âThe Best Covers Everâ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.
Lucinda Williams has never had a big hit song. None of her singles have charted on the Top 40, or even on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at all. In fact, most of her songs donât hit any chart.
You may already be thinking to yourself: Who cares! Giant pop-chart hits are not the way you measure the success of a singer and songwriter like Lucinda Williams. You know what is one possible way, though? Covers. (A few of which, incidentally, made her song hits in other hands.)
Like a few other songwriterâs-songwriter types weâve covered in this series (John Prine, Steve Earle), the respect Lucinda gets from her peers and fans far outweighs her own commercial success. Itâs probably the sort of acclaim sheâd value more. Williamsâ songs have been covered by her elders alongside a wide array of younger folk and indie artists. Earle, in fact, has called the album he co-produced, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, âone of the best things Iâve ever been involved in.â
None other than Bob Dylan himself, when he played her take on âChange the Locksâ (covered twice on our list) on his Theme Time Radio Hour, compared her to Bessie Smith, calling her âanother strong-hearted spirited woman.â He added cheekily, âTime Magazine called her Americaâs best songwriter in 2002. I guess I was out of town.â
Below, weâve rounded up 25 equally strong-hearted, spirited covers. Lucinda, who turns 70 today, is no slouch at covers herself â donât miss her recent Luâs Jukebox series. But for her birthday, we honor her songwriting and let other artists do the heavy lifting.
25. John Mellencamp – Lafayette
Lucinda Williamsâ first album was a collection of covers, but her second, Happy Woman Blues, consisted of all originals, kicked off by âLafayetteâ â the first of her songs about her native Louisiana, but certainly not the last. Itâs about how the singer misses Lafayette and how it took leaving to appreciate it, so sheâs coming back. Because Lafayette is the center of Cajun culture, the song is fittingly a country/zydeco mix, and focuses on the eating, drinking, dancing and other wild times that she looks forward to repeating. John Mellencampâs 2003 album Trouble No More was a collection of (mostly) blues and folk covers, and his spare take on âLafayetteâ is more country-blues than Cajun. His gruff lead vocals are sometimes overshadowed by the twangy female background singer, but itâs a worthy effort. – Jordan Becker
24. Jimbo Mathus – Lake Charles
Picking a single track off Solo Blues Guitar: Jimbo Mathus Performs Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road kind of defeats the purpose. As you can probably guess from that album title, itâs Mathus, of Squirrel Nut Zippers fame, performing Lucindaâs most iconic album in full (on, as the tin says, solo blues guitar). Itâs a beautiful listen that you can hone in on or just let add atmosphere in the background. But, since we have to highlight one, âLake Charlesâ will give you a good taste of his combination of finger picking and slide on that beautiful resonator guitar. – Ray Padgett
23. Dennis Mac Namara – I Envy the Wind
If there were a church devoted solely to unrequited love, where all those in the throes gathered to commiserate, “I Envy The Wind” would be the lead hymn in the songbook. Why this song has been covered so sparingly over the years remains a mystery. Hyperbolic hot take coming, but if ever a song was powerful and poised enough to knock “Hallelujah” off its ubiquitous and over-covered pedestal, “I Envy The Wind” is it. Dennis Mac Namera’s skeletal acoustic cover is home to a stunner of vocal performance, equal parts booming and fragile. The heartache and longing are oh so palpable, as is Mac Namera’s unabashed admiration for the song itself. Let us pray. – Hope Silverman
22. Peter Gallagher – Still I Long For Your Kiss
Lest anyone forget, Williams is every bit as much a singer and interpreter of the blues as she is of the broader country/Americana slant she is usually associated with. Check out her aforementioned first album, 1979âs Ramblinâ On My Mind, a set of largely nothing but the blues, Sleepy John Estes, Robert Johnson and the like, with a token Hank Williams for good measure. Sure, her own version of “Still I Long For Your Kiss” carries a bluesy hint, but it took this fella to strip it right back, delectably so. This fella? Peter Gallagher. Youâll know him as an actor in loads of films and TV. But, as this clip shows, he can sing, really sing. This comes from a record he made in 2005, Seven Days In Memphis, of Southern soul belters backed by a crew of the best session men that producer Steve Cropper could find. The other singer here is his TV wife from The O.C., Kelly Rowan. – Seuras Og
21. Angel Olsen – Greenville
Angel Olsen dropped two terrific covers last June. Her version of Dylanâs âOne Too Many Mornings,â recorded for the TV show Shining Girls, features haunting electronic textures underpinning her voice. Itâs a surprisingly un-folky cover of one of Bobâs early folk songs. Alas, it came a year too late for our Best Bob Dylan Covers list. Her version of of Lucinda Williamsâ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road standout âGreenvilleâ though is just as good, guitar echoing behind her mesmerizing double-tracked vocals. – Ray Padgett