This New Yorker article about private functions paying for big stars or notable people to perform made me wonder. For Dopers, who is the most well known person you have seen at a private event who was paid to perform?
Dwight Gooden was at a town community day signing baseballs. This was long after baseball and between his troubles. I don’t run with a swanky crowd.
I went to one of my wife’s work parties, because Aaron Neville was going to perform.
And he did, but didn’t bring a band. He set a boombox down at his feet and sung along.
Trevor Noah, probably.
How private? I’ve been to corporate functions with big stars like Cheap Trick and Lyle Lovett.
I’ve seen Straight No Chaser perform at a function for my ad agency. I’ve been at an advertising conference where Candace Bushnell (writer of Sex and the City) and Paul Begala (former advisor to Bill Clinton) gave speeches, and at another conference where Carrie Fisher gave a talk.
I was at a Royal Canadian Navy Centennial luncheon where Queen Elizabeth was present.
And in 1985 in Den Helder, the Netherlands, on two different evenings I had drinks with the then-crown prince at a local bar. He was a naval cadet at their naval academy at the time. Though that’s not really a private function.
We had The Cranberries play one of our work parties. This was maybe 2010, so past their time of major presence on alternative rock radio.
During the pandemic, my company had their yearly company-wide, on-line meeting. It was followed by a short performance by John Legend.
You win.
About 10 years ago, Sally Field spoke at a luncheon put on by the healthcare system I worked for. One of our vendors bought a table and gave the tickets to my team. We got to meet her afterwards and she was very nice. The team got a picture with her and I got her autograph for my mother.
But were they paid to be there? The way you can book, e.g., Bill Clinton to give a speech for a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
I guess the Queen was, functionally, by the taxpayers. Beyond that, I am not that sufficiently well versed in Commonwealth “civics” to really know the answer. Basically, for our Navy’s centennial, the main show was a fleet review, with our ships, and a host of others invited from around the world.
The Queen was on one RCN ship that did a sail-past of the ships arrayed in Bedford Basin (where convoys formed up prior to crossing the Atlantic in WW II).
Many private functions are corporate affairs. I meant to include these, but as always, after I write a question people can generally interpret that how they prefer.
I just meant to exclude personal friendships from school and such. But if you want to include those, who am I to say you shouldn’t?
Elton John was the performer at the wedding of Rush Limbaugh. An unlikely couple.
Elton John’s Friendship with Rush Limbaugh After Playing His Wedding (people.com)
In 2002 Sam Goody flew all their store managers to Vegas for a corporate gig. They had LLCoolJ do a private performance for us. One of the KISS members was also there (Ace Frehley or Paul Stanley) signing autographs.
Do commencement speakers count? I don’t know that I’ve seen any notable entertainment celebrities getting hooded, but definitely some recognizable public figures.
In 1996 when they were still very famous (though ten years past their biggest selling albums) Huey Lewis and The News played at our company awards dinner at a resort ballroom. In 1998 it was Spin Doctors. I guess their peak was more recent, but not nearly as high.
Both these performances were energetic and quite long (like over and hour) for a private event. Very enjoyable.
We’ve had a Hall of Fame quarterback and a very famous musician/actor as featured speakers at corporate events. The quarterback talked about Jesus a lot but he was clearly drunk so the message wasn’t all that powerful. The musician/actor chap was remarkably inarticulate. He also got the name of our company wrong even though it was on big screens all around the ballroom.
Both of them were clearly just mailing it in. In the case of the quarterback our CEO’s father rode in the limo with him to and from the event (from the private airfield where he flew in to and out of). Rumor has if that the CEO selected this QB personally, specifically so his dad could have some 1:1 time with him. And the CEO himself was a huge fan of the musician/actor chap.
I saw Jerry Seinfeld perform at Workday Rising in 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Workday is a human resources information system and each year they hold an event called Workday Rising where their customers, vendors, and others all get together to work out how to do stuff using the system.
I’d assume that an artist that played at a corporate dinner or conference really needed the money.
[Jerry voice]:
So, I mean, WHAT is UP with me at a business meeting? Using some of my frankly awesome material, I may add. I mean, I was a BIT of a STAR on a little show named… oh, that’s right, it was named after me! You’d be right to figure that I had a few dollars around the house…
So WHAAAAT’s the DEEEEEEAL? Did I suddenly need a $30,000 pair of socks? Was I so thirsty that I needed to buy a 1917 bottle of Coke at an auction? Did a friend call up and say “Hey, Jer, let’s fly around the world tomorrow!” People need to know… and I need to know. Seriously, it makes NO SENSE! . . [/whiney Jerry voice]
The article says this assumption is no longer valid. The Boss, Taylor Swift, AC/DC “have a reputation for saying no”. Most artists now consider it an easy gig, which might pay more than a full-on concert.