Music Legend Generously Performs for Gamecock Equestrian
A popular music legend recently offered his talents to help out the South Carolina equestrian team. Six-time Grammy Award winning composer/song writer Burt Bacharach headlined the Harmony and Horses fundraiser with proceeds from the event benefiting the Gamecocks.
“It was just amazing. He can still play the piano so well,” said South Carolina equestrian coach Boo Major. “This is what he does! He’ll never retire because composing, performing and playing is what he loves to do. He would play, and his singers would sing, and then he would sing some of his favorite, special songs.
“At the end he performed a song he had just completed, and he hadn’t sung it before in public. There were so many songs that just brought back so many memories. It was daylight when they started, and it was dark when it ended. It was just special.”
The event, which was held at the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion, raised approximately $57,000 for the program. Bacharach’s daughter, Raleigh, graduated from South Carolina last spring and was a member of the equestrian team. She played a big part in having her famous father perform for donors and some of her fellow senior teammates.
Raleigh was not the only Bacharach to call the night special as her father expressed his gratitude to Major for getting the concert off the ground.
“It was a really special night for me,” Raleigh Bacharach said. “Not only was my dad’s music being celebrated, but my team’s hard work and successes were also being celebrated and recognized. We were at such a beautiful venue with amazing sponsors and supporters.”
“It was a perfect night.”
– Head Coach Boo Major
“We had met with Burt the year before and had casually mentioned the idea of him putting on a concert here, but we weren’t really sure how to make it work because of schedules and other logistics,” Major said. “Raleigh was very much in favor of doing it and was really the catalyst. She really wanted it to be done to help raise some money. We didn’t want to make a big deal about Raleigh having a famous dad while she was here, but we were thrilled when her dad agreed to come and perform the week of her graduation.
“He flew in his singers that have been with him for about 25 years. He really put in a lot for this, so we wanted to do it right.”
The May 9th event was emceed by South Carolina radio football analyst Tommy Suggs and featured a live auction. It was a busy time due to South Carolina hosting the SEC Championships and then competing in the national championship, so nailing down the logistics was tricky.
“May 9 was the only day that Burt could do it, and the only negative was that University President Dr. (Harris) Pastides could not be there due to another commitment,” Major said.
Although it was not a university-sponsored event, in order to make it a first-class event without the benefit of a large budget, there were many generous businesses who donated services or offered a reduced rate to make it happen. That included food, beverages, decorative flowers, and even the piano on which Bacharach would perform, as well as a piano tuner, and a limo service.
“It wasn’t about the University or politics, it was about having Burt Bacharach come in and play,” Major said. “We had a committee of great folks who just knew people, and Blair Cauthen from the Gamecock Club was a huge help in planning as well.
“We invited all of our equestrian parents and former parents who lived around this area. We invited folks from the Camden Foxhunt and a lot of other supporters in Blythewood as well as other ‘horse friends’ in our community that support us, in addition to other guests from Columbia. We were limited to 120 people. We could only have so many. It made it really special. It was a perfect night.”
Guests enjoyed heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cocktail hour before the concert, and an auction that included football tickets, dinners, riding lessons and a few trips. A meet and greet with Bacharach was held after the performance for sponsors of the event. Proceeds from the event will go to projects to benefit the equestrian program.
“We are adding new state of the art footing to our covered arena that will be used for competitions in the future,” Major said. “And we’re looking at adding on to one of our barns to add four stalls and a tack room.”
The Gamecocks are thankful for their special, one-of-a-kind evening with Bacharach and are looking forward for what is in store this upcoming season
