—November update: The book is now out, but if you review it on Amazon or elsewhere, the mixtape can still be yours! Just send proof of review to the email below.—
Cover Me: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs Of All Time comes out October 3. It dives deep into twenty iconic covers, from Elvis’s “Hound Dog” through Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.” I interviewed artists like David Byrne and Roger Daltrey to get the untold stories behind their greatest covers. You can read all about it here.
Now we’ve got a special bonus for anyone who preorders: a free digital album of other covers of those same songs.
What’s the greatest “Take Me to the River” that’s not by Al Green or the Talking Heads? My favorite “Hurt” untouched by either of those men in black? An “I Will Always Love You” that sounds like the artist has never heard either Dolly Parton or Whitney Houston’s versions? This mix answers all those questions.
To get it, all you have to do is email some sort of proof-of-purchase to ray@covermesongs.com. It could be your Amazon email, a screenshot of an online confirmation page, a photo of a receipt – anything that shows you’ve preordered the book.
The album’s exact tracklist is a secret – you gotta send that email to find out! But, so you know what songs will be covered, here are the chapters in the book:
* Elvis Presley — “Hound Dog” (Big Mama Thornton cover)
* The Beatles — “Twist and Shout” (Isley Brothers/Top Notes cover)
* The Righteous Brothers — “Unchained Melody” (Todd Duncan cover)
* Aretha Franklin — “Respect” (Otis Redding cover)
* Jimi Hendrix — “All Along the Watchtower” (Bob Dylan cover)
* Joe Cocker — “With a Little Help From My Friends” (The Beatles cover)
* The Who — “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran cover)
* Creedence Clearwater Revival — “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (Marvin Gaye cover)
* Gladys Knight & the Pips — “Midnight Train to Georgia” (Jim Weatherly cover)
* Patti Smith — “Gloria” (Them cover)
* Talking Heads — “Take Me to the River” (Al Green cover)
* Devo — “Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones cover)
* “Weird Al” Yankovic — “Polkas on 45” (Various Artists cover)
* Pet Shop Boys — “Always On My Mind” (Elvis Presley/Brenda Lee cover)
* Whitney Houston — “I Will Always Love You” (Dolly Parton cover)
* Fugees — “Killing Me Softly” (Roberta Flack/Lori Lieberman cover)
* The Gourds — “Gin and Juice” (Snoop Doggy Dogg cover)
* Johnny Cash — “Hurt” (Nine Inch Nails cover)
* Adele — “Make You Feel My Love” (Bob Dylan cover)
You can pre-order Cover Me: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs Of All Time at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, or your favorite indie bookseller! Once you do, email some sort of proof that you did to ray@covermesongs.com and I’ll send you the album.
Thanks!
– Ray Padgett
PS. Here’s a sample chapter: The Story Behind Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”
Will there be an e-book (Kindle and so forth) version of the book?
What’s the ETA on the link to the bonus mix? I sent my proof of purchase but haven’t seen a response.
Hi JM, I responded to your email the same day. Maybe it went to spam?