Videos: Stevie Wonder Serenades Waldorf-Astoria On Its Last Night Before Closing

Ben Yakas/Gothamist

New York-Presbyterian Hospital celebrated the 20th anniversary of their merger with a big fundraiser gala last night at the historic Waldorf-Astoria in Midtown. It also happened to be the final event for several years at the 86-year-old luxury hotel and event space, which was purchased by the Anbang Insurance Group a few years ago, and has now closed its doors for a major renovation project that will reportedly see many rooms turned into apartments. You can check out some last glimpses of the iconic space here.

Anbang has promised to preserve and restore the hotel's more accessible interiors, but who knows what it will look like once everything has been converted in three or four years. At least they went out with the best goddamn soundtrack imaginable, courtesy of the one-and-only Stevie Wonder.

Wonder performed a set of around 10 tunes for the gala, including (not necessarily in order): "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," "Overjoyed," "Did I Hear You Say You Love Me," "Master Blaster (Jammin')," "Higher Ground," "Don't You Worry Bout A Thing," "Sir Duke," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)," "My Cherie Amour," and "I Just Called To Say I Love You."

To start the evening, he recited a poem he wrote for the occasion:

And at one point, he got the crowd to chant the hotel's name before launching into a tune:

There were some technical difficulties early in the show (the bass and kick drum were both having amplification issues), so Wonder played some gorgeous nearly-solo piano versions of "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" and "Overjoyed," the latter of which you can watch below.

Here's "Master Blaster (Jammin')."

And a few more clips taken from Instagram Stories.

At one point, while I was stuffed in a crowd of people in a blue-tinted hallway wedged between the cocktail room and the main ballroom, I noticed a very familiar-looking person brushing by me—it was Dr. Oz.