Now hear this - get out there and grab the Haiti appeal CD. Now.

Not only is it a splendidly emotive version of a great song, but REM's Everybody Hurts is probably the perfect choice to further highlight the plight facing hundreds of thousands of people who are desperate and destitute.

It is one of the best in a long line of charity records that have raised millions of pounds for worthwhile causes and, equally importantly, raised awareness.

Sir Bob Geldof set the ball rolling on a grand scale when he and Midge Ure came up with the brilliant Do They Know It's Christmas and the whole Band Aid/Live Aid concept. The American version We Are The World didn't rock my boat exactly, but again, it did the trick.

The 20th anniversary release of the Band Aid single with essentially different performers did the business again, although like many others, I did not think it was as good as the original.

And it is amazing how a song that was written with entirely different thoughts behind it can be matched to a completely different set of circumstances - and yet it looks as if they were made for each other.

I am thinking about Drive by the Cars which was a good song, but once it was married to the stark heart-wrenching images from Ethiopia it became a different vehicle (no pun intended).

The power of music is so strong - and that's why we love it in all its many different guises. And that's why I still love my job bringing the best sounds old and new to you all.

Catch up with Johnny every weekday and Saturday from 6am to 10am, and every Sunday on The Vinyl Years from 7pm.

Emailjlewis@kmfm.co.uk.