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.