Macca, Jacko Lead Benefit Weekend

First up is Sir Paul's all-star relief concert Saturday at New York's Madison Square Garden. McCartney will be getting a little help from such friends as Mick Jagger, The Who, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Elton John, U2's Bono and The Edge, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, James Taylor, Backstreet Boys, Goo Goo Dolls, Bon Jovi, Macy Gray, Melissa Etheridge, Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, Marc Anthony, India.Arie and Five for Fighting.

A who's who of celebs will be on hand to introduce the performers and make pleas for donations. John Cusack is slated to bring out the Who while Harrison Ford will welcome Clapton.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Jim Carrey, Halle Berry, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, David Spade, Julia Stiles, Denis Leary, Michael J. Fox, Jimmy Fallon, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe are also scheduled to appear. And Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Ed Burns, Kevin Smith and Jerry Seinfeld will screen special short films they've made celebrating New York in the wake of September 11. Members of New York sport teams are also expected.

And as a thank you, organizers are giving 5,000 of the best seats in the house to rescue workers.

"Like everyone else, I thought, I want to do something," McCartney tells E! News Daily. "You know, I'm not a fireman, I'm not a rescue worker, so there's no point in me really going down there. I've got to think of something else."

"And then a friend of mine, the head of Miramax films, Harvey Weinstein...started twisting my arm. He said, 'Will you do this show, this is a good one.' So I realized that instead of doing lots of little shows, and split the effort, it would be good to do this."

McCartney and company hope to raise millions of dollars via phone and online donations, which will benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund, an umbrella charity aiding victims, families, rescue workers and others affected by the tragedies.

The Big Apple concert will air live and commercial-free on VH1 starting at 7 p.m. ET Saturday and is scheduled to run for at least five hours. It will be simulcast on radio stations worldwide and online at AOL. Fans can donate online at www.helping.org or www.robinhood.org. Columbia will also release a double CD of concert highlights with proceeds going to charity.

The second special, United We Stand: What More Can I Give?, is an eight-hour marathon set to take place Sunday at Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium and will mark the first major relief concert to be held in the nation's capital.

In addition to Jacko, Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, Carole King, Carlos Santana, Faith Evans, Rod Stewart, James Brown, Al Green, Train, Bette Midler, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Usher and Huey Lewis and the News are slated to play. Janet Jackson, who had a scheduling conflict, is sending videos to both the D.C. and New York benefits.

The Goo Goo Dolls, Bon Jovi and the Backstreet Boys are doing one better--jetting from New York to D.C. to play both shows.

The D.C. benefit will also make pop history: For the first time ever, the Backstreeters (who postponed a show in San Diego to be there) will share a bill with 'N Sync. No word yet on whether the two Orlando-based boy bands will actually team up onstage. Most of the acts slated to appear will perform 20-minute a piece.

Organizers had originally been touting Jagger and KISS in the lineup, but the Rolling Stones frontman was never confirmed and KISS was forced to pull out because singer Paul Stanley required hip surgery.

Aerosmith is also on the roster, but they're listed as questionable since they're scheduled to play a concert that night in Indianapolis. The band is still debating whether to fly in and play a set early in the day or phone in a performance via satellite.

A two-hour version of United We Stand will be broadcast November 1 on ABC at 8 p.m. The show is expected to raise more than $3 million, all of which is earmarked to Red Cross, Salvation Army and Pentagon relief funds.

And fear not country fans. Your favorite crooners are also doing their part to help America.

Country superstars Tim McGraw, Clint Black, Trisha Yearwood, Trace Adkins, Hank Williams Jr., Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, George Jones, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Brooks & Dunn and Sara Evans are among those artists rallying behind the flag for Sunday's Country Freedom Concert in Nashville.

The three-hour show, which will also feature taped segments from Toby Keith and Travis Tritt, will be televised live on CMT and simulcast on more than 700 radio stations worldwide. It benefits the Salvation Army Disaster Relief Fund. Online donations can be made at www.countrfreedomconcert.org.