BBC Form Supergroup to Cover Beach Boys Song

What happens when you get together tons of musicians for a worthy cause? Usually one hell of a song.

Thanks to the BBC, tons of musicians were asked to come together to cover the Beach Boys “God Only Knows” from Pet Sounds to officially launch of BBC Music. The TV spot featuring the reported 27 artists began to air yesterday (Oct. 7).

Pharrell Williams, Elton John, Chris Martin, Florence Welch, Stevie Wonder, Brian May, One Direction, Chrissie Hynde, Baaba Maal, Sam Smith, Lorde, Dave Grohl and many more can be spotted in the video. Also making the list of performers was Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys; how else do you pay homage to the guy (or band) that wrote and the song.

As if the long list of singers on the track wasn’t enough to get your head spinning, the BBC also used their 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra on the song.

We warned you, epic might be an understatement. Give the track as listen.

When asked by The Guardian about the remake of the song, Wilson said: “All the artists did such a beautiful job. I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honored ‘God Only Knows’ was chosen. ‘God Only Knows’ is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.”

The cover will be released as a single to raise funds for the BBC’s Children in Need charity. This isn’t the first time the BBC has done such a supergroup for charity. Back in 1997, the network released a version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” featuring Elton John, Bono, and Reed himself.

Watch Footage from the George Harrison Tribute Concert

It feels as if September 2014 has been a month dedicated to the late and former Beatle, George Harrison.

It all began with Capitol Records revealing plans to re-release Harrison’s first six record and never-before-released material in a box set titled, George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-1975 which was released last week.

After that, plans were revealed for a one-night tribute concert to take place at the end of the month, last night in Los Angeles to honor Harrison.

Then, not to be outdone, Conan O’Brien dedicated last week to Harrison with all his guest performers including Beck, Norah Jones, and Harrison’s son Dhani, playing tracks from the late Beatle.

Last night, George Fest hit L.A.’s  El Rey Theatre with a long list of performers which included previously confirmed acts such as Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd, Spoon’s Britt Daniel, Brian Wilson, “Weird” Al Yankovic, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Mark Stoermer, members of The Strokes, Weezer and Norah Jones.

Watch some of the videos directly from the concert.

Brian Wilson– “My Sweet Lord”:

“Weird” Al Yankovich– “What is Life”:

Conan O’Brien– “Old Brown Shoe”:

Brandon Flowers– “Got My Mind Set on You”:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club– “Art of Dying”:

A hundred percent of the profits from “George Fest” will be donated to Sweet Relief, a charity that offers financial assistance to struggling musicians.

Star-Studded George Harrison Tribute Concert To Take Place Later This Month

Some beetles might have though that George Harrison was worthy of having a tree dedicated to him, but many musicians have thought otherwise.

It was announced that Harrison will be honored later this month in the form of a one-night tribute concert.

Reportedly, performances of the evening will include The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd, Spoon’s Britt Daniel, Brian Wilson, “Weird” Al Yankovic, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Mark Stoermer, members of The Strokes, Weezer and Norah Jones. For those who are not familiar Harrison and Jones’ father, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar became friends when Harrison began to experiment with that type of sound and became interested in the sitar.

Also set to appear at the event are the Cold War Kids, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Harrison’s son (and almost twin) Dhani, Heart’s Ann Wilson, as well as members of The Cult, Guster, Velvet Revolver and many more. The event promoters have also revealed that more special guests will be announced within the weeks leading up to the show.

The one-night affair will take place on Sept. 28 at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre.
Tickets for the show will go on sale beginning today, Sept. 5. According to the release, 100% of the profits from “George Fest” like it has been dubbed, will be donated to Sweet Relief, a charity that offers financial assistance to struggling musicians.

News of the tribute concert comes on the heels of Harrison’s estate announcing plans to reissue the musician’s first six solo albums. The reissues will include several unreleased tracks as well as alternate versions of the songs that had been previously released.

The George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-1975 box set is set to be released on Sept. 23, just a week or so before the star-studded concert is set to take place.