U2 at Madison Square Garden
photo by P Squared

Bono shares playlist of 60 songs that changed his life for his 60th birthday

U2 frontman Bono turned 60 today (happy birthday, Bono!) and to celebrate, he made a playlist of “60 Songs That Saved My Life.” He’s also writing an open letter to each artist (or to family members of deceased artists), thanking them and sharing personal anecdotes about his experiences with the songs. He explains:

These are some of the songs that saved my life…. the ones I couldn’t have lived without… the ones that got me from there to here, zero to 60… through all the scrapes, all manner of nuisance, from the serious to the silly… and the joy, mostly joy… I wanted to thank the artists and everyone who helped make them… They were doing the same for me… I am writing a fan letter to accompany each song to try and explain my fascination… I’ll be sharing some here and on U2.com.

The playlist includes songs by Kanye West, Billie Eilish, David Bowie, The Beatles, Ramones, The Clash, Public Enemy, Patti Smith, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, This Mortal Coil, Kraftwerk, Fugees, Prince, Daft Punk, Madonna, Jay-Z, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, The Verve, Joy Division, New Order, R.E.M., Adele, Arcade Fire, Pixies, Oasis, Iggy Pop, Massive Attack, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Marley, Echo & the Bunnymen, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Beyonce, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Radiohead, Coldplay, New Radicals, Lady Gaga, Bee Gees, and more.

So far, he’s published letters to Kraftwerk (and pays tribute to Florian Schneider, who passed away a few days ago), David Bowie’s son Duncan, Billie Eilish (and Finneas), Daft Punk/Pharrell/Nile Rodgers, Massive Attack, and Pavarotti & Zucchero. Read those letters and listen to the playlist below. Stay tuned for more.