In 1972, there was The Concert for Bangladesh.
In 1979, there was No Nukes.
In 1984, there was Band Aid.
In 1985, there was We Are the World and Live Aid.

These were followed by:
• Hear ’n Aid,
• Farm Aid,
• Artists United Against Apartheid,
• A Conspiracy of Hope,
• Ferry Aid,
• Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa,
• The Bridge Concerts,
• The Mandela Freedom Concert,
• the televised concerts (as such) that followed 9/11 and Katrina,
• The 46664 Concert,
• Live 8,
and numerous other concerts and events designed to raise awareness of—and sometimes money for—important issues and the occasional disaster. Whether or not you think any of these accomplished anything, at least the popular figures in our culture were banding together to do something. Today, they just tweet hashtags.