The Concert for the Americas was a

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

held on August 20, 1982 in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

at the

Altos de Chavón Altos de Chavón is a tourist attraction, a re-creation of a 16th century Mediterranean–style village, located atop the Chavón River in the city of La Romana, Dominican Republic. It is the most popular attraction in the city and hosts a cultur ...

Amphitheater, a 5,000-seat, open-air Greek-style venue located approximately two hours east of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. It was the amphitheater's inaugural event, with performers including

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

with

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

, and Santana. Santana's set was cut short due to inclement weather.

Recordings

Charles Bluhdorn Charles George Bluhdorn (born Karl Georg Blühdorn; September 20, 1926 – February 19, 1983) was an Austrian-born American industrialist. Early life Bluhdorn was born in Vienna, Austria, to an Austrian Jewish mother Rosa Fuchs and father Paul ...

, whose

Gulf+Western Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. Originally, the company focused on manufacturing and resource extraction. Beginning in 1966, and continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company ...

owned both the Altos de Chavón and

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, had Paramount record the concert so it could be rebroadcast worldwide. The concert was played on Showtime and featured a Grucci Fireworks grand finale. The video recordings of the Frank Sinatra and Buddy Rich set and Heart's performance were later released commercially. The Sinatra set was broadcast twice on A&E, with a different extended number by

and his orchestra in each showing, his "West Side Story" piece and an unannounced one. Only the former is included in the CD and video released under Sinatra's name. (Personal video tape copies of the two broadcasts.)

Setlists

Frank Sinatra / Buddy Rich

* Introduction * "I've Got the World on a String" * "I Get a Kick Out of You" * "Come Rain or Come Shine" * "When Your Lover Has Gone" * "The Lady is a Tramp" * Sinatra speaks about America * "The House I Live In" * Buddy Rich - Prologue / "Jet Song" (from

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

) * "Searching" * "My Kind of Town" * "Something" * "The Best is Yet to Come" * "Strangers in the Night" * "All or Nothing at All" * Band introductions * "The Gal That Got Away" / "It Never Entered My Mind" * "I've Got You Under My Skin" * "Send in The Clowns" (featuring

Tony Mottola Anthony C. Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey and died in Denville. Career Like many of his contemporaries, Mottola began ...

on guitar) * "Quiet Night of Quiet Stars" (featuring Tony Mottola on guitar) * "I Won't Dance" * " Theme from ''New York, New York''" (with New York, New York (On the Town) as the verse) Personnel *

- Vocals * Vincent Falcone Jr. - Conductor, Piano *

Gene Cherico Eugene Valentino Cherico (April 15, 1935, Buffalo, New York – August 12, 1994, Santa Monica, California) was an American jazz double-bassist. Cherico played drums as a child and played in a special services band in the Army, but injured his ...

- Bass *

- Guitar *

Irv Cottler Irving Cottler (February 13, 1918 – August 8, 1989), Hollywood, Los Angeles based musician was a first-call Drummer / percussionist and original member of The Wrecking Crew. Cottler credits include LOVE, Impossible, Stardust and Unforgettabl ...

- Drums * Featuring

and His Orchestra

Heart

* "Crazy On You" * "Raised On You" * "This Man of Mine" * "Straight On" * "Magic Man" * "Tell It Like It Is" * "Dog & Butterfly" * "The Situation" * "Even It Up" * "Barracuda" * "Rock & Roll"

Santana

* "All I Ever Wanted" * "Primera Invasion" / "Searchin'" * "Black Magic Woman" / "Gypsy Queen"

Other "Concerts for the Americas"

* On October 20, 2001, the Concert for New York City took place at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. This performance was occasionally referred to as the "Concert for the Americas". * February 22, 2002 — Hoffman Auditorium, The Carol Autorino Center at St. Joseph College in West Hartford, CT. Performers included Lorena Garay. * October 4, 2005 — Minsky Recital Hall at the University of Maine. Performers included Augusto Bertado Cocotl playing violin, accompanied by Ginger Yang Hwalek on piano.

References

Rock festivals in the Dominican Republic Music festivals established in 1982 1982 music festivals {{music-event-stub