On this day in New York · July 21, 1983
Diana Ross Sings Through the Storm in Central Park
Hundreds of thousands packed the Great Lawn for a free concert, and when the sky opened Diana Ross refused to leave the stage.
The facts
- Date
- July 21, 1983
- Location
- The Great Lawn, Central Park
- Event
- A free concert aired live worldwide
- Twist
- A thunderstorm cut it short, and Ross returned to finish the next night
On July 21, 1983, Diana Ross headlined a free concert on the Great Lawn of Central Park, broadcast live around the world. A violent thunderstorm rolled in as she performed, soaking a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and rather than run for cover she kept singing in the downpour, telling the crowd to get home safe and come back. She made good on it the next evening, returning to finish the show before a second enormous audience. The two nights passed into New York legend, equal parts triumph and chaos.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
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On July 21, 1983, Ross performed a free concert on Central Park's Great Lawn, aired live worldwide by Showtime
Diana Ross, Wikipedia
Source: Diana Ross, Wikipedia
Why it still matters
The concert was meant to fund a children's playground, and Diana Ross Playground, near the park's west side, opened in her honor in 1986. It remains one of the great free-concert spectacles in a city that specializes in them.
Sources
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