Monday October 16 04:00 AM EDT
Crow, Lauper, Etheridge Join Forces To Fight Breast Cancer

By Senior Writer Teri vanHorn reports

LOS ANGELES — Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge, Destiny's Child, Amy Grant, Wynonna and Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson united as a supergroup Thursday night to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.

The performers played each other's songs and cover tunes as well as sang solo during a concert at the Wiltern Theater. The show was taped and will air on Oct. 22 as a two-hour special on the Lifetime women's cable network.

"What I hope this show really proves is that sisterhood is powerful," Lauper said after the concert. "You don't have to have a bunch of women onstage who are powerless. You need to have women onstage with power, counting off, controlling the band."

One of the concert's highlights was a campfirelike session with the performers sitting in a semicircle and taking turns choosing songs for the group to sing. Crow, Etheridge, Grant, Wynonna and the Wilson sisters all strummed guitars, while Lauper played a dulcimer. Among the selections were Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee," led by Etheridge, and Gillian Welch's "Orphan Girl," begun by Crow.

Destiny's Child joined the lineup late in the taping, after finishing a show at Universal Amphitheater in nearby Universal City. The threesome performed a gospel tune and then dueted with Lauper on the Five Stairsteps' 1970 hit "Ooh Child."

Destiny's Child sat on stools for most of their time onstage to accommodate member Kelly Rowland, who wore a sparkly white brace on her recently injured right foot. But all three stood for a rendition of Lauper's hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" ( RealAudio excerpt), which featured the entire cast. The event kicked off with Etheridge, Wynonna, Crow and Ann Wilson trading vocals on Heart's "Barracuda" ( RealAudio excerpt).

"It was really kind of an anti-diva experience," Grant said. "Nobody had a weird attitude — we had two long days of rehearsals, and everybody was just laughing and joking the whole time. It was nice, rather than do your two songs and then leave, to come in and say, 'Hey, let's all sing on each other's songs,' because we sing our own songs all the time." Grant sang with Etheridge on the latter's "You Can Sleep While I Drive" ( RealAudio excerpt).

Crow sang "The Perfect Ending" solo but received help from Ann Wilson and Etheridge on "If It Makes You Happy" (RealAudio excerpt). The song had to be performed twice because Etheridge, who was suffering from a cold, came in late on her verse during the first run.

Lauper and Ann Wilson paid tribute to breast cancer victim Linda McCartney with a cover of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed." Wilson also backed a tearful Lauper on the latter's "The Water's Edge."

"You either go there or you don't," Lauper said of her emotional performance. "It's either real or it's fake. I choose real."

The concert benefited the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations and the National Breast Cancer Coalition.

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