Eddie Vedder has never been shy about the influence of John Lennon, and recent global unrest has prompted the Pearl Jam singer to tackle one of the former Beatle's best-known tunes.
After playing it in concert this summer, Vedder has released a new version of Lennon's oft-covered 1971 paean to peace “Imagine,” with proceeds going to Heartbeat.fm, a non-profit aiming for peace between Israel and Palestine.
Vedder has expressed his grief over the ongoing Gaza conflict over the past few months. At a July 11 show in London — where he performed a cover of Edwin Starr”s incendiary “War” — Vedder presumably addressed the conflict. A few days later, Vedder added some thoughts to Pearl Jam”s website, saying, “With about a dozen assorted ongoing conflicts in the news everyday, and with the stories becoming more horrific, the level of sadness becomes unbearable…War hurts. It hurts no matter which sides the bombs are falling on.”
He followed his statements up with a live version of “Imagine” performed in Portugal, and has now recorded it and released it to iTunes.
You can watch the live version in Portugal below, although you may have to sit through a Pizza Hut ad first.
The studio version of Vedder's “Imagine” is now available on iTunes.