By Chris Moore:
If you enjoy hearing your favorite songs played by different artists, then you enjoy cover songs. Likewise, if you enjoy hearing your favorite artists and performers play songs by other songwriters, then you enjoy cover songs. A cover song is a track played by a performer other than the original songwriter.
Some famous covers include Peter, Paul, and Mary’s cover version of Bob Dylan songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind.” This 1960s folk classic, although written by legendary songwriter Bob Dylan, is best known when played by the aforementioned trio. Another Dylan song, “All Along the Watchtower,” was transformed from a country ballad to a searing electric rocker by Jimi Hendrix. After Hendrix released his cover song version, even Dylan began playing it like Hendrix.
In a sense, American Idol is largely based on cover songs, as judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul tend to hear contestants’ renditions of more established, popular songs. (And when contestants perform their own songs, the witty insults and glares of disgust tend to be all the stronger…)
The best cover songs are those that are faithful to the original, but transformed into the performer’s own version. For instance, the early Beatles albums included old standards, but John, Paul, George, and Ringo brought new life to them and really made the Beatles songs that were covers sound like they had written them themselves.
When are you most likely to hear cover songs? If you have been to a concert, then you know that many performers and bands enjoy playing songs by their own favorite artists. Both Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and the Beach Boys, although they have countless hit songs of their own, have played their favorites 1950s rock classics live in concert; the Beach Boys have even recorded cover songs of tunes such as “Barbara Ann.” Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker songs and Beach Boys songs are only a few examples of possible covers. When an artist performs acoustic music, the likelihood that they will try out a classic song increases. While independent music tends to be based purely on original songs, even indie songwriters make references to other bands (most often obscure ones) and perform cover songs in concert.
Video blogs like the Laptop Sessions are devoted to releasing acoustic covers of the best songs ever written. In a sense, the unplugged cover songs of the Laptop Sessions offer a chance to see classic songs as new music – at least as new performances.
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