Curtis Zimmermann, Author at Cover Me

Curtis Zimmermann

Curtis Zimmermann works as an advertising sales executive for an academic publisher in Philadelphia. He’s been a music critic, news reporter, financial fraud investigator and spent many years in corporate sales, all the while maintaining a healthy obsession with music history. He first became intrigued with genre-bending covers in college when he stumbled across a used copy of Ray Charles’ box set “The Complete Country & Western Recordings 1959 - 1986.”

One Great Cover: Elvis Presley “Blue Moon”

Posted by Curtis Zimmermann at 10:00 am No Responses »

Aug 142026

One Great Cover looks at the greatest cover songs ever, and how they got to be that way.

August 16, 2026 will mark the 49th anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley. While the 50th anniversary in 2027 will no doubt lead to many tributes, we decided to dive in early and explore one of his many great cover songs: “Blue Moon.”

Most of Elvis Presley’s biggest hits–from his early days as a rowdy, pelvis-shaking rock n’ roller, to those from his later years as an over-the-top Las Vegas performer–were cover songs.

Whether it was his megahits like “Hound Dog” or “Suspicious Minds,” or some of his stranger covers like “An American Trilogy” (a smash up of the Bahamian lullaby “All My Trials,” “Dixie” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic”), once Elvis put his spin on a song, he wrote a new chapter in its history.

Such was the case with “Blue Moon.” Though the song was by no means Elvis’ biggest hit, with his cover, he fused together rock n’ roll with the Great American Songbook and guaranteed the song would endure not just as a standard but as a rock classic.
Continue reading »

Bob Dylan Is Covering Rockabilly Legend Eddie Cochran on Tour

Posted by Curtis Zimmermann at 11:00 am No Responses »

Mar 312026

Several years ago, during a work trip to Bristol, England, I learned about the city’s sad connection to the history of American rock n’ roll. The early rock star Eddie Cochran died in a car crash following a show at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1960. Despite penning some of the greatest songs of the early rock n’ roll era, including “Summertime Blues,” Cochran’s death at the age of 21 has been overshadowed by other music tragedies such as “The Day the Music Died.” It’s surprising because Cochran’s amps-to-eleven style of rockabilly influenced the history of rock n’ roll as much as, say, Buddy Holly or Ritchie Valens.

Sixty-six years later, Cochran is still being honored, most recently by Bob Dylan who started covering Cochran’s “Nervous Breakdown” during a show in Omaha and has played it every night since.

Five Good Covers: “MacArthur Park” (Richard Harris)

Posted by Curtis Zimmermann at 10:00 am 1 Response »

Mar 132026

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

On February 19, 2026, figure skater Alysa Liu became the first American to win Olympic gold in the women’s competition since 2002. She did it in a style that caused shockwaves through the sport, as Liu, now 20, had previously retired at age 16. With her return, she vowed that she would skate for herself, in her own style, and simply enjoy the moment. Her spirit radiated from the ice, and her jumps were spot on. She emerged from the games not only a medal winner, but a global superstar.

But what really caught our attention was Liu’s choice of music for her long program. She skated to Donna Summer’s disco cover of “MacArthur Park.” With its infectious groove, the song perfectly reflected her approach to the sport, especially as Summer sings “There will be another song for me.” It was an ideal pairing for one of the greatest second acts in the history of the sport.

“MacArthur Park” was written by Jimmy Webb, the tunesmith known for such classics as “Wichita Lineman,” “Worst that Could Happen” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”

It was first recorded by Irish actor Richard Harris. Coming off the success of the 1967 musical film Camelot, Harris teamed up with Webb, who penned all of the tracks and produced Harris’ debut 1968 record A Tramp Shining. “MacArthur Park” – all seven minutes and twenty seconds of it – was the lead single. Despite its length and unusual structure, the song became a massive global hit for Harris upon its release.

The track itself is more of a suite than a traditional pop tune, with three distinct sections. It tells the story of a young couple falling in love and splitting, interlaced with visual descriptions of the titular Los Angeles park, from “birds like tender babies” to “old men playing checkers.”

But it is most famous, and perhaps infamous, for its chorus… Continue reading »

In Memoriam: Bob Weir

Posted by Curtis Zimmermann at 10:30 am No Responses »

Feb 032026

In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.

If there was a lifetime achievement award for cover songs, Bob Weir would certainly be a recipient.

Weir, who passed away on January 10 at the age of 78, had a career that spanned more than 60 years. As a member of the Grateful Dead, its various spinoffs (Furthur, the Dead, Dead and Company), as well as numerous solo projects and collaborations, Weir played and sang on countless cover songs. Since a majority of his live performances were recorded or preserved in some way, he left behind an immense body of material that spans his entire career.
Continue reading »

Reviews: Song Sung Blue Soundtrack

Posted by Curtis Zimmermann at 12:00 pm No Responses »

Jan 192026

A few years ago, when I was staying at the von Trapp family’s hotel in Northern Vermont, I attended a presentation about their family history. In the talk, they discussed the differences between The Sound of Music and their actual story.

They said the plotline about Captain von Trapp refusing to let the children play outside was particularly laughable. As a military man, they noted, he encouraged all sorts of outdoor activity.

I thought of this recently when reading about the film Song Sung Blue. The movie tells the story of husband and wife duo Mike and Claire Sardina, whose Neil Diamond tribute band, Lightning and Thunder, rose to local fame in the Milwaukee area.

Mike Sardina’s son from another marriage, Mike Jr., has criticized and denounced the film for its factual inaccuracies saying: “Everybody thinks it’s such a wonderful film, it’s so touching. It’s all lies.”

Claire, aka Thunder, has taken a different view, saying in one interview that “They captured it wonderfully. The chronological order wasn’t exactly on target completely. But, you know, the story is ‘based on a true story’ as they say and it’s more Hollywood in parts.” She has even performed live with the film’s stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.

Anytime a “true story” is transferred to film, certain elements of the story are bound to be lost, perhaps even more so in musicals. Real life is often far messier. One truth that I thought the film captured perfectly was the joy of seeing a great band play at a less than pristine venue. There’s that moment when the music takes you out of that time and place, if only for a brief second, before life comes crashing back in.
Continue reading »

A Little Marijuana in Muskogee: Willie Nelson Covers Merle Haggard Classic

Posted by Curtis Zimmermann at 3:00 pm No Responses »

Nov 172025

Normally, if you wrote a country music song that mentioned marijuana, LSD and group sex, you would be permanently barred from country music radio. But in 1969 Merle Haggard did just that with “Okie from Muskogee” and wound up at the top of the country music charts. Granted, in his version of events, the narrator was describing all the things they supposedly didn’t do in small-town Oklahoma.

Ever since the song was released people have been debating whether or not Haggard was celebrating the joys of small town life or mocking it. Haggard himself was a complicated figure. He embraced being one of President Richard Nixon’s favorite singers, yet at the same time had an arrest record that would make most gangster rappers cringe. Over the years, there have been countless parodies and covers of “Okie from Muskogee,” sometimes at the same time, by singers who wore “manly footwear” and even by hippies from San Francisco, whom he was seemingly deriding.

The latest to tackle the track is Willie Nelson, a man who probably wouldn’t hesitate to smoke marijuana if he ever passed through Muskogee. He included the song on his latest album, Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle (click here to read a review).

Nelson plays the track as a laidback, piano-driven country song. He seems to neither celebrate nor mock the people of Muskogee. Instead, he delivers a joyous cover that’s easy to sing along to. He’s simply celebrating Haggard. In fact, that’s the spirit of the whole record. Nelson sings as if he’s having a great time paying tribute to his departed friend and fellow country outlaw. Even the sad songs are happy and upbeat. It’s a worthy tribute to Haggard’s life and music. I don’t expect contemporary country radio to play any of it.