Since being attacked by cancer I've got a lot of reasons to be thankful

Since being attacked by cancer I've got a lot of reasons to be thankful. So many great things are happening, it's hard to keep up them. The Red-Carpet Book Signing Concert Pre-Party keeps growing.

The Hammerstein Ballroom is the home base for my We Are Family Foundation's annual charity gala. Every time I play the room I'm giving away money instead of taking it. So, I've decided to give my concert salary to my charity.

One of our most successful programs, TEDxTeen, happens a few hours earlier that same day. It's so successful that we have three times the amount of people who've registered than we can handle.

If that weren't enough, the lead singer of "We Are Family," Kathy Sledge from Sister Sledge, joined our Board of Directors today. Even The Legends of Disco organization kicked us a donation. Amazing!

Then, I heard from some artist friends who'd just found out about my cancer struggle and they're coming to The Hammerstein to hang with us at The Red-Carpet Party.

Author and TV host Montel Williams and me on The Red Carpet at The Hammerstein Ballroom

In the Red Carpet area of the Hammerstein Ballroom, I'm having a combination Book Signing and concert Before-Party. It will happen on Saturday, March 31st at 4:30 pm. The address is 311 West 34th Street and it's free. I'm doing this because it's an opportunity to meet people in a festive laid back situation. I don't often perform in the NYC area and since it's formally called a "book signing" it's open to the public. I'll do a chat, play a few songs, and then sign some books - or anything else for that matter.

I'm grateful for the support I've gotten from people since I've started my daily cancer blog. Our current music culture has moved further away from the openness of the disco movement that inspired me back in the day. I'm not saying it was better, I'm just saying it was different. Hangout with me before The Legends of Disco concert and you can decide for yourself. And just like back in the day - it's a Come One Come All Event!

Our Last Show at The Hammerstein Ballroom was fantastic

The Last Day of This Month is going to be a fantastic day this year. It starts with TEDxTeen, then I'll have my Concert Before-Party, followed by The Legends of Disco Concert.

Approximately one year ago I was in the early stages of recovery from a cancer operation and was preparing to do my first concert since. Our rehearsals the next day went well and I've been basically going strong ever since. It hasn't been easy and I've had more than a few medical emergencies, but music, my daily blog, and great doctors have been the cornerstone of my recovery.

Here are a few pictures from every month since. The final picture is from our most recent concert in Australia. Our next show's on Saturday March 31st at the Hammerstein Ballroom, The Last Day of This Month.

Touré - 2011 TEDxTeen host

Typically, you see my face and hear my words on my daily blog. Today, I'm featuring faces and words from one of our very successful We Are Family Foundation program's TEDxTeen.

Hover over the black dots to meet our 2012 Global Teen Leaders

Life is filled with ups and downs. In my own case, one day I was a very healthy patient according to my blood work, but according to a biopsy, an aggressive cancer was growing. That was just over a year ago and I'm still standing.

Part of what keeps me balanced is doing charity work, which I've been doing in various forms since I was a child. I do this type of work because I was socialized that way. My mom used to always say - and I mean always, "Treat people the way you wish to be treated."

After one of my good friends was killed in the first plane that was crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, I started the We Are Family Foundation, named after the song I co-penned for Sister Sledge. Over the last decade our mission of respect, understanding, and cultural diversity has been addressed in our programs - the most ambitious of which is Three Dot Dash, a year long global-mentoring program where we help the initiatives of teenaged change-makers.

This year at our Just Peace Summit, named by our 1st WAFF honoree, 13 year old best-selling author/poet/peacemaker Mattie J.T. Stepanek, we have teens from fourteen countries and four continents.

My work with these people that we call Global Teen Leaders is one of the most rewarding things in my life. They remind me that life is a struggle and also a gift. I know this is very different from my usual blog, but if you scroll to their ThingLinks (the black dots) in the picture above you will see why I'm So Excited About Next Week.

This is how we promoted it in Australia - Simple and grass roots

On Saturday March 31st at 5 pm I'm having a Concert Before-Party! Not because I don't like staying up late anymore, but because it's FREE! It's a combination book signing or a one-of-whatever-you-want signing. A woman in Australia, pulled down her dress a bit and said what she wanted me to sign was her right breast. I've convinced the concert promoters to let me do this because it was so successful Down Under. The Before event added to the good vibes of the overall night.

Life is tough and maybe the most a person can spare is their time. This Party gives me a chance to connect with folks I've met virtually since being attacked by aggressive cancer. These people have been there for me anytime I go online.

Cancer is hideous and many nights I just needed to chat with anybody who'd listen. Everybody in the NYC area who wants to come over to The Hammerstein Ballroom and meet in the tactile world is invited. For those who can do the full event I've made it easier with a ONE-CLICK FOR TIX.

My Before-Party is not in any official advertising but instead of a typical After-Party, I'm going to have A Hot Concert Before-Party.

When I play live and the crowd starts moving, I feel the same as I did the first time I nervously walked up to a girl and asked her, "Would you like to dance?"

Years ago while producing a record with Eric Clapton, he told me, he was happy because he's able to play the blues for the rest of his life. I knew what Eric meant, but there was something he didn't have to say. It's acceptable for musicians to play blues forever but not dance music. One art form is considered respectable no matter what the age of the performer, but the other is reserved for the young.

I'm fifty-nine years old. When I play live and the crowd starts moving, I feel the same as I did the first time I nervously walked up to a girl and asked her, "Would you like to dance?"

On March 31st I'll get to play with some legendary artists whose music was primarily defined as relevant when they were younger. Many of these acts I've played with recently and they still bring it!

I've produced all styles of music and every form has everlasting artistic relevance. The snobbery inherent in art is usually perpetuated by talkers not the doers. "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, Give Me Funky and Make Me Dance!"

Me on Halloween at 7 years old - after trick-o-treating, my insomnia kept me up all night

Since I was a young child I've had all three types of insomnia. When most of my friends are asleep I'm awake. Since being attacked by cancer, the blog's allowed me to reach people all around the world twenty-four hours a day. It's also allowed me to have one-to-one relationships with people that in the past I'd most likely never meet. My life has been enriched by these new relationships.

I am really excited because I have an opportunity to meet many of my new e-friends right here in my own backyard. I'll be performing with my band CHIC, on March 31st at the Hammerstein Ballroom. I have convinced the promoter to let me have a FREE MINGLING PARTY AND BOOK SIGNING before the CHIC show!

I was able to prove that even if some people can't afford the concert, the good vibes and the excitement at a book signing makes the show better for the patrons. We've just come home from a mega successful tour of Australia, and if it worked there it should work here.

I'll be meeting my friends and hanging out with them before the show for the first time here. All of the photos in today's blog were taken before our concerts in Australia. Usually a promoter would never allow this - but I've Proven That It Works!

My old Team Dodge racing suit

Today was just another unusually warm day this season here in the Northeastern United States. I don't get many days to do nothing. For a couple hours, I pretended as if I didn't have a care in the world.

I called upon my old race-driving skills and hit the open road in what I affectionately call my Orange Beast. It's a one-of-a-kind factory made custom Ford Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500 Convertible in Grabber Orange w/out stripes and details.

Ford asked me when I ordered it, "Why would you want a Shelby GT500 that doesn't look like one? I replied, "When I pull up next to people I want them to wonder what kind of car it is?"

Years ago, I went to the Skip Barber Racing School and I've learned to do a lot of things with a car. Every now and then, if I see an empty parking lot (after hours) I'll do a few one-eighties or what we used to call handbrake-turns: where you spin the car around and head either backwards in the same direction (my personal favorite) or as the car is slowing, hit the accelerator and head back in the direction you were just coming from.

However, today, I just got on the highway, blasted the Orange Beast's stereo and Let Those 500 Horses Run.

A shot from my plane before the aborted take-off in Sydney

As I'm writing this, the plane that had aborted take-off when I was trying to fly home from Sydney, Australia a couple days ago is still on the ground being repaired. I'm so tired after trying to get home for more than two days, that my brain's barely functioning at half-capacity. I'm adding these pictures just to prove to my family that I'm home Safe and Sound.