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Bob Mackie: Dressing the Divas

Posted in Bob Mackie, Cher, PEOPLE, tagged beyonce, Bob Mackie, bob mackie designs for the stars, carol burnett, cher, Diana Ross, fashion, Hollywood fashion, old tv shows, pink, sharon stone, the carol burnett show, the sonny and cher show, Tina Turner on November 25, 2014| 2 Comments »

American costume designer Bob Mackie in an undated photo.

In my last post, I introduced American fashion designer Bob Mackie (b. 1940), designer to the stars. He is famous for dressing entertainers such as Cher, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross, Barbara Eden, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Tina Turner, Joan Rivers, Whitney Houston, Pink, Sharon Stone, Beyonce, Goldie Hawn, Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters, Lucille Ball, Ann-Margret, and Mitzi Gaynor. He also creates designs for collector’s edition Barbie dolls.

Although his designs can be elegant, they can also be outrageous. Many of Mackie’s most spectacular designs have a Vegas show-girl quality. They are flamboyant. The gowns and bodysuits are skimpy, clingy, see-through, and spangled with strategically-placed sequins, crystals, and feathers. Mackie has been referred to as “The Sultan of Sequins,” or “The Rajah of Rhinestones,” for his sparkling and imaginative costume designs. (1)

Often, his gowns leave little to the imagination of the girl underneath. Of this, he has said:

A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed.”

Mackie has enjoyed tremendous success. He has received nine Emmy Awards and been nominated three times for an Academy Award for dressing Diana Ross in “Lady Sings The Blues,” Barbra Streisand in “Funny Lady,” and Bernadette Peters in “Pennies From Heaven.” In 2002, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

Here are a few of his most memorable designs.

CHER

Cher wears a sleek Bob Mackie jersey dress for “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.” ca. 1975.

Cher accepts the Best Actress Oscar for her film role in “Moonstruck” at the 1988 Academy Awards. Her costume was designed by Bob Mackie. It made headlines.

PINK

Singer Pink performs at the 2010 Grammy Award Ceremony in her nude sequined bodysuit by Bob Mackie.

DIANA ROSS

BEYONCE

ANN-MARGRET

IVANKA TRUMP WEARS MOTHER IVANA TRUMP’S MACKIE

MADONNA

MITZI GAYNOR

RAQUEL WELCH

SHARON STONE

AND, OF COURSE, CAROL BURNETT

(1) ”Bob Mackie,” Wikipedia.

READERS: For more Bob Mackie posts, click here.

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Michael Jackson: We Are the World

Posted in Michael Jackson, PEOPLE, tagged 1985 Ethiopia famine relief, A.I.D.S. relief, Billy Joel, Bob Geldof, Dionne Warwick, Harry Belafonte, Ken Kragen, Lionel Richie, Live Aid, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson and We Are the World, Michael Jackson charity work, Michael Jackson dies., Prince, Quincy Jones, Tina Turner, U.S.A. for Africa, Willie Nelson on June 27, 2009| 3 Comments »

One of the millions of starving Ethiopians during the Famine of 1984-85

In 1985, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote a song that ended up making music history. The single, “We are the World,” was recorded to raise money to fight famine in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, where a 20 year-old civil war raged. As a result of drought and poor harvests, millions of Ethiopians were starving and suffering from disease while their Marxist government spent money on weapons, money that had been intended for food and medicine.

Following Bob Geldof‘s example of Live Aid in Great Britain, Harry Belafonte and Ken Kragen decided to organize an American fundraiser to help out the Ethiopian citizens. Originally, a charity concert was planned, but it was decided that a single recording would bring in more money. Quincy Jones agreed to produce. Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie collaborated on the song.

Jones contacted 45 musicians for the marathon overnight recording session. The supergroup was billed as “U.S.A.” for Africa and was assembled the night of the American Music Awards. Michael Jackson skipped the awards ceremony to record the chorus as a guide for the other musicians.

Getting two artists together in a sound studio would have been a small feat, but 45? Quincy Jones sent a memo to each artist to check their egos at the door.

We_Are_the_World_alternative_cover Jones worked out which singers would perform which lyrics, studying recordings of each of the selected singers to decide which would work well with each other. He paired Billy Joel with Tina Turner, Willie Nelson with Dionne Warwick, and Michael Jackson with Prince, who was a no-show. (Prince called in the middle of the session to volunteer a guitar solo but the offer was declined. Prince did, however, contribute a solo recording for the album.) (1)

When released as a single, “We Are The World, ” rose rapidly to the top of the charts, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 17, 1985, and remaining there for four weeks. It immediately sold out its initial shipment of 800,000 copies, and sales reached 1.5 million shortly afterwards. It proved the power of pop culture to make a positive change in the world and set off a wave of charity projects by other noted celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Sharon Stone, Bruce Springsteen, and Willie Nelson.

Here are the lyrics for the chorus of “We Are the World”:

We Are The World – –

We are the world, We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

Words and Music by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie

Click here for the list of all artists who made up U.S.A. for Africa.

Now view the clip. It’s a moving experience: