Nuno Bettencourt tears it up alongside Phil X and Orianthi on 68-musician cover of The Beatles’ Let It Be
Charity single also features Avril Lavigne, Stu Hamm, dUg Pinnick and Mike Mangini
We’ve seen plenty of unique (Rush’s Freewill) and sometimes massive (Foo Fighters’ Times Like These) quarantine jams happen over the last few months. But this 68-musician version of the Beatles’ Let It Be might be the biggest one of all.
Conceived by the team behind Soundcheck Live, a monthly all-star jam featuring recording artists, touring sideman and local L.A. entertainers, and supported by the MusiCares Foundation, the song was recorded to raise money for music industry professionals impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as to “offer up inspiration at a time when the world needs it most.”
And while the line-up is impressive, featuring guitarists like Phil X and Orianthi, bassists including Stu Hamm and King’s X’s dUg Pinnick, drummers like Dream Theater’s Mike Mangini and a lineup of singers headlined by Avril Lavigne, the star of the show, at least in our humble guitar opinion, is Nuno Bettencourt, who not only contributes a ridiculously ripping electric guitar solo, but even adds some lead vocals to the mix.
A photo posted by @nunobettencourtofficial on May 12, 2020 at 8:04pm PDT
"We chose Let It Be as a song of hope in uncertain times," said Soundcheck Live founder and Avril Lavigne's musical director, Steve Ferlazzo.
"I like to think of this project as an entire three-hour Soundcheck Live show condensed into one five-minute song that will offer people some inspiration and help when they need it most."
All proceeds from Let It Be will be donated to the MusiCares.org Relief Fund.
Donate now at Charity Stars.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
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