Joan Jett, Jason Isbell and More Musicians Share Stories and New Songs to Raise Alzheimer's Awareness

By James Crowley

Ten musicians have teamed up with the Alzheimer's Association to release a compilation of newly recorded songs and accompanying videos to honor moments that they would hate to lose to Alzheimer's, and to speak about how music can be used to fight Alzheimer's.

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Music Moments is a compilation album and video series featuring Joan Jett, Jason Isbell, Band of Horses and more recording covers, previously unreleased songs and new versions of old songs for the project.

In her video clip, Jett, who contributed an acoustic rendition of her song "Hard to Grow Up," spoke about how music can be used to connect with people despite Alzheimer's. "The way music can open up conversations about Alzheimer's is by, I think, by writing about it, writing songs about it," the punk icon said. "It would connect with other people who are going through it, who recognize it, and say, 'Oh my god. There's somebody that understands.' It's some kind of magic."

Nile Rodgers covered the Beatles' "Hey Jude" for the album, along with his iconic disco band Chic. (They recorded their version at the famous Abbey Road studios, no less.) In a mostly faithful rendition, Rodgers and Chic deliver the song as soulfully as they can. Speaking in his clip about the project, Rodgers said he chose the song because he would sing it with his aunt, who had Alzheimer's. The musician added that many people in his mother's family have suffered from Alzheimers.

"It's been heartbreaking for me, but at the same time, because my mom lives in the moment, we're always having fun, because that's the part of her that I can quickly engage," Rodgers said.

Isbell, who contributed a cover of John Prine's "Hello in There," said that he hopes that by raising awareness, it can lead to a cure. "I'm one of those hopeful people who thinks that one day we'll find a cure," Isbell said in his video. "It's all about being aware and raising awareness and using more of our resources to find a cure."