Led Zeppelin turned down a reunion request by President Bill Clinton to perform at the 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert.
In a special 60 Minutes Overtime feature, Robin Hood Foundation Executive Director David Saltzman spoke about how the situation unfolded.
“There were two bands that we were desperate to recruit,” explains Saltzman. “One was The Rolling Stones, the other was Led Zeppelin. [Film executive] Harvey Weinstein had this great idea that we could enlist Bill Clinton to convince Led Zeppelin to reunite, to perform at the 12-12-12 concert.”
“So, Harvey & I got on a plane and flew down to Washington to meet with President Clinton, who was going to be seeing the members of Led Zeppelin, who were being honored at the Kennedy Center,” he continued. “And, you know, the President was terrific. [He said] ‘I really want to do this; this would be a fantastic thing. I love Led Zeppelin.’ And Bill Clinton himself asked Led Zeppelin to reunite and they wouldn’t do it.”
In the New York area to play a series of 50 & Counting concerts at the time, The Rolling Stones did play the Sandy Benefit show, alongside a host of major artists, including Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and others.
The 12-12-12 event at Madison Square Garden raised $50 million to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy.
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