Others sang songs of hope, such as the Dixie Chicks aided by steel guitarist Robert Randolph, and guitarist Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers and Mariah Carey, who was backed by a choir on her "Fly Like a Bird." Alicia Keys got a revival going with gospel singers Shirley Caesar, Bishop Daniels and Alvin Slaughter on "Come By Here," and Rod Stewart and Talk of the Town performed a spirited doo wop version of "People Get Ready."

The only participant to seemingly go off-script was comic Chris Rock who, in an ill-advised attempt at humor, blurted, "George Bush hates midgets" before his otherwise pointed segment about the economic realities that made it impossible for some New Orleans residents to evacuate the doomed city. Rock was riffing on rapper Kanye West's off-the-cuff remarks during last Friday's NBC telethon in which West claimed, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."