The Concert for the Americas was a music festival held on August 20, 1982, in the Dominican Republic at the Altos de Chavón Amphitheater, a 5,000-seat, open-air Greek-style venue located approximately two hours east of Santo Domingo.[1] It was the amphitheater's inaugural event, with performers including Frank Sinatra with Buddy Rich, Heart, and Santana. Santana's set was cut short due to inclement weather.[1]
Charles Bluhdorn, whose Gulf+Western owned both the Altos de Chavón and Paramount Pictures, had Paramount record the concert so it could be rebroadcast worldwide. The concert was played on Showtime and featured a Grucci Fireworks grand finale.[2] The video recordings of the Frank Sinatra and Buddy Rich set and Heart's performance were later released commercially. The Sinatra set was broadcast twice on A&E, with a different extended number by Buddy Rich and his orchestra in each showing, his "West Side Story" piece and an unannounced one. Only the former is included in the CD and video released under Sinatra's name. (Personal video tape copies of the two broadcasts.)
Personnel