Blake Shelton Teams With Rock Veterans to Cover Tom Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’

Blake Shelton has teamed up with a few rock ‘n’ roll veterans for a cover of the Tom Petty classic “I Won’t Back Down” — and it’s all for a good cause.

The music and arts platform GoodNoise.io has premiered the all-star cover song, which features Shelton on lead vocals, as well as Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit (Eagles) on guitar and bass and Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses/Velvet Revolver) on drums.

Sorum launched GoodNoise.io as an NFT label under the umbrella company Sthrom, which he co-founded to bridge the gap between artists and fans and to benefit various good causes.

“When you join Team GoodNoise, you’ll receive updates on drops and other important initiatives,” Sorum said in a press release. “We’d like to have a million members down the road to take on causes that impact us all.”

The recording spotlights the work of Miraculous Love Kids, a nonprofit music school that has protected and educated hundreds of young Afghan women who have faced violence and discrimination. After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, members of this group left their homeland, undertaking journeys to find safety in neighboring Pakistan. Proceeds from the song’s release will help the school in its goal of educating and empowering your people living in conflict zones and in poverty-stricken areas around the world.

“In ‘I Won’t Back Down,’ Tom Petty so powerfully wrote, ‘You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down.’ The girls and I are honored to have Blake, Joe, Timothy and Matt join us in spreading this message far and wide,” said Miraculous Love Kids founder Lanny Cordola via a statement.

Listen to “I Won’t Back Down” at GoodNoise.io.

Jessica Nicholson

Billboard