NEW YORK (AFP).- Rock group The New Radicals will reunite for a single day Wednesday to perform after the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a tribute to Biden's late son and in a nod to Harris's husband.
The short-lived Los Angeles group was together only from 1997 to 1999, but its single "You Get What You Give" reached top-40 status in the US, hit the top-5 in Britain and topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand.
During the bout with brain cancer that in 2015 claimed the life of Beau Biden, the family embraced the song as an uplifting anthem, Joe Biden wrote later in his autobiography "Promise Me, Dad."
The song seems to address all those passing through hard times, offering a message of hope. It ends with a call for resisting oppression by the uncaring and powerful.
Its timeless words and music assured "You Get What You Give" a lasting influence.
Harris's husband, lawyer Doug Emhoff, chose it as his "walk-on" song for every public appearance during his wife's 2020 campaign.
The New Radicals agreed to reunite for the first time in more than 20 years at the request of the Biden-Harris team.
They will perform during Wednesday's "Parade Across America," a virtual celebration replacing the traditional inaugural parade because of the coronavirus pandemic and heightened security concerns, according to the organizing committee.
"If there’s one thing on Earth that would possibly make us get the band together, if only for a day, it is the hope that our song could be even the tiniest beacon of light in such a dark time," frontman and group founder Gregg Alexander told Rolling Stone magazine.
"America knows in its heart that things will get bright again with a new administration and a real plan for vaccines on the way. That’s the message of the so... This world is gonna pull through."
Lady Gaga will sing the "Star-Spangled Banner," the US national anthem, after the formal swearing-in of Biden and Harris.
Another event in the evening will feature Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato and Bon Jovi.
© Agence France-Presse
