Lennon 'Covers' To Aid Amnesty

Top Artists To Perform Ex-Beatle's Tunes To Benefit Rights Group

(AP)  Imagine: Artists including The Cure, Avril Lavigne and the Black Eyed Peas are to cover songs by John Lennon as part of a fundraiser for human rights group Amnesty International.

Amnesty said Thursday that the first four tracks would be released on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. They include the Black Eyed Peas' version of "Power to the People," The Cure's take on "Love," "Isolation" performed by British band Snow Patrol and "Grow Old With Me" by The Postal Service.

More songs, including one by Lavigne, are due for release in the new year as part of Amnesty's Make Some Noise campaign. A compilation album also will be released next year.

Amnesty Secretary-general Irene Khan said the campaign aimed to "bring an awareness of human rights to a new generation."

"After all, human rights are what make music possible — we wouldn't be able to create music, listen to it or dance to it without freedom of speech, expression and association," Khan said.

The former Beatle was shot dead by Mark David Chapman outside his New York apartment building on Dec. 8, 1980. His widow, Yoko Ono, donated the rights to his solo songbook to Amnesty in 2003.

"It's wonderful that, through this campaign, music which is so familiar to many people of my era will now be embraced by a whole new generation," Ono said.

"John's music set out to inspire change, just as Make Some Noise does. In standing up for human rights, we really can make the world a better place," she said.

The tracks will be available as downloads from www.amnesty.org/noise for a cost of 99 cents each, or the equivalent in local currency.