everything old is new again - some thoughts on the evolution of the cover version

Everything old is new again – some thoughts on the evolution of cover versions
There have been many forms of popular music over the last century including but not limited to: Jazz, Blues, Soul, Disco, Punk, Hip Hop, Rap and Grunge. Since Grunge hit in the early nineties there have not been any strong musical movements at the forefront of popular culture. Where is the new music coming from? Old music. Cover versions and cover bands have moved in to fill the cultural void that a new musical direction could be filling.
Cover versions are nothing new, of course, the first popular songs were traditional songs sang by troubadours, memorized by the populous and sang by anyone who was moved to sing. With the advent of cheap sheet music the tunes and lyrics became standardized and these songs became popular standards. In the 1920’s and 30’s some songs started to become associated with specific singers after their records were played on the radio and they sang them in movies. But by and large a popular song would have a life of its own. Cole Porters song Anything Goes for example was written for a Broadway musical but was used in numerous films and recorded by many different artists and still to this day stands out as a standard without being associated with a specific singer. In the 1950’s Rock and Roll became popular with artists like Elvis Presley rerecording blues songs with an upbeat tempo. That’s Alright Mama a song that was made popular by Elvis is an almost exact copy of the Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup original from 1946. In England there was the Skiffle movement, bands with a ragtag assortment of guitars, washboards and homemade bass reinterpreted traditional folk songs.
In the sixties popular music exploded with new bands such as The Beatles, The Animals and The Rolling Stones releasing records that were nearly all covers of the Blues and rock and roll records that they were listening to. Soon the great songwriters of the Sixties emerged and there was a small industry in covering the songs of Dylan, Lennon - McCartney and Jagger – Richards. This was a golden era for the cover version, the songs were everywhere and the singers could not be. The strength of the songwriting shone through and Beatles songs were recorded in every imaginable style and language. Bands like the Hollies, Manfred Mann and the Band recorded albums and E.P.s comprised wholly of Bob Dylan songs. The great interpreters stepped up to the plate, musicians who covered songs in such a way that they made them their own, Cream remade the blues in their own image, Joe Cocker took “With a little help from my friends” and created a wholly different song from the Beatles original vision, Jimi Hendrix (with a song that is generally regarded as the greatest cover version of all time) took Dylan’s “All along the watchtower” to soaring new heights scarcely imagined by its composer. Along with Bob Dylan great poets like Leonard Cohen emerged who wrote beautiful song that were enhanced by new interpretations.
As the seventies emerged more singer songwriters are being known for their own versions of songs as easier international travel and satellite /video technology made it easier for the artists to be seen playing their own songs. The two saving graces for cover versions in the seventies were the advent of Punk and Disco. Disco cover versions filled the dance floor by adding orchestrations and a beat to such songs as Donna Summers version of “ Macarthur’s park” or Boney M singing “Sunny”. Punk was a fountain of interesting cover versions too numerous to mention. Those that I will mention are “My Way” by Sid Vicious, “Stepping Stone” by The Sex Pistols, “I heard it through the grapevine” by The Slits, “ All along the watchtower” by XTC and the greatest cover version of the seventies (in my opinion) “Walk on By” by The Stranglers.
The eighties were somewhat of a low point for cover versions with a few bands that started out in the seventies releasing cover albums one good example is The Flying Lizards “Top 10” album. There were a few small bands keeping the covers alive, the Silicon Teens released “Music for Parties” an album of electro versions of late fifties and early sixties hits. Towards the end of the eighties where were manufactures groups like Bananarama singing overproduced covers of songs such as “Na Na Hey Hey – Kiss Him Goodbye” and “Venus” these haven’t aged well.
The nineties brought the advent of the tribute album, a bunch of assorted artists record covers from one band or songwriter and release it as an album. The market was flooded with them and major labels released tributes to major artists while minor labels released more eclectic collections. There are tribute albums to: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Leonard Cohen, The Byrds, Frank Zappa and many more.
Here in the 21st century the cover version is once again entering a golden age in the U.K. and Australia there are TV and Radio shows where guests are encouraged to do impromptu cover versions. Internationally shows like American Idol are all cover versions (glorified Karaoke but cover versions none the less). In London’s West End and on Broadway shows like Mamma Mia and The Jersey Boys play to packed houses. Films like Mamma Mia and Across the Universe are keeping cover versions at the forefront of popular culture.