Aug 012022
 
best cover songs of july 2022
Brett Eldredge – Cold Heart (Elton John, Dua Lipa cover)

Against all odds for a rocker of his generation, Elton John had a genuine hit with a single he released just last year, at age 74: “Cold Heart.” It topped the chart in the UK – his first song to do so in 16 years. It did nearly as well in the States, reaching number 7 and topping a number of secondary charts. Having current pop hitmaker Dua Lipa on board no doubt helped, as did releasing it as a remix by Pnau (“Hot Dance/Electronic Songs” was one of those secondary U.S. charts). It also fairly shameless incorporates bits of earlier hit singles “Rocket Man” and “Sacrifice” as well as deeper Elton cuts “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” In country star Brett Eldridge’s live cover, though, it all blends together seamlessly. Continue reading »

Feb 252022
 
Lake Street Dive The Beatles

Multi-genre combo Lake Street Dive have shared a version of The Beatles’ “Two of Us,” filmed live on a rooftop in Brooklyn. As with their cover of “Don’t Let Me Down,” released for Halloween 2020, the video finds LSD’s members fully bedecked in the Fab Four’s iconic Rooftop Concert garb: vocalist Rachael Price as Lennon; bassist Bridget Kearney as a spitting-image McCartney; keyboardist Akie Bermiss as Billy Preston; and drummer Mike Calabrese in a Ringo red puffy shirt. Guitarist-songwriter Vilray, musical compatriot of LSD and Price’s duet partner in the pair’s sideproject Rachael & Vilray, guests with the song’s iconic guitar riff. Continue reading »

Jan 312022
 
best cover songs january 2022
Butcher Brown ft. Alex Isley – Best Friend (Brandy cover)

Virginia jazz collective Butcher Brown throws it back to ’90s R&B with this cover of Brandy’s 1994 slow jam “Best Friend.” Though it’s a little out of their usual wheelhouse – for one, it has a singer, Ernie Isley’s daughter no less – they ably blend their own leanings with the retro soul-pop feel. If you like this, don’t miss their rooftop NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

Kate Clover – These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ (Nancy Sinatra cover)

“If Suicide produced a Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood song” is a hell of a tag line, and Kate Clover’s “These Boots” delivers on that premise. The menacing guitar seems pulled straight from “Frankie Teardrop,” while Clover’s vocals channel Sinatra’s swagger. Bonus points for the fun Twin Peaks-esque video. Continue reading »

Nov 182021
 
Lake Street Dive Hall & Oates

Lake Street Dive‘s annual Halloween cover videos have grown increasingly elaborate with each passing year. Past covers have included “Bohemian Rhapsody” and last year’s “Don’t Let Me Down,” played outdoors in Brooklyn as a full-on recreation of the Beatles’ rooftop concert. That video’s homespun goofiness offered a bit of welcome respite in the throes of deep COVID (and the 2020 election season), with a stellar performance that gave the band a chance to channel their pop forebears while also putting their own signature stamp on the classic tune. For Halloween 2021, Lake Street Dive continued the trend of outsized musical stunts with a hammy cover of Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams (Come True).” Continue reading »

Jul 022018
 
cover songs june
Andrew Combs – Reptila (The Strokes cover)


The Strokes’ Is This It songs have been covered to death, so musicians are digging deeper. We heard a killer Angles cover in April from Billie Eilish (more on her in a minute), and now singer-songwriter Andrew Combs takes on this Room on Fire track. His own music leans Nashville Americana, but from the crazy horns here, sounds like he’s been spending time in New Orleans. Continue reading »

Mar 152018
 

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

Rich Girl covers

In 1960, Victor and Everett Walker opened the first Walker Bros. Original Pancake House in Wilmette, IL. By the end of the decade, Victor retired, having sold his restaurant and the 15 KFC franchises he owned. At age 50, he was fixed for life – as were his three sons. One of them, Victor Jr., dated a woman named Sara Allen for a while in college. She broke up with Victor Jr. (but remained friends) and began going out with Daryl Hall, who would write “Sara Smile” about her and write many other songs with her.

Hall knew the young Vic and later referred to him as a “burnout.” “He came to our apartment, and he was acting sort of strange,” Hall said in an interview. “I said, ‘This guy is out of his mind, but he doesn’t have to worry about it because his father’s gonna bail him out of any problems he gets in.'” That thought led to a song. “But you can’t write, ‘You’re a rich boy’ in a song,” Hall said, “so I changed it to a girl.” Continue reading »