This March, we pit 64 Beatles covers against each other in what we call Moptop Madness.
Yesterday’s winner: Elliott Smith, “Because”
So it begins. The Final Four. The Semi-Finals. Sixty matches down, three to go. Hard to believe that one of today’s contestants, both of which have dominated their respective brackets, will leave us at day’s end. At first glance, the two couldn’t be more different. Jake Shimabukuro had an unlikely YouTube hit with his solo ukulele cover of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” while Joe Cocker blew open eardrums – and had an unlikely YouTube hit himself – with “With a Little Help from My Friends.” However, both reinvented oft-covered songs, taking them to places barely hinted at in the songs’ original forms.
Listen to both songs below, then vote for your favorite. For added sway, try to convince others to vote your way in the comments. Voting closes in 24 hours.
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Jake Shimabukuro – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
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Joe Cocker – With a Little Help from My Friends
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[poll id=”65″]
Click here for the current Moptop Madness bracket. Check back tomorrow morning for the next match-up. Follow @covermesongs on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss any.
Joe Cocker’s is GOOD, but Jake Shimabukuro’s is BRILLIANT!
I feel the exact opposite, I think Cocker’s is the brilliant one. While the write up says both take the songs places that aren’t hinted at the original, I don’t think that is true for While My Guitar Gently Weeps. When I first heard of it I could imagine it in my head before hearing it.