More than 50 international recording artists and 30 record labels have joined forces and combined their talents and resources to support Amnesty International's campaign to save Darfur by recording and releasing Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The album, a collection of John Lennon songs, will be released on CD and as digital downloads on June 12, 2007.
Lennon was well known activist for peace and all publishing royalties to the songs included on this project have been donated by his widow, Yoko Ono. Following in those generous footsteps, everyone associated with the project donated both their time and their talent to the cause.
One of the many artists to contribute to the album was Green Day, the pop-punk band consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass) and Tré Cool (drums). Their debut album in 1994, Dookie, went on to sell 10 million records, but their popularity was renewed in 2004 with their breakout American Idiot release. Green Day Recorded "Working Class Hero" for Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.
"We wanted to do "Working Class Hero" because its themes of alienation, class, and social status really resonated with us," says Green Day singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong on the Instant Karma website. "It's such a raw, aggressive song... we felt we could really sink our teeth into it. I hope we've done him justice."
Green Day performed "Working Class Heroes" on the season finale of American Idol earlier this week, and you can watch the clip of that performance below.
You can listen to a streaming clip of Green Day's version of "Working Class Hero"(Quicktime) (WMP).
You can preorder the CD from the Instant Karma website.
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