U2, REM, others record John Lennon covers

U2, R.E.M., Green Day, Snow Patrol, Christina Aguilera, Jack Johnson, Corinne Bailey Rae, the Postal Service, Regina Spektor, and other acts have all recorded covers of John Lennon songs, for an album called Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur, a tribute to the late Beatle that will benefit Amnesty International's campaign to end the Darfur genocide.

Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, is donating all publishing royalties from the album to the Darfur campaign. Instant Karma will arrive in stores on June 12th.

R.E.M.'s take on "#9 Dream" is the first single from the set, and is now available for download via iTunes. The track features the band's original drummer Bill Berry, who left the band in the late '90s. This the first time the band has reunited in the studio with Berry.

Other tracks set for inclusion are U2's cover of "Instant Karma," Green Day's version of "Working Class Hero," Christina Aguilera's recording of "Mother," the Cure tackling "Love," Snow Patrol doing "Isolation" and the Black Eyed Peas performing "Power to the People."

Backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York City Monday (March 12th), R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe explained why they chose "#9 Dream':. "R.E.M. covered the song 'Number Nine Dream' with Bill Berry playing drums. We chose that song because there are no lyrics in the chorus and that seemed fitting for my earlier lyrical attempts."
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