Patti Smith, Michael Stipe and more perform ‘People Have The Power’

Patti Smith, R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe and many other artists have teamed up for a group rendition of Smith’s ‘People Have The Power’.

The video of the performance was released by climate action non-profit Pathway to Paris – co-founded by Patti Smith’s daughter, Jesse Paris Smith – on its sixth anniversary. The video’s release also coincides with Climate Week NYC, which takes place between September 21-27.

Other people included in the video include Cyndi Lauper, Tony Hawk, Stella McCartney, Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ Nick Zinner, Joan Baez, The Strokes‘ Nikolai Fraiture and Tibetan musician Tenzin Choegyal. All up, the clip features people from 24 countries, 38 cities, and six continents.

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Watch the performance of ‘People Have The Power’ below:

 

The clip also encourages Americans to vote in the upcoming November election. In a statement, the team behind Pathway To Paris said this election “serves as an enormous opportunity to help move the Paris Agreement into action”.

“This is the simple notion of the video: ‘VOTE.’ It is a call for Americans to vote in November, and it is a call for everyone in the world to vote in their own local elections, whenever they may be. Vote often and everywhere; in your country, in your state, in your city, in your neighbourhood, in your school. Vote to choose something, vote to reject something,” the statement read.






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‘People Have the Power’ was co-written by Patti and Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith and released as part of Patti’s 1988 album, ‘Dream of Life’. The song has been performed at every Pathway To Paris event since 2014.

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