Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Teams Up With KT Tunstall for Tom Petty Cover
Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has joined forces with singer-songwriter KT Tunstall and Thunderpussy's Leah Julius to record a cover of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down."
They just released a video for the song --- which raises funds for Pearl Jam's Vitalogy Foundation -- that features images of protests from around the world.
McCready also produced the track, which Tunstall — who sings and plays acoustic guitar, bass, keyboard and percussion — first teased on social media back on March 29, when she posted a photo of the two of them in the studio. "Two whole days in the basement studio with this LEGEND," she wrote, tagging McCready, Pearl Jam and Julius, who plays drums on the song.
You can watch the video below.
The video begins with a note about the trio teaming up to cover one of their musical heroes. "The three musicians felt it would serve as a loud shot of support to all the people all over the world marching, protesting and standing up for justice and equality," it reads. "Power to the People!"
It also features brief clips of the trio working in the studio, mixed with images of various protests — from the Women's March for equality and the March for Our Lives, as well as protests against sexual violence, police brutality and Trump administration policies, among others. The clips were sourced from fans, who were invited to send in their own images and footage from protests.
The Vitalogy Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2006 by Pearl Jam and their manager that raises money to support positive change in the areas of community health, environment, arts and education and social change. "I Won't Back Down" originally appeared on Petty's 1989 debut solo album Full Moon Fever and reached No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.