• Bob Dylan
• 50 Cent
• Neiman Marcus
• Elton John
• Elton John AIDS Foundation
• Wynton Marsalis
• Tom Jones
• Aretha Franklin
• Village People
• Brooks International
• Sheryl Crow
• Starlink Productions
• Tony Bennett
• B-52s
• Gladys Knight
• The Eagles
• Randy Meisner

Play It Again, Elton

There are a few little ways to make almost any party extremely memorable, and it doesn't involve doing the chicken dance or the electric slide . . .

So what's the secret? The "wow, that was a great party"-factor will immediately go off the charts if you have a special guest come in to stir up the crowd.

And no, we don't mean your Uncle Bob from New Jersey.

Unless your uncle's last name happens to be Dylan . . .

For the right price, Bob will indeed be your uncle, or at least he might play you a song or two at either an intimate party or a large private bash.

Just follow in the footsteps of David H. Brooks, a CEO who last year hired 50 Cent to belt out "Hey Shorty, it's your bat mitzvah, we're going to party like it's your bat mitzvah," at his daughter's party at the Rainbow Room. (It was an unprecedented moment in the history of Judaism).

Last holiday season, the Neiman Marcus catalog offered a private performance with Elton John for $1.5 million (the money went to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Many talented celebrities will perform for less - and if charity is involved, most will do it gratis.

Who will do a personal serenade? Wynton Marsalis, Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin, and the Village People are among the musicians out there who are happy to make house calls.

Brooks International in Denver, CO, is one place people dial when they want to book a luminary to do some catered crooning - they recently hooked up one party thrower with Sheryl Crow. Others call Starlink Productions in San Jose, CA, a company that specializes in placing stars in plebeian piano rooms around the world (their roster has included Tony Bennett, the B-52s, and Gladys Knight). The personal value of a performer is often worth more than just plain celebrity status, according to Katrina Berg Sussmeier, an executive producer with Starlink. She recalls a fiftieth-anniversary party she worked on recently for a woman who loved The Eagles, so her husband brought in the band's bassist, Randy Meisner.

"He just wanted to surprise her with a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Sussmeier says. And that is indeed what she got.

 

Posted on March 13, 2006