David Crosby book details musicians' good deeds

David Crosby

From CNN Correspondent Mark Scheerer

April 5, 2000
Web posted at: 1:49 p.m. EST (1749 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- From civil rights to Live Aid, Band Aid to AIDS aid, the the causes that have captured the interest of the music industry are chronicled in David Crosby's new book, "Stand and Be Counted," (Harper San Francisco).

The rock icon co-wrote the book with David Bender to call attention to this activism. It details decades of good deeds achieved through benefit concerts and special recordings spearheaded by concerned stars.

"We got glimpses into their value systems and their reasons they do things that nobody else has gotten. It was pay dirt. It was seriously good stuff," said Crosby.

From the days of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, musicians have embraced social causes.

Musicians garner change and help for the less fortuante with benefit concerts, such as Farm Aid

"You just have to try and do as much as you can, and make people informed, make people aware, and I'm very fortunate that I'm in a position to do that," said Elton John, who has raised millions of dollars for AIDS education and prevention efforts.

Other musicians agree.

"I think anything that we can do to give back and help out in any way we can ... I think its a great thing," said Richie Sambora of the band Bon Jovi.

Crosby disagrees with cynics who say that musicians only do benefit concerts because their advisors tell them it's good for their image.

"Managers hate benefits, " he declared. "The first thing they say (is) 'Well, then you can't play that market for money.' They call it the 'b' word. They hate them."

Despite such skepticism, many musicians feel they can make a difference. "I think that celebrities should never underestimate their power. I mean just to draw attention, because then people get involved on a personal level," said Debbie Gibson.

The book's co-author, David Bender, said a documentary version of "Stand and Be Counted" is in the works for the Learning Channel.

"This is oral history, and it's one thing to have in the book, but so many of these interviews were so rich, we wanted to film it," he explained.

And not coincidentally, the book has the same title as a song on the latest Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young album -- "Stand and Be Counted."

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Crosby, Stills & Nash Web site

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