Feb 252019
 

‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

buddy holly covers

The so-called “Day the Music Died” occurred 60 years ago this month. One night after an Iowa concert, that fateful plane crash took out a host of young pioneers of the first wave of rock and roll: Ritchie Valens, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson (in a last minute seat-trade with Waylon Jennings), and, of course, Buddy Holly.

Over at 22, Holly’s career had barely begun. But in a few short years, he’d written and recorded some of the most foundational tracks of rock and roll. So, to remember him six decades on, we’re ranking the best covers of his songs – from “Rave On” to “Not Fade Away” to a host of deep-cut gems that deserve wider recognition.

We were going to include 22 covers to honor Holly’s age but – in a testament to how much he accomplished in such a short time – that turned out to be not nearly enough. So we expanded the list to 36, his birth year. And frankly, we could have easily doubled it. That’s how often his songs have been covered by his admirers of yesterday and today. So rave on, Buddy, with these 36 fantastic covers of your songs.

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Nov 162011
 

Turn up your speakers, because L.A. duo Tashaki Miyaki want you to hear Buddy Holly a little differently than you ever have before. Despite the oversaturation of Buddy Holly covers this year thanks to a couple of tribute albums, no artist yet has oversaturated a song with this much guitar noise and scuzz. Holly’s sugary sweet lyrics drip out of a shoegaze haze, sung unaffectedly by Tashaki Miyaki’s lead singer and drummer, Lucy (maintaining an air of mystery, Lucy and guitarist Rocky have not revealed their last names). The coyness fits well with the sound, as the dreamy waves of music seem to obscure the original song. Continue reading »

Apr 132011
 

Two new free mixtapes have hit the Internet in the past few weeks and they share a common sound: dream pop. The way they get there, though, couldn’t be more different.


Music Tumblrs Cactus Mouth and The Unholy Rhythm deliver a set of covers of songs from the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. That means lots of proto-rock tunes from the likes of the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley, given the indie sort of beach-haze vibe so popular these days. It’s not just a bunch of Best Coast wannabes though; more earnest acoustic material crops up every now and then. Continue reading »