cover songs

By “Olivia” I mean Olivia Rodrigo, though it was my Olivia who first introduced me to the latter’s music. They share something in common besides their given name, and that’s a love of Billy Joel. My Olivia came back to Houston from college to see Billy Joel with us at Minute Maid Park in September, but she’s still a little salty about the fact that I didn’t take her to New York to see Billy Joel at one of his regular Madison Square Garden shows. When COVID first hit, I admit I feared, as did Olivia, that maybe there would never be another chance to do that. That remains to be seen, but at least we can say we saw him in concert together.

Anyway, whether we get to see him at MSG on some future date, we’ll likely not see a repeat of this from one of his shows in August:

I’ve watched this video at least 20 times since I first heard of its existence (via Twitter, as bittersweet as that is). I love everything about it – her joy and enthusiasm, the way the two of them play off each other, how she skips off the stage at the end. It’s everything you could want from a live musical performance, and that it came as a surprise to everyone in attendance just makes it that much sweeter.

And then, in November, Rodrigo took the stage to honor another legend by singing one of Carly Simon’s greatest hits at her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction:

Again, I love everything about this. The song is an all-timer, and it is just perfect for her voice. (There’s a great cover of it by Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet that I also recommend; this one is maybe a smidge better but both are total bangers.) The way the band feeds off her energy, and the way the crowd is into it – the shots of Brandi Carlile singing along, and (I believe) LL Cool J air-drumming are perfection. As with the Billy Joel video, this is an introduction of Olivia Rodrigo to folks who are of the Billy Joel/Carly Simon musical era, and they are suitably impressed. Several commented that she should do a cover album of classic rock and pop hits, and I would be so there for it. I already like her debut album Sour – give it a listen if you haven’t already.

Two other things. One, much as I love “You’re So Vain”, we realize that whoever Carly Simon was (figuratively or actually) singing it to would have heard it at some point, and thus would have been correct in assuming that the song was indeed about him, right? It’s a good mind-fuck either way, I just wanted to note that for the record.

And two, in regard to the first video:

— Claire Willett (@clairewillett) 1:03 AM – 19 November 2022

Sigh. I’m old enough to remember when Twitter was fun. Maybe it will be again someday. Happy New Year!

Here’s Paul Simon performing one of his solo hits:

Simon was a top-notch songwriter for over 20 years, and if you look at the trajectory of most artists, that’s a long time. Here’s Annie Lennox, in a recording someone took from a performance she gave on morning TC show, doing her rendition of this song:

Her actual recording, on the Medusa album, is longer, but I was delighted to find even a low-quality version of her doing a live contemporaneous performance of this, so that’s what I went with. Paul Simon is a decent singer with a decent voice, but man is it a treat to see his work being done by someone with a truly amazing voice, and a lot more stage presence to boot.

I feel like we could use a little sax music, so here are Al Cohn and Zoot Sims:

I’m pretty sure it’s the law that you have to be a musician to be nicknamed “Zoot”. Where there’s jazz there’s western swing, and where there’s western swing there’s the Hot Club of Cowtown:

Sadly, there was not a live version of this, but I encourage you to search around YouTube for the live performances they do have. If you don’t already like this kind of music, you will after you watch a few of their videos.

An all time classic from Peter Gabriel:

No, I have no idea what the lettuce this is about. Apparently, the video was done much later, so who knows. Now here’s Jiggernaut:

There’s a live version here but the audio quality is so-so. I personally like bagpipes and think it adds something to this rendition, but your mileage may vary.

Here’s national treasure Lyle Lovett:

You’ll have to ask him if he wrote that about Julia Roberts. In the meantime, here’s Lou Rawls:

Also a national treasure. You might be able to get away with having this song dedicated to your wife if she hears Lou Rawls singing it.

Here’s Bruce Springsteen performing this classic American folk song:

That’s from his Seeger Sessions album, which was basically aimed right at my sweet spot. For an every more growly-voiced take, here’s Tom Waits with Keith Richards:

Hitch the horses to the wagons, I’m ready to ride.

Fluff up your hair, put on your dancing shoes, turn your HiFi up to max volume, and get down to KC and the Sunshine Band:

Now that, my friends, is what I’m talking about. It’s too much awesomeness for any one person, and it can all be yours for $12.99 plus shipping and handling on K-TEL Records’ Sizzling Hits of 1975. Order now, operators are standing by.

Some forty years later, it all gets put through the Disney machine, and out comes Forever in Your Mind:

That is from the Disney Channel show Best Friends Whenever, for its back-to-the-70s extravaganza episode. Go ahead, ask me how I know this. The thought occurs to me that those groovy grandparents probably ordered a copy of K-TEL Records’ Sizzling Hits of 1975 back in the day. Possibly on 8-track, which I believe cost a dollar more. Those were the days.

The only thing that can rival the 80s for video awesomeness is the 70s, and when you think of the 70s, you should think of Earth, Wind & Fire:

The glitter, the dashikis, the groovy video effects – it’s all there, in one spectacular package. The vocals and the horns are pretty great, too. A more modern take on this comes from Pomplamoose:

I like how they sped up the tempo, and of course the dancing grandma is fabulous. It’s not as funky as EWF – how could it be? – but it’s peppy and joyful and it works.

Let’s start with The English Beat:

Some day, when my kids ask me “Dad, what was it really like in the 80s?”, I’m going to show them that video. That, and maybe an episode of LA Law. Now for one of the best cover-doers out there, the pairing of Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs:

Do yourself a favor the next time you’re feeling a little blue and you have some time to kill, and spend some of that time on YouTube with live acoustic videos of Sweet and Hoffs doing their thing. I couldn’t find such a version for this, but there’s plenty of others. You’ll thank me for it. And as good as that is, my favorite version of this remains Pete Townshend’s:

Just perfect in every way. Happy Saturday, y’all.

Here’s Fleetwood Mac with one of their bigger post-Rumours hits:

There isn’t a Fleetwood Mac video channel as far as I could tell, so that was the best-looking video I could find. Other than the lips not always synching with the music, it’s not too bad. Now here’s Camper Van Beethoven’s take on this:

That may be the least-viewed video I’ve ever embedded. CvB did a song-by-song cover of the Tusk album – their 10-minute rendition of the title track is kind of amazing. Perhaps a bit of an acquired taste, but I like it anyway.

Hey, I just realized that I’ve never seen the video of the Men Without Hats classic “Safety Dance”. Let’s watch, shall we?

Well, that was…um, yeah, I got nothing. Let’s just go to the Literal Video version, because there just had to be a literal video version of that:

Now it all makes sense. With that, here’s Big Daddy:

No matter how weird things get, you can always count on Big Daddy.

Here’s Lorde’s global hit:

She’s going to be in Houston for the 2017 Free Press Summerfest, which I will be unable to attend. One presume she isn’t coming all this way just to play a couple of days in Houston, but her tour schedule doesn’t actually include many American appearances, so check her out while you can. Meanwhile, here’s Bruce Springsteen’s now-famous cover of “Royals” from his down under tour in 2014:

I’ve watched that video multiple times and I still love it. It’s Springsteen at his roots, singing a song you could imagine him having written. He’s well known for doing covers at his live shows, but man would I love him to put together an album of the tributes he’s done.

A big hit from the Stray Cats:

Am I the only one who thinks that the “real square cat” who “looks so 1974” kinds sorta resembles Weird Al Yankovic with a short haircut? It’s the mustache and the smirk, I guess. Now here’s lead singer Brian Setzer with his Orchestra nearly 20 years later:

That’s the beautiful thing about having a horn section – you can let them kick things off while you get a quick drink and fix your hair. Also, they sound great. Other than that, it’s the same basic arrangement, he just has more accompaniment.

Squeeze, circa 1980:

Such an underrated band. I don’t think I heard any of their music on the radio back in the day – I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it on a “classic rock” station either, though I can’t swear to this. I discovered them the old-fashioned way, by raiding my roommate’s record and CD collection. Now here’s Chris Difford circa 2012:

I don’t know if it counts as a “cover song” when an artist reinterprets his own material, but I love it when it’s done well. Phil Collins’ “Behind The Lines” from Face Value, and Sting’s “Shadows In The Rain” from The Dream Of The Blue Turtles are my other top two in this category. Do you have any examples?

Here’s Toots and the Maytalls:

I have a live acoustic version of this from the KCBO in-studio series. Any way they do it sounds good. Now here are The Specials:

That’s from the soundtrack to the movie Grosse Point Blank, which came out in 1997 and which I’d say was the leading edge of the 80’s music revival. Now I feel like I need to get the second album as well. It’s interesting that the score for Grosse Point Blank was composed by Joe Strummer of The Clash but their cover of this song was not the one picked for the movie. I think it was the right choice, but it’s still interesting.

It’s peak 80’s with the Go-Gos:

I’m so old, I’m watching them drive around in that convertible and all I can think is “PUT YOUR SEAT BELTS ON! ARE YOU CRAZY?” Different times, they were. Now here are favored cover artists Matthew Sweet and Susannah Hoffs:

As one of the commenters said, a double bill of the Go-Gos and the Bangles would have been awesome. Maybe in another life.

The classic gospel song by the great jazz/a capella group The Manhattan Transfer:

Oh, those outfits. I confess, I don’t actually have a ManTran version of this song in my library right now, though I have owned this on cassette in the past. I’ll get around to fixing that one of these days. I do have two versions by Eddie from Ohio, both of them live recordings:

EFO hasn’t toured much since 2005, when lead singer Julie Murphy Wells was diagnosed with breast cancer. That video is from 2012, and it makes me happy to see her healthy and dancing around. I like the coda they add that leans into the gospel-ness of the song. I keep hoping they’ll release another CD and maybe take another trip to Texas, but until then at least there’s some newer material on YouTube.

One of the more iconic songs by the Talking Heads:

Who hasn’t asked himself these questions? Nobody does musical paranoia like David Byrne. This song was also used to great effect in the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills.

And nobody does mashed-up covers of popular songs like Big Daddy:

Because of course this song blends well with Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O”. Isn’t it obvious?

Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only John Lee Hooker:

We should all achieve that level of coolness at least once in our lifetimes. Now here’s George Thorogood with the version you’ve probably heard:

So, did Jersey party as good as they did in Philly? I love the narrative he adds to the song. The spoken-word song is an underrated tool in the musical toolbox, if you ask me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m thirsty.

Let’s throw it back with Martha and the Vandellas:

I love that music videos were being made in the 60s. MTV was a decade and a half away, something like this might get shown once on an “American Bandstand”-type show, and yet here we are fifty years later watching it on Youtube. What a serendipitous fluke.

Now here are The Commitments, paying homage on their extended soundtrack:

My fellow Orphan Black fans will recognize Maria Doyle “Mrs. S” Kennedy in the front row, second from the right. Last season coming up, I sure hope they tie it all together.

Since today is actually New Year’s Eve, I thought it would be appropriate to break the pattern for this classic torch song. Here’s Kacey Musgraves asking you what are you doing New Year’s Eve:

Props for the clarinet solo. there aren’t nearly enough clarinet solos in popular music, if you ask me. And because there are a ton of recordings of this song and I can’t help myself, here are Zoey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt doing their thing:

Happy New Year’s Eve. I’ll see you on the other side.

A classic from The Cars:

Gotta love those period-era live videos, at least when the sound quality and production are reasonably good. Sometimes I wonder what the people who shot the video thought would happen to it. Getting uploaded to the Internet some 30 years later probably wasn’t a possibility they contemplated.Now here’s Hayseed Dixie:

And sometimes I think that the most authentic version of many rock and pop hits are countrified novelty covers of them by the likes of these fellas. The only competition for that would be a Big Daddy 50’s-esque doo-wop mashup. It’s a close call.

Let’s all sing along with Simon and Garfunkel:

Here’s a video of the song playing over scenes from the movie with which it is closely identified, The Graduate. The audio is a little weird or I’d have used it instead, but there it is if you want to watch it. The story of how that song wound up in that movie is worth reading, if only for a good chuckle at what a comedy of near-errors it was.

The Lemonheads have the best-known cover of this song, but I’m more fond of Pomplamoose’s version:

Mostly, I’m a fan of Nataly Dawn’s voice, and she nails the phrasing without being too overt about it. And I’m glad that Joe DiMaggio had the right number of syllables that Paul Simon needed.

Here’s Lily Allen covering a classic rocker:

I kind of love this version. She has the perfect voice for a song that always makes me happy to hear. Now here’s the Electric light Orchestra original:

It’s good, and you have to love the trippy 70’s animation, but honestly I say Allen does it better. It’s faithful to the original but it just feels peppier. What do you think?

I have an acoustic Kris Kristofferson version of this classic that breaks my heart every time I hear it, and a version by the Modern barbershop Quartet that I can’t find on YouTube, so I’m just going to put a few videos for this out there. Here’s an acoustic version by Pink, who shows up often in a search on just the song title:

She’s got a good Joplin growl to her voice. If I hadn’t seen her singing that, I might have been fooled. Now here’s Sheryl Crow dueting with Kristofferson in a more rocking version:

Crow does not have a growl in her voice, but she has enough depth. I like the arrangement. Here’s a much younger Kristofferson singing with Rita Coolidge:

Kristofferson is the only singer I’ve ever heard clearly enunciate the line “Nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’, but it’s free”. Coolidge has a nice voice, but it doesn’t quite fit this song. There’s too much backup, too. Finally, here’s Kristofferson with Johnny Cash and a little bonus Willie Nelson.

I mean, honestly. They’re all too giddy singing this, but how can you blame them? And how can you not feel a little giddy yourself when Nelson walks onstage to join them?

Yet another Bob Dylan song to be covered:

Pretty good song, but that’s just like, my opinion, man. Now here are The Persuasions:

It’s not just my opinion but solid, objective fact that Jerry Lawson has an excellent voice.

Get on the bus with The Who, y’all.

And as I threatened promised last week, here’s Pete Townshend doing this solo, at The Deep End:

Who needs backup vocalists when the whole audience sings along? Also, too: windmilling. I swear, I’ll have a non-Pete Townshend song next week.