On Friday night, dozens of Hollywood A-listers came together for the sixth-biennial Stand Up To Cancer telecast. Across the one-hour fundraising event, celebrities like Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, Keith Urban, Keanu Reeves, Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Tony Hale, David Spade, and many, many others made appearances to encourage viewers to donate to cancer research efforts. At the end of the hourlong broadcast, Stevie Wonder came out to close out the show and used his performance to also pay tribute to the late, great Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
“You know, I believe that if we just begin to love one another, across the nation and throughout the world, we will truly make love great again. Because of our love, we will find the cures to cancer and all the various things, so let’s stand up to cancer and we will succeed,” offered Wonder before the start of his song.
Set to a backdrop featuring a photo of Aretha as well as a quote from Stevie Wonder on his recently departed friend—”Through the pain, she gave us the joy and said, ‘Let’s make love great again'”—Stevie Wonder started out by performing part of Burt Bacharach– and Hal David-penned classic “What The World Needs Now”, keeping with the evening’s theme of communal love for change. From there, Stevie gracefully segued into “Love’s In Need Of Love Today”, off his acclaimed 1976 album, Songs In The Key Of Life.
You can watch Stevie Wonder’s tribute to Aretha Franklin at the sixth-biennial Stand Up To Cancer telecast below, with Wonder’s performance beginning around the 56-minute mark.
Stand Up To Cancer 2018 Telecast
[Video: Stand Up To Cancer]
[H/T Rolling Stone]