"Shane MacGowan & Friends" Benefit Song for Haitian Relief Coming 3/8

Benefit songs don't always stand the test of time. I have to admit that to this day, hearing the original "We Are the World" still makes my eardrums cry in pain (even WITH Springsteen in it) because it was played soooo daaaamnn much then. And let's be honest, it's not a song you'd listen to on repeat even if you liked it. The smart move would be to find a song that's a classic and get some popular artists to get folks to buy it.

As we mentioned a little while back, Nick Cave, Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, and Mick Jones of The Clash, among others, took the latter approach in order to raise money for Haitian relief. "Shane MacGowan and Friends" got together recently to do an all-star cover of "I Put a Spell On You," which will be available as a download next month. They released the video from the recording yesterday and...call it a way cooler antithesis to that "We Are the World" remake. And what's better, it's a good version of the song. Really good. And MacGowan's scratchy voice and caterwalling yells add such a cool element. Screamin Jay Hawkins, the song's originator, would be proud. That's the beauty of classic songs, they become classic because they're just downright great. So you get a classic song, sung by some of the best artists around, AND it benefits a good cause? What more do you need?

"I Put a Spell on You" will be available on 3/8 here. All proceeds will go to Concern Worldwide, an Irish-based international humanitarian organization, which has been working in Haiti for more than 16 years.

Shane MacGowan, Mick Jones, Nick Cave, and Chrisse Hynde, Among Others, Releasing Benefit Single for Haiti

Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and Mick Jones of The Clash have organized a group of musicians to cover the Screamin Jay Hawkins song "I Put a Spell On You" as a benefit single for Haitian relief. Sort of a punk "alternative" to Simon Cowell, who is also putting out a benefit single, as is Quincy Jones' remake of "We Are the World," Jones and MacGowan brought in other musicians, such as Chrissie Hynde and Sex Pistols Glen Matlock among others, with Nick Cave as producer.

The single is set for release in late February. Money raised is going to Concern Worldwide, an Irish-based international humanitarian organisation, which has been working in Haiti for more than 16 years.

Read more: Shane MacGowan, Nick Cave and Johnny Depp team up for Haiti single