader is on the official list of candidates for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, along with Pope John Paul II, outgoing Czech President Vaclav Havel and other world leaders.
Musing about how best to salute Bono, Clinton told the capacity audience of 2,300: "I thought I could read all the messages on the bathroom wall of Bono's guest house (in Ireland). But I thought some of them would be inappropriate, even for a guy who can't run for public office again!"
After noting how he had befriended U2 in 1992 when they were staying at the same Chicago hotel ? "They were surprised a guy in my position knew about (the band's 1987 album) 'The Joshua Tree' " ? Clinton laughingly recalled "the uncharacteristically modest inscription" Bono made in a book of Yeats poetry he gave to the then-president.
"It read: Bill, this guy (also) wrote some good lyrics," said Clinton, who grew more serious as he extolled Bono's recent humanitarian efforts to remedy famine and AIDS in Africa.
"I love this man because he has a mind and heart. He can say words, but he knows deeds mean so much more," Clinton said. "To Bono, there is no 'them,' there is only 'us.' We should follow him."
Gazing out at the crowd, which also included Moby, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and other music luminaries, Bono noted that Clinton "is more of a rock star than anyone in this room."
He praised Clinton for helping bring peace to war-torn Northern Ireland by "taking risks" and "speaking with people on both sides."
"I hope and pray in these nervous times," Bono added, "we have the same intelligence to bring to bear in Iraq. The one thing we know about this problem is it's not as simple as war or no war. It's very complex. . . . I want to convince you that 'the war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty.' "
After a perfectly timed pause, he added: "I didn't say that ? Colin Powell did." Bono also voiced his admiration for the U.S. Constitution, saying: "Charity is a great word, but I like freedom and justice better."
Nodding to Eunice Shriver, he said: "U2, we had some hit singles ? she invented the Special Olympics. That's as good as it gets."
Later, a grinning Bono noted: "Africa made America sexy, Africa made America swing. The Irish made America drunk ? with words."
Concluding his 10-minute speech, he dismissed fears that Americans are less willing to help others when war seems imminent and the economy is plummeting.
"When people are worried about their own children, they are at their greatest level of compassion for other children," he said. "It's a lot cheaper to prevent the fires than to put them out."
Fittingly, the final musical performance two hours later came from Bono, who crooned the big-band standard "That's Life." He was then joined by U2 guitarist the Edge for Cole Porter's "Night and Day," which started off jazzy but became a U2 rock rave-up, before concluding with a suitably moody rendition of U2's Oscar-nominated "The Hands That Built America."
Part-time rocker, full-time humanitarian
Bill Clinton, others sing Bono's praises
By George Varga
POP MUSIC CRITIC
March 2, 2003
NEW YORK ? Bono didn't turn water into wine at the 13th annual MusiCares Person of the Year tribute dinner-concert in his honor here Feb. 21.
But U2's charismatic singer and frontman was hailed for achieving at least one near-miraculous act when he was honored by former President Bill Clinton at the black-tie gala in a Times Square hotel ballroom.
Clinton credited Bono as "the person most responsible" for getting Congress to pass the 2000 bill that provided $435 million in debt-relief to 33 impoverished Third World countries.
"He did something I couldn't do ? he got Jesse Helms to sign it," said the ex-president.
Bono was also saluted in song by Grammy queen-to-be Norah Jones, B.B. King, Elvis Costello, Patti LaBelle, Garbage, No Doubt, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow and two upstart bands that sent older attendees scurrying for the exits, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead.
But only Clinton received two standing ovations from the star-studded crowd, which included everyone from Robert De Niro, author Salman Rushdie and Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, to David Bowie, Diana Krall and members of R.E.M. And the salute to Bono by MusiCares, the Grammy Awards' charity for musicians in need, may have been a prelude to a far greater honor.
It was disclosed Monday in Norway that U2's leader is on the official list of candidates for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, along with Pope John Paul II, outgoing Czech President Vaclav Havel and other world leaders.
Musing about how best to salute Bono, Clinton told the capacity audience of 2,300: "I thought I could read all the messages on the bathroom wall of Bono's guest house (in Ireland). But I thought some of them would be inappropriate, even for a guy who can't run for public office again!"
After noting how he had befriended U2 in 1992 when they were staying at the same Chicago hotel ? "They were surprised a guy in my position knew about (the band's 1987 album) 'The Joshua Tree' " ? Clinton laughingly recalled "the uncharacteristically modest inscription" Bono made in a book of Yeats poetry he gave to the then-president.
"It read: Bill, this guy (also) wrote some good lyrics," said Clinton, who grew more serious as he extolled Bono's recent humanitarian efforts to remedy famine and AIDS in Africa.
"I love this man because he has a mind and heart. He can say words, but he knows deeds mean so much more," Clinton said. "To Bono, there is no 'them,' there is only 'us.' We should follow him."
Gazing out at the crowd, which also included Moby, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and other music luminaries, Bono noted that Clinton "is more of a rock star than anyone in this room."
He praised Clinton for helping bring peace to war-torn Northern Ireland by "taking risks" and "speaking with people on both sides."
"I hope and pray in these nervous times," Bono added, "we have the same intelligence to bring to bear in Iraq. The one thing we know about this problem is it's not as simple as war or no war. It's very complex. . . . I want to convince you that 'the war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty.' "
After a perfectly timed pause, he added: "I didn't say that ? Colin Powell did." Bono also voiced his admiration for the U.S. Constitution, saying: "Charity is a great word, but I like freedom and justice better."
Nodding to Eunice Shriver, he said: "U2, we had some hit singles ? she invented the Special Olympics. That's as good as it gets."
Later, a grinning Bono noted: "Africa made America sexy, Africa made America swing. The Irish made America drunk ? with words."
Concluding his 10-minute speech, he dismissed fears that Americans are less willing to help others when war seems imminent and the economy is plummeting.
"When people are worried about their own children, they are at their greatest level of compassion for other children," he said. "It's a lot cheaper to prevent the fires than to put them out."
Fittingly, the final musical performance two hours later came from Bono, who crooned the big-band standard "That's Life." He was then joined by U2 guitarist the Edge for Cole Porter's "Night and Day," which started off jazzy but became a U2 rock rave-up, before concluding with a suitably moody rendition of U2's Oscar-nominated "The Hands That Built America."
