Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

Can Lionel Ritchie Bring Peace to the Middle East?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Mrs. Feiler Faster was in Jordan this weekend attending a World Economic Forum (you know, the Davos folks) forum at the Dead Sea. Actually, she was the first woman ever asked to co-chair one of their events in the Middle East. One night, all the assembled business executives, politicians, and media elite attended a dinner in a massive tent that belonged to King Abdullah. The entertainment was Lionel Ritchie. He sang one song, apparently, and people were polite enough, at which point he announced, "I thought you were a good crowd. Why don't you all move forward to the stage."

Mrs. Feiler Faster: "I thought no way any of these staid business people would do what he was asking. But sure enough, everyone in the tent started moving toward the front of the stage, sticking their hands in the air, and swaying back and forth to the music like it was a high-school prom. Everybody knew every word to every song! I couldn't believe it!"

I mentioned this story to some friends over the weekend, and one of them told me about an article that Andrew Corsello wrote in GQ a few months back about how HUGE Lionel Ritchie is in the Middle East. Andrew and I share an agent, so I'm trying to track down the article. In the meantime, here's an interview he did about his piece on NPR. Say you, say me.

Labels: Middle East

Posted by B Feiler at 9:30 AM
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