Smells like Sgt. Pepper: Sir Paul to stand in for Kurt Cobain
Dec 12, 2012, 3:18 PM | Updated: Dec 13, 2012, 8:46 am
(AP image)
Kurt Cobain loved the Beatles. So you have to figure he’d be OK with Paul McCartney taking his place in a surprise reunion of the surviving members of Nirvana.
Word surfaced Tuesday that McCartney would sing with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic Tuesday night to close out the historic Concert for Sandy Relief in New York.
The Guardian reports Grohl recently asked Sir Paul if he wanted to come along and “jam with some mates.” Little did he know what he was getting himself into.
McCartney said: “I didn’t really know who they were. They are saying how good it is to be back together. I said: ‘Whoa? You guys haven’t played together for all that time?’
“And somebody whispered to me: ‘That’s Nirvana. You’re Kurt.’ I couldn’t believe it.”
But McCartney didn’t rip through a version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The former Beatle and the duo worked up a new original song for the show. They were joined by guitarist Pat Smear, who toured with the band in the final months before Cobain’s death in April 1994.
Grohl tweeted a picture of the three surviving Nirvana members Tuesday afternoon ahead of the show.
The Madison Square Garden concert also featured The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton and other superstars. But the thought of Sgt. Pepper playing punk rock is what generated the most buzz before the big show.