Bono Turns 60, Shares “60 Songs That Saved My Life” Playlist: Listen

Today is Bono’s 60th birthday, and to mark the occasion, the U2 frontman has shared a playlist called “60 Songs That Saved My Life.” It includes songs by David Bowie, the Beatles, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Nirvana, Kraftwerk, Public Enemy, Lou Reed, Kendrick Lamar, Massive Attack, Iggy Pop, Arcade Fire, JAY-Z, Billie Eilish, Pixies, and more. Listen to the full playlist on YouTube and Spotify below.

“These are some of the songs that saved my life,” Bono writes. “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.”

In addition to the playlist, he’s writing a letter to each artist behind the music to explain what the music means to him. The first letters are written to Kraftwerk, Daft Punk, Pharrell, Nile Rodgers, Massive Attack, and the families of David Bowie and Luciano Pavarotti. The first six letters from the project are available to read below. Here’s one he wrote to Billie Eilish and FINNEAS:

My ears long for such empty spaces to wander… to sneak away from the
density of digital surfaces with too much information… I step inside
your song and it’s a black beauty, achingly awesomely vulnerable and
terrifying, fearless and worrisome… but you are not worried by all
that. You express it so you can own the feeling that nags.

I think of Carole King. I think of Roy Orbison.

But just like them, this never existed before you did.

Your fan,

Bono