Backstreet Boys Sign On For NYC Benefit

NEW YORK (AP) - The Backstreet Boys are the latest high-profile addition to The Concert for New York, set for Oct. 20 at the city's Madison Square Garden. The boy band canceled a previously booked concert in San Diego to make its New York appearance possible, and will also appear at the United We Stand benefit show the next night in Washington, D.C.

"The Late Show With David Letterman" bandleader Paul Shaffer will act as musical director for the MSG event, which will also feature appearances by film and television stars such as Michael J. Fox, Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, Mike Myers, and Reese Witherspoon. They join a previously announced star-studded lineup of Paul McCartney, the Who, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, and Macy Gray, among others.

Meanwhile, America Online (AOL) has pledged its entire U.S. customer service support team to field donation calls during the concert, which will be broadcast live on VH1. AOL will also Webcast the concert on AOL.com.

In another development announced today, McCartney is planning to donate all proceeds from his new single to the New York City Fire Department. "From a Lover to a Friend," the first single from McCartney's new solo album "Driving Rain," will be released Oct. 29. The proceeds will be used to help the families of firefighters who died in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

"I have great admiration for the courage those guys showed,'' McCartney said in a statement. "I hope that the sales of this new single will help raise money for the firemen and the families." The former Beatle's father was a firefighter in Liverpool, England, during World War II.