The Best Cover Songs of April 2026

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May 012026
 
Noah Kahan
Arlo Parks — Yukon (Justin Bieber cover)

The talk of Coachella this year was Justin Bieber—specifically, his controversial headlining set that featured, in part, him singing along karaoke-style to videos of himself he pulled up on YouTube. Plus, Geese debuted their old “Baby” cover live (while Sabrina Carpenter watched sidestage no less). But maybe the best Bieber happening this month was this great lo-fi cover by Arlo Parks.

Jamey Johnson – Pretty When It’s New (Merle Haggard)

Merle Haggard’s birthday saw two new covers drop. One’s in the next section. This first one’s even better though. Country singer Jamey Johnson dug deep—and late—for this pick. The song comes off one of Haggard’s final albums, 2010’s I Am What I Am. This is the same album that included “Bad Actor,” which Bob Dylan covered in concert a couple years ago. The album’s seemingly on its way to be the country version of Blackstar or You Want It Darker, a late-in-life masterpiece for the true heads. Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of September 2020

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Sep 302020
 
cover songs september 2020
Amigo the Devil – Before He Cheats (Carrie Underwood cover)

When we last heard Amigo the Devil, he was stripping down a Tom Jones song to create a haunting murder ballad. Now he does the same to another highly polished pop song – but a much more recent one. “[The original is] this very confidence-boosting, really good-feeling, power-infusing song,” Amigo’s Danny Kiranos told Rolling Stone. “I was curious what it would sound like if you took away the positive nature of it and kept the lyrics, essentially the emotions they are portraying.” Continue reading »

Corb Lund Enlists Hayes Carll for “Cover of the Rolling Stone” Cover

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Jul 252019
 
corb lund hayes carll

On March 29, 1973, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show made it on the cover of Rolling Stone. The song “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” had been released four months earlier, in November 1972. The buzz created from the song – which had reached #6 on the charts that same month – would lead to this little bar band from New Jersey being featured in the fledgling magazine, itself only five years old at the time. 

Technically speaking, though, the band itself still hasn’t been on the cover of the Rolling Stone. The magazine cover only showed a caricature of the band, with the headline “What’s-Their-Names Made The Cover.” The band name was not even mentioned. I guess the joke was on them. Continue reading »