Philly made history again with Live 8

Wow.

Again some of the world's greatest musicians came out for a good cause yesterday here in the City of Brotherly Love.

I had fully expected that Live 8 would be a monumental occasion, and I must say that it exceeded my expectations.

The Philly lineup was great. The London lineup was even better. Add to the mix all the legendary artists performing in the other 8 cities that hosted simultaneous shows, and what more could you want? [Read story.]

Kudos to AOL for hosting live feeds from all the concerts on their Web site, all of which were available even to non-AOL subscribers.

And humongous kudos to each of the cities that scrambled to accommodate these shows in little more than a month. It worked, and you are all wonderful.

There were some surprise guest appearances. During Dido's set in London, Youssou N'Dour appeared for a duet with Dido of her hit song "Thank You". Also in London, Richard Ashcroft of The Verve joined Coldplay for a top-notch performance of the 1990s Verve hit "Bitter Sweet Symphony". (That one is still running through my head.)

Tears came with the opening bars of "Breathe", which launched the Pink Floyd reunion on the London stage. They sounded as good as ever. Kudos to them for putting aside their old feud to join together for this historic concert for a very good cause.

But perhaps the most touching Live 8 moment for me happened a few hours earlier in London, when Sir Bob Geldof introduced a young woman who had appeared as a small starving child in a documentary about the famine in Ethiopia 20 years ago. That documentary was Geldof's inspiration in launching Live Aid. Because the world united behind the Live Aid effort 20 years ago, that little girl lived, and is now a beautiful and accomplished young woman. Geldof brought her out onto the London stage for Live 8, and Madonna took it from there, with a very moving rendition of "Like a Prayer". Madonna told the press afterwards that it was difficult to get through the whole song, as it was such an emotional experience for her. I know what she means. As a volunteer leader for Amnesty International, I have had the pleasure and honor of hugging many a former victim of human rights abuses. It's a life-altering experience.

The grande finale in London was Paul McCartney at the piano for an all-star rendition of "Hey Jude". (Shades of Live Aid.)

At times throughout the day, I found myself wishing I were in London. But Philly is where I live and where I do my work, and we had a great show here too. I mean, we're talking Will Smith, Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Destiny's Child, Alicia Keyes, Linkin Park, the Dave Matthews Band, Def Leppard, P Diddy, Sarah McLachlan, Rob Thomas, Stevie Wonder, and more. Not too shabby.

Of course, the bottom line is the cause. While everyone enjoyed the good music, I hope they also came to care about the problem of extreme poverty in Africa, where one person dies of preventable povery-related problems every three seconds.

Those deaths could be prevented with adequate aid from the world's richest nations to help the world's poorest.

It's not too late, people. We need to put pressure on the G8. To learn more and to sign on to the Live 8 list/petition, click here. It will cost you nothing, and it may help to save countless lives.

Have a heart.