00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most popular concerts
00:12that were considered the catalyst for struggling musicians' comebacks.
00:24Number 10. Billy Joel — Concert for Sandy Relief
00:27It didn't seem like Billy Joel's career needed saving by 2012.
00:38He had been mostly retired since 1999, living off his status as a classic rock figurehead.
00:44But after the shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School,
00:47he felt compelled to participate in a benefit concert at New York's Madison Square Garden.
00:51It's the middle of the night, guys. I go walking in my shoes.
00:57Beyond the success of the charity, viewers of the broadcast singled out Joel's half-hour rendition
01:02of his most beloved classics. He himself would credit the event with renewing his passion for
01:06live performance. Just over a year later, Joel began his 10-year residency at the venue that
01:12affirmed his continued relevance as an artist to the world. It was a comeback for the ages.
01:17Only the good die. That's what I say.
01:24Number 9. Adele — The 54th Grammy Awards
01:28The world held its breath as pop phenom Adele underwent surgery in 2011.
01:32Yeah, I had laser surgery, yeah.
01:34And what did they actually do?
01:35Put a laser down your throat, cut off the polyp, and kind of laser your hemorrhage back together and fix it.
01:41She had just released her sensational second album when the discovery of a benign polyp on
01:45her vocal cords forced her to cancel the promotional tour. The momentum of her success
01:50would hang on a performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards following her recovery.
01:54There is a fire starting in my heart.
01:58Thankfully, Adele sang Rolling in the Deep more spectacularly than ever. She also gave her voice
02:04a little extra exercise with acceptance speeches for six awards that night. Many thought it was
02:10touch-and-go in light of Adele's medical issue. The Grammys wound up being a true victory lap to cement
02:15one of the towering pop careers of the era.
02:18But you paid it, you paid it, you paid it, you paid me to the beat.
02:258. Eric Clapton, MTV Unplugged
02:29Despite regular output and acclaim,
02:31blues rock legend Eric Clapton had lost much of his relevance by the 1990s.
02:36He regressed into privacy for a time following his four-year-old son Connor's death in 1991.
02:50Clapton then returned with the soundtrack for the film Rush and an acoustic set at Bray Studios in
02:56Windsor. The performance was filmed for what would be hailed as one of the best episodes of MTV Unplugged,
03:01highlighted by a moving tribute to Connor with Tears in Heaven.
03:04The song itself won three Grammys, while an album of the concert was named Album of the Year.
03:21Clapton's comeback began with a career bestseller and has sustained with both new and classic hits ever since.
03:277. David Bowie
03:38Glastonbury Festival
03:40One of the most revered musicians of his day was perhaps getting too experimental in the 90s.
03:45Time may change me, I can trace time
03:52Many critics and fans felt that David Bowie was overcompensating for the commercialism of the
03:56previous decade. They all agreed on his triumph as the Sunday headliner at the Glastonbury
04:01Festival in 2000 for two hours. Bowie dominated the pyramid stage with a mix of his greatest hits and new
04:08masterpieces. The BBC received serious backlash for cutting the broadcast short,
04:19per an agreement with the camera shy rocker. The world would eventually witness the full concert and
04:24embrace it as one of the greatest in the history of the festival. It was the comeback of the new
04:28millennium for an artistic visionary and pop idol.
04:406. Fleetwood Mac
04:42The Dance
04:43One of the most beloved and dysfunctional bands in pop rock was
04:47shattered after the 1987 album Tango in the Night.
04:50The departure of Lindsey Buckingham, then Stevie Nicks, spelled an uncertain future for the
05:02McVees and McFleetwood. Thus, the fans' favorite lineup reunited to record a concert special for MTV
05:09at Warner Bros. studio Burbank. The Dance was a ratings hit, and the accompanying album and video
05:15went platinum a total of 26 times. The subsequent promotional tour's success, and the rekindling
05:28of creative chemistry for the new material convinced Fleetwood Mac to make their reunion permanent.
05:33A new generation would get to enjoy these legends in concert, but the dance really put their resilient
05:39greatness into perspective. 5. Elton John
05:50The Troubadour
05:51With two albums, Elton John was a rising star in the UK, and mostly unknown in the States. Through
05:58much negotiating and a pay cut, he and his new band were able to hop the pond for a six-night stint at
06:03The Troubadour in West Hollywood. They only needed the night of August 25 to make history.
06:08John's elaborate and eccentric performance prompted Robert Hilburn of the LA Times to write,
06:13he's going to be one of rock's biggest and most important stars. The critics were right this time,
06:18as John's costly gamble propelled him onto the world's stage and boosted his self-titled sophomore
06:24album into a mega-hit. This would-be flash in the pan has been the music world culture ever since.
06:294. Live Aid
06:32It's hard now to imagine that Queen was slowing down by 1985.
06:365. Goodbye everybody, I've got to go
06:41Their last two albums were so critically and commercially disappointing that they opted
06:46out of a North American tour. It's believed they were considering breaking up when they booked Bob
06:51Geldof's benefit concert for famine relief in Ethiopia. Queen's half-hour set at London's
06:57Wembley Stadium was immediately praised as the highlight of Live Aid.
07:08Over time, it's become popularly recognized as one of the most important concerts in rock history.
07:13It certainly was for Queen, who then scored the film Highlander and released the album,
07:17a kind of magic to wide acclaim. Of course, Live Aid alone dismissed any doubt that Queen would ever
07:23fall from the peak of rock.
07:253. Johnny Cash
07:34Folsom Prison
07:35Folsom Prison Blues was hardly autobiographical, but it established Johnny Cash as a uniquely edgy voice
07:42in country music. His status was nonetheless devastated by substance use disorder in the
07:51latter 1960s. After briefly retreating from the public to get clean, he mounted a comeback that
07:57played on both his bad boy image and the setting that first made him a star. Cash performed at Folsom
08:02State Prison on January 13, 1968, reviving his old trend of holding concerts for prison inmates.
08:09This time, he delivered a grit that stunned the world when a recording of the show was released
08:14four months later. Cash, formally taking control of a dark brand, thus cemented his critical and
08:20public renown for generations.
08:222. Tina Turner
08:28The Ritz
08:29In 1976, R&B superstar Tina Turner went solo after leaving her creative partner and abusive husband,
08:35Ike.
08:44The scandalous divorce corrupted the image that made the Turners, while painting Tina as a victim.
08:49She got by as a touring nostalgia act, until photographer Bob Groon captured a 1983 show at
08:56the Ritz in New York. An audience, which included David Bowie and Keith Richards, was blown away by a
09:01performance that photos couldn't do justice. Word of mouth led to a deal with Capitol Records that
09:06kicked off with Private Dancer the following year. The groundbreaking album earned Turner the title
09:11of the Queen of Rock and Roll. This reinvention was inevitable, but the Ritz is considered the site
09:17of an independent woman's great triumph.
09:19The people proclaimed me rock and roll, and so it was just forced. So it didn't matter what the radio
09:26stations were saying or were playing.
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09:421. Elvis Presley
09:48The highest-paid actor in Hollywood was more upset than the true fans about his absence from
09:53the stage throughout the 1960s. Record sales were also plummeting amidst a new age in rock music.
10:04Manager Colonel Tom Parker thus lined up a one-hour NBC special to air on December 3rd, 1968. The show
10:11simply titled Elvis was filmed at NBC Studios in Burbank with dazzling production values.
10:172. Elvis Presley
10:22More importantly, it featured a legendary showman still in his prime. 42% of television audiences
10:29tuned in to watch Elvis Presley's first concert in seven years, which really just saved his credibility
10:35and youth appeal. But the commercial resurgence on top of that makes his comeback special the
10:40definitive example of what a single concert can accomplish.
10:53Which live performances do you think best encapsulated your favorite artist's resilience?
10:59Work up the crowd in the comments!
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