November 7, 2001 12:25

BEATLE CHUMS!

'I Am Sam' features Sean Penn as a mentally retarded Beatles fan...

Photo Gallery: The Beatles

PEARL JAMs EDDIE VEDDER, NICK CAVE, - STEREOPHONICS, BLACK CROWES, RUFUS WAINWRIGHT and veteran PAUL WESTERBERG are amongst the artists who have covered BEATLES tracks for inclusion on the soundtrack to new film, 'I AM SAM'.

The film, staring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer, focuses on a mentally retarded man (Penn) fighting for custody of his daughter. Penn's character is obsessed with every aspect of The Beatles - his apartment is full of John Lennon posters and his daughter is named Lucy after 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds', covered in the film by The Black Crowes.

The film is set for a release in the US on December 28, though no UK date has been set yet.

Producer Rick Solomon has told Billboard that Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney each gave their blessing to the project. He also said that getting Eddie Vedder, who does a solo version of 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away', was key to attracting other big names

"Getting Eddie was the lynchpin to everything," he said. "He's friends with Sean [Penn]. He gives you such unbelievable artistic credibility. We were then able to get these other wonderful people, and it seems like they're all very much of a piece with one another."

The tracklisting for 'I Am Sam' soundtrack is as follows:
'Blackbird' - Sarah McLachlan
'Two of Us' - Aimee Mann and Michael Penn
'I'm Looking Through You' - The Wallflowers
'Across the Universe' - Rufus Wainwright and Sean Lennon
'Strawberry Fields Forever' - Ben Harper
'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away' - Eddie Vedder
'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' - The Black Crowes
'Golden Slumbers' - Ben Folds
'Nowhere Man' - Paul Westerberg
'Let It Be' - Nick Cave
'Don't Let Me Down' - Stereophonics
'We Can Work It Out' - Heather Nova
'I'm Only Sleeping' - The Vines
'Help!' - Howie Day
'Revolution' - Grandaddy
'Julia' - Chocolate Genius