Singer and songwriter Billy Joel covered Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which was released in a YouTube video on Tuesday.
The song will be featured on a 42-track tribute album of McCartney songs entitled The Art of McCartney, which is set to release on Nov. 18, 2014. The album will also feature singers such as Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan and Corinne Baliey Rae singing songs from McCartney’s music career, including songs from his career with The Beatles and Wings, according to the album’s website.
“Maybe I’m Amazed” was first released on McCartney’s debut solo album McCartney in 1970. According to Song Facts, the song was written after The Beatles break-up in 1969 and was dedicated to McCartney’s wife at the time Linda McCartney, who helped him through that difficult time. McCartney had an unwavering love for Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998. The song has also been covered by artists and bands such as Jem, The Faces and Petula Clark.
The inclusion of this cover marks the first time Joel has returned to the studio since 2001’s Fantasies & Delusions, which was an album dedicated to Joel’s classical compositions. As far as a singing album goes, this is also the first time Joel has sung in a studio in 21 years after River of Dreams.
Along with recording “Maybe I’m Amazed,” Joel also covered “Live and Let Die,” from Wings. “Live and Let Die” was used as the theme music for the James Bond film of the same name in 1973. The song was also covered by the heavy metal band Guns N’ Roses in 1991.
The album has been a more than 10 year project for producer Ralph Sall, who was given McCartney’s blessing to do the cover, according to Rolling Stone. A compilation will also include a DVD documentary of the album’s production and a hardbound book set.
The Art of McCartney releases Nov. 18, 2014.
Image courtesy of Zelig Shaul/ACE/INFphoto.com