The Eagles joined Paul McCartney to perform “Let It Be” during a tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett at the Hollywood Bowl on Thursday night.
The celebration, titled “Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett,” came after Buffett’s passing in September 2023, and featured tributes from McCartney, Dave Grohl, Zac Brown, Brandi Carlile, Kenny Chesney, John Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, and Buffett’s band, the Coral Reefer Band. Dave Grohl introduced McCartney to the stage, and of the late songwriting icon, McCartney told the audience “I had the great pleasure of knowing Jimmy, and like everyone else on the bill tonight has said, this is one great man.”
McCartney continued: “He was generous, he was funny, he’d done just about everything in his life. I was on holiday with him and I forgot to bring my guitar, so he had his own guitar strung left-handed for me. And then the next time I saw him he’d had one custom made left-handed for me.”
McCartney then shouted out Buffett’s wife, Janie Slagsvol, for not only organizing the tribute concert but inviting McCartney to sing songs for Buffett during his dying days — one of those being “Let It Be.” McCartney then performed the song on a grand piano, backed by The Eagles (Joe Walsh provides a particularly great guitar solo during the bridge). Watch Dave Grohl’s introduction of McCartney, McCartney’s speech about Buffett, and McCartney’s performance with The Eagles below.
Elsewhere during the tribute concert, Dave Grohl performed Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” alongside Zac Brown and the Coral Reefer Band. Sheryl Crow also joined the Coral Reefer Band for “Fins.” The tribute concert concluded with the large slate of guests all honoring Buffett with a rendition of “Margaritaville”
Buffett died on September 1st at the age of 76 following a lengthy battle with skin cancer and lymphoma. He previously collaborated with McCartney on “My Gummie Just Kicked In” from the posthumous album Equal Strain on All Parts.