Gomer RecordsThe most unexpected collaboration of the year just may be the new charity single that Rick Springfield has put out, featuring a range of artists so eclectic that it defies a single genre.
The “Jessie’s Girl” singer co-wrote the song, called “The Wall Will Fall,” with Ellen DeGeneres‘ brother, Vance, as part of an ongoing social media project called Ultimate Mini-Series: The 60-Second Guide to Songwriting with a Partner.
Springfield says the project started as “a parody of two musicians trying to write a song from our homes,” but fan response led to them to take the song seriously — so they recruited their celebrity pals to film themselves singing it from home to create an all-star single and video.
Among the artists who participated: KISS’ Paul Stanley, Sammy Hagar, Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider of The B-52s, Mike Reno of Loverboy, Berlin‘s Terri Nunn, Sheila E, Tommy Tutone, The Romantics‘ Wally Palmer, Matthew “Break My Stride” Wilder, Claudio Sanchez of prog-rockers Coheed & Cambria, and Richard Marx, who both wrote and sings the song’s bridge.
Other stars who appear in the video include Ellen, of course, but also Creed Bratton of The Office, The Exorcist star Linda Blair, Iron Chef Cat Cora, The Young and the Restless star Doug Davidson, and Mad Men’s Bryan Bratt.
The upbeat tune, a call for people to “take care of each other,” features the lyrics, “This thing won’t last forever/Not if we stand together/We’ll get through/I promise you,” as well as a “na na na na na” fade out chorus that you won’t be able to get out of your head.
Proceeds from “The Wall Will Fall” go to Feeding America. On Friday afternoon, the song hit number-one on the iTunes Rock Chart.
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