Music came to the rescue in challenging year Songs inspired, united, and helped keep us sane By Jim Harrington, Mercury News Published: December 24, 2020, 6:02am Share: Patti Smith's 2020 version of "People Have the Power" was recorded in September and encouraged people to vote. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images) It was an incredibly difficult year in so many ways. But it would have been even more difficult if there hadn’t been music to help us get through it all. Music was a constant source of encouragement and escape, in a year when we badly needed both. Sure, the concert industry basically closed up shop back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there were still albums, videos, singles and — the newest star of the show — live-streamed events to enjoy.