Jan 172020
 

“Covering the Hits” looks at covers of a randomly-selected #1 hit from the past sixty-odd years.

black and white covers

Unlike most #1 hits we’ve covered so far, Three Dog Night’s 1972 chart-topper “Black and White” is itself a cover. The song, written by Earl Robinson and David Arkin (Alan Arkin’s father), was first recorded by Pete Seeger in 1956. Even in Three Dog Night’s marginally more rockin’ arrangement, it still sounds like a Seeger song, and not exactly a top-tier Seeger song at that. “A child is black, a child is white / A whole world looks upon the sight” sounds like folk music’s “Ebony and Ivory.” The fact that Three Dog Night took this well-meaning trifle to number one shows just how high the band was riding after the previous year’s “Joy to the World.” Continue reading »

Jul 202011
 

Last September, Justin Timberlake appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and blew all our minds with a hip-hop medley. Timberlake appeared on Fallon again last night and gave the crowd what they wanted: a sequel. Continue reading »

Mar 252011
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!


Born in 1947, the man christened Reginald Kenneth Dwight has left a stunning mark on popular culture in the last four decades. Over 30 albums, two animated films, two Broadway plays and a host of crazy costumes later, Elton John‘s still standing. Unlike many musicians his age, John’s work output has not slowed, nor has his popularity. Just last year he released a Grammy-nominated album with American singer-songwriter Leon Russell, and he’ll soon embark on a worldwide greatest hits tour. John and his domestic partner David Furnish also recently welcomed a child into their household via surrogate. That lucky little tyke gets to count Lady Gaga as one of his godmothers. Continue reading »

Aug 092010
 

At Cover Me, we love festivals. Often a chance for artists to reach out to a new audience, fests offer fertile ground for a genre-bridging cover. As volunteers clean up the last of the trash from Grant Park and fans begin the long drive home, we round up the covers from this past weekend, just like we did with Bonnaroo and Glastonbury.

It’s an eclectic mix. Green Day goes soul, Blues Traveler goes reggae, and Switchfoot goes brat-rap. Check them all out below. What did I miss? Do you have any better videos (particularly of the Switchfoot)? Let me know in the comments! Continue reading »