Music Biz Sings for Hurricane Victims

10/18/2005 5:03 PM, E! Online
Charlie Amter

How big of impact did the hurriane-wrought devastation have on Hollywood? So big even miserly record labels are coming together to help out hurricane victims.

Like the TV networks before them, the usually competitive major labels, Universal Music Group, EMI, Sony/BMG and Warner Music Group, are joining forces with many of their A-list acts for an unprecedented double-disc album benefiting victims of both Katrina and Rita.

Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now will be released in mid-November, the record companies announced Monday. It will contain brand-new songs written in the wake of the killer storms, previously unreleased studio recordings and live performances, and classic cuts by legendary New Orleans artists. The Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group representing the music biz, says 100 percent of net proceeds will be shared among the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund.

The disc, which will retail for $20, includes two "We Are the World"-style all-star collaborations that originally came together following last winter's tsunami tragedy in Asia.

"Come Together Now" features vocals by Celine Dion, Patti LaBelle, Joss Stone, Ruben Studdard, the Game, Aaron Carter, Nick Carter, A.J. McLean, , Natalie Cole, Chingy, JoJo, Mya, Angie Stone, Kimberly Locke, John Legend, Gavin DeGraw, Jesse McCartney, Anthony Hamilton, Brian McKnight, Stacie Orrico, Kelly Price, Lee Ryan, Garu, Glenn Lewis, Tren'l and R.L. Huggar. The song was written and produced, in part, by a rather unlikely songwriter: Sharon Stone.

The Sharon Osbourne-produced cover of Eric Clapton's somber 1992 hit "Tears in Heaven" will also be included. The track features contributions from Elton John, Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Josh Groban, Steven Tyler, Velvet Revolver, Gavin Rossdale, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Osbourne, Katie Melua and even Robert Downey Jr.

Both tracks are also be available for download at iTunes Music Store beginning Tuesday.

Among the other hurricane-specific songs making their debut on CD: the Norah Jones-Wyclef Jean benefit single "Any Other Day," previously only available through MSN Music; the new ballad "Heart of America," featuring Michael McDonald, Wynona Judd and Eric Benet, along with Terry Dexter and the First Full Gospel Choir of New Orleans, which served as the soundtrack for hurricane coverage on NBC's Today Show; Barbra Streisand's never before released "I Believe" (not to be confused with Lenny Kravitz's similarly titled "Believe," also included); and the John Mayer and Aaron Neville duet, "Heart So Heavy."

One much-hyped cut that is notably MIA is Michael Jackson's "From the Bottom of My Heart." While Jackson is in London working "full-speed ahead" on the track, which is supposed to feature vocals from Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Lauryn Hill, James Brown and Snoop Dogg, one unnamed participant told the Los Angeles Times this weekend that the song "was going nowhere."

Meanwhile, Hurricane Relief will feature several live tracks, including Coldplay's "Fix You," James Brown's "Try Me," Gloria Estefan's "Coming Out of the Dark/Always Tomorrow" and Elton John's "I'm Still Standing," recorded in New Orleans.

The Crescent City vibe permeates the album thanks to contributions from natives like Neville Brothers ("Brothers"), Fats Domino ("Walking to New Orleans"), Harry Connick Jr. ("City Beneath the Sea") and Louis Armstrong ("Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans"), as well as thematic cuts like John Fogerty's "Born on the Bayou," the Dave Matthews Band-Robert Randolph "Louisiana Bayou," Sting's "Moon over Bourbon Street," Clint Black's "The Great Mississippi Flood" and Kirk Whalum and Coolio's "When the Saints Go Marching In."

Among the other tracks confirmed so far: Brian Wilson's "Love and Mercy"; Bonnie Raitt's "I Will Not Be Broken"; and Earth, Wind and Fire's "Devotion." Additional artists are expected to be announced in the coming days.

"Flooded streets, shattered lives, broken hearts, yet through it all, the music never dies," says Connick. "This CD helps us heal a place that has given so much music to the world."