In pop music a cover version is a new rendition of a previously recorded song. Pop musicians may play covers as a tribute to the original performer or group, to win audiences who like to hear a familiar song, or to increase their chance of success by using a proven hit or to gain credibility by its comparison with the original song. Covering material is an important method in learning various styles of music. Bands may also perform covers for the simple pleasure of playing a familiar song. Pop music, in popular and contemporary parlance, is a subgenre of popular music. ...

Early cover versions and the origin of the term

From early in the 20th century it was common practice among phonograph record labels that if any company had a record that was a significant commercial success, other record companies would have singers or musicians "cover" the tune by recording a version for their own label in hopes of cashing in on the tune's success. Since there was little promotion or advertising involved, when the average record buyer went out to purchase a new record, they usually asked for the song, not the artist; additionally, distribution of records was highly localized so a quickly-recorded version of a hit song from another area could hit the streets before the original was available, and the highly-competetive record companies were quick to take advantage of these facts. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... It has been suggested that Direct-drive_turntable be merged into this article or section. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ...

This began to change in the later 1930s, when the average age of the record-buying public began to drop. During the Swing Era, when the bobby soxer went looking for "In the Mood", she wanted the popular Glenn Miller version, not someone else's. However, record companies still continued to record different versions of songs that sold well. // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... The Swing Era is generally accepted as being the era of big bands and hot jazz, 1930-1946. ... Bobby soxer is a term coined in the 1940s to describe the overly zealous, usually teenage, fans of singer Frank Sinatra. ... In the Mood was the signature tune of Glenn Miller and one of the best-known arrangements of the Big Band era. ... Major Glen Miller Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American jazz musician and band leader in the Swing era. ...

In the early days of rock and roll, many songs originally recorded by African American musicians on race music labels were re-recorded by white artists, such as Pat Boone and Ricky Nelson, in a more toned-down style that lacked the hard edge of rock and roll, and vice versa. These bowdlerized cover versions were considered by some to be more palatable to parents, and white artists were more acceptable to programmers at white radio stations. Songs by the original artists which were then successful are called crossovers as they "crossed over" from a black to a white audience. Also, many songs originally recorded by male artists were rerecorded by female artists, and vice versa. Such a cover version is sometimes called a cross cover version . Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... African American music (also called black music, formerly known as race music) is an umbrella term given to a range of musical genres emerging from or influenced by the culture of African Americans, who have long constituted a large ethnic minority of the population of the United States. ... Pat Boone Pat Boone (born June 1, 1934) is a singer whose smooth style made him one of the most popular performers of the 1950s and 1960s. ... Ricky Nelson Ricky Nelson can also mean Ricky Nelson (wrestler) or Ricky Lee Nelson, baseball player. ... In music crossover is a term used to describe artists of a certain style or genre whose popularity crosses the considered boundaries of where the music of that style or genre is normally found. ...

While it is all but impossible to trace the actual history of the term "cover version," it is likely the term began to be used by record collectors once the early rock'n'roll records had become collectible. The actual term "cover" may have its origins in the fact that the artist who recorded the newer version of the song would have his records literally "cover" the original version... if, indeed, it was available in most record stores.

Modern cover versions

Over the years, cover versions of many popular songs have been recorded, sometimes with a radically different style, and in other cases the cover version is virtually indistinguishable from the original. For example, Jose Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" was utterly distinct from the original version by The Doors; but Carl Carlton's 1974 cover of Robert Knight's 1967 hit single song "Everlasting Love" sounds almost identical to the original. José Feliciano (born September 10, 1945 in Lares) is a Puerto Rican singer. ... The Doors, Legacy (Clockwise from top right): Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek The Doors (formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California) was a popular and influential American rock band. ... See also: 1973 in music, other events of 1974, 1975 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Events January - The Ramones form. ... Daniel Robert Knight is an Australian politician. ... See also: 1966 in music, other events of 1967, 1968 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 15 - The Rolling Stones appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. ...

Cover versions can also be in different languages; for example, Falco's 1982 German-language hit "Der Kommissar" was covered in English by After the Fire later, although the German title was retained. The English version, which was not a direct translation of Falco's original but retained much of its spirit, reached the Top 5 on the US charts. Falco (Johann Hölzel), Austrian pop-star whose albums became #1 multiple times on the charts in both Europe and North America during the 1980s Falco (February 19, 1957 - February 6, 1998) was the stage name of the classical music prodigy turned Austrian rock star, Johann Hölzel (also Hans... After The Fire in 1980. ...

Although modern cover versions are often produced for artistic reasons, some aspects of the disingenuous spirit of early cover versions remain. In the album-buying heyday of the 1970s albums of sound-alike covers were created, commonly released to fill bargain bins in the music section of supermarkets and even specialized music stores, where uninformed customers might easily confuse them with original recordings (especially since the packaging of such discs was often intentionally confusing, sometimes combining the name of the original artist, written in large letters, with a tiny disclaimer like as originally sung by or as made popular by). More recently, albums such as the Kidz Bop series of Compact discs, featuring sometimes cleaned-up versions of contemporary songs sung by children, have been sales successes. Bargain Bins refer to an unsorted selection of merchandise, particularly CDs, which have been discounted in retail price due to the closure of the record label, the derivation of the music (cover songs), or simply lost popularity after a one-hit single that didnt compare in commercial success with... Exterior appearance of typical American supermarket (a Safeway) Supermarket produce section A supermarket or grocery store is a store that sells a wide variety of food. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The cover for the first Kidz Bop album. ... Interference colors. ...

Contemporising older songs

Cover versions are often used as a method of making a familiar song contemporary. For example "Singin' In The Rain" was originally introduced in the film The Hollywood Revue of 1929. The famous Gene Kelly version was a revision that brought it up to date for a 1950s Hollywood musical, and was used in the 1952 film of the same name. In 1978 it was covered by French singer Sheila accompanied by the B. Devotion group, as a disco song, once more updating it to suit the musical taste of the era. During the disco era there was a brief trend towards taking well known songs and recording them in the disco style. Director Baz Luhrmann has contemporised and stylised older songs for use in his films. New or cover versions such as John Paul Young's "Love Is In The Air" in Strictly Ballroom, Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" in Romeo and Juliet, and adaptations of artists such as Nat King Cole, Nirvana, Kiss, Thelma Houston, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and T Rex in Moulin Rouge!, were designed to fit into the structure of each film, and to suit the taste of the contemporary audience for which they were made. Singin in the Rain is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. ... The Hollywood Revue of 1929: One of the earliest ventures into the new talkie format of motion pictures, this film, directed by Charles Riesner for MGM, brought together some top acts in a two-hour vaudeville show hosted by Jack Benny. ... Gene Kelly (1912-1996) Eugene Curran Kelly, August 23, 1912 - February 2, 1996 Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Women named Sheila: Sheila, French singer . ... Disco is an up-tempo style of dance music (generally between 110 and 136 beats per minute) that originated in the early-1970s, a derivative of funk and soul music, popular with audiences in larger cities all over the world. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Baz Luhrmann (born Mark Anthony Luhrmann, New South Wales, September 17, 1962) is an Australian film director. ... John Paul Young John Paul Young (born June 21, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland) is an Australian singer. ... Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 film written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce and directed by Luhrmann. ... Candi Staton (born March 13, 1940) in Hanceville, Alabama is a American gospel singer. ... Romeo and Juliet is a famous play by William Shakespeare concerning the fate of two young lovers. ... Nat King Cole in The Blue Gardenia (1953) Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) was a hugely popular American singer and jazz musician. ... Nirvana was a popular American grunge rock band founded in 1987 in Aberdeen, Washington. ... KISS is an EPIC American glam rock/hard rock band formed in New York City in 1973. ... Thelma Houston Thelma Houston (born May 7, 1946) is a African-American R&B singer. ... Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was a twentieth-century movie star, sex symbol and pop icon. ... Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone; Veronica is her chosen confirmation name; on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan) is an American multi-Grammy Award winning pop and rock artist and composer, Golden Globe winning actress and bestselling author. ... Binomial name Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 Tyrannosaurus rex (tyrant lizard king) was a giant carnivorous theropod dinosaur from the Upper Maastrichtian, the last stage of the Cretaceous period, 65 – 66 million years ago. ... Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 musical film which tells the story of a young British poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, Satine. ...

Introduction of new artists

New artists are often introduced to the record buying public with performances of well known, "safe" songs as evidenced in Pop Idol and its international counterparts. Pop Idol is a British television series shown on ITV1; the show is a talent contest to find the best new young singer or pop idol in the UK. The Idol series has spun off dozens of successes such as American Idol, Canadian Idol, Australian Idol and A Star is...

Tributes, tribute albums and cover albums

Established artists often pay homage to artists or songs that inspired them before they started their careers by recording cover versions, or perform unrecorded cover versions in their live performances for variety. For example U2 have performed ABBA's Dancing Queen live, and Kylie Minogue has performed The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - songs that would be completely out of character for them to record, but which allow them artistic freedom when performing live. These performances are often released as part of authorised "live recordings" and thus become legitimate cover versions. U2 is an Irish rock band featuring Bono (Paul David Hewson) on vocals and guitar, The Edge (David Howell Evans) on guitar and pianos and vocals, Adam Clayton on bass, and Larry Mullen Jr on drums and vocals. ... ABBA (clockwise from top left: Anni-Frid (Frida), Benny, Agnetha, Björn) on the cover of their single Summer Night City. ... Dancing Queen is the title of a song, which was one of the biggest hit singles recorded by Swedish group ABBA. Written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, recorded in 1975 for the groups album Arrival, and released as a single in 1976, the song preceded... Kylie Ann Minogue (pronounced: , to rhyme with vogue, born May 28, 1968, Melbourne) is an Australian singer, occasional songwriter and actress. ... The Clash was one of the most successful British punk rock groups that existed from 1976 to 1986. ...

In recent years unrelated contemporary artists have contributed individual cover versions to tribute albums for well established artists who are considered to be influential and inspiring. Each project has resulted in a collection of the particular artist's best recognised or most highly regarded songs reworked by more current performers. Among the artists to receive this form of recognition are Faith No More, Tom Waits ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, The Carpenters, Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, Duran Duran, Carole King and Led Zeppelin. The soundtrack to the film I Am Sam was a particularly popular example of this; it consisted of Beatles songs redone by various modern artists. Three more notable example is Conception: The Interpretation of Stevie Wonder Songs, which is an album consisting primarily of covers of songs originally recorded by Stevie Wonder and also the "Common Thread" album which many contemporary country artists cover songs that were originally hit singles by The Eagles, and the Rhythm, Country and Blues album where a country artist duets with a Rhythm and blues artist covering either a country music standard or a rhythm and blues music standard. The band in 1997. ... Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949 in Pomona, California) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. ... ABBA (clockwise from top left: Anni-Frid (Frida), Benny, Agnetha, Björn) on the cover of their single Summer Night City. ... Fleetwood Mac during their 1970s commercial heyday. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on 24 May 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and poet. ... Karen and Richard Carpenter This article is about a musical group. ... Dolly Parton, 2005 Dolly Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American country singer, songwriter, composer, author and actress. ... Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen, CC (born September 21, 1934 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter. ... Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born March 25, 1947) is a rock music singer, composer, and pianist, and is one of the most successful solo artists in music history, composing recognizable hits such as Rocket Man and Tiny Dancer over the many years of his music career. ... At the height of their fame, Duran Duran (The Fab Five) were featured on the cover of the February 1984 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. ... Tapestry (1971) Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is a Jewish American singer and songwriter. ... Led Zeppelin was a British rock band that became one of the most popular and influential rock groups of all time. ... I Am Sam DVD cover I Am Sam is a 2001 film about a mentally retarded man, Sam Dawson, singularly raising his seven year old daughter Lucy . ... Stevie Wonder is a legend in rock and pop music history. ... The Eagles are an American rock music group that originally came together in Los Angeles, California in the early 1970s. ... Country music, also called country and western music or country-western, is an amalgam of popular musical forms developed in the Southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, Celtic Music, Blues, Gospel music, and Old-time music. ... Rhythm and blues (or R&B) was coined as a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Jerry Wexler at Billboard magazine, used to designate upbeat popular music performed by African American artists that combined jazz and blues. ...

An different type of all-covers album occurs when one artist creates a release of covers of songs originally by many other artists, as a way to recognize their influences or simply as a change of pace or direction. Examples of this type of album include Renegades by Rage Against The Machine featuring covers of songs originally performed by diverse artists including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Afrikaa Bambaataa, and Erik B and Rakim, as well as the EP Feedback by Canadian rock band Rush. More rarely, bands will do an entire album of cover songs originally by a particular artist, such as The The's Hanky Panky, which consists entirely of Hank Williams songs. Renegades is the fourth and last studio album by Rage Against the Machine. ... // In Brief Despite its break-up in 2000, Rage Against the Machine — also Rage or RATM — remains in the global consciousness as one of the most popular political bands of all time. ... An extended play or EP, is the name given to vinyl records or CDs which are too long to qualify as singles but too short to qualify as albums. ... Rush is an acclaimed Canadian progressive rock band comprising bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee (real name Gary Lee Weinrib), guitarist Alex Lifeson (real name Alexander Zivojinovich), and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart (pronounced: Peert) who released their first album in 1974. ... Matt Johnson The The was a British musical group that has been around since the early 1980s in different forms, with Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. ... Hank Williams Sr. ...

There are also bands who create entire albums out of covers, but unlike Tin Pan Alley-style traditional pop singers, they often perform the songs in a genre completely unlike the original songs. Examples include the Moog Cookbook (alternative and classic rock songs done on Moog synthesizers), Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine (top 40, including punk, heavy metal, teen pop and indie rock performed in a Vegas lounge lizard style), and Hayseed Dixie (a play on the name AC/DC, they started covering AC/DC songs and progressed to other classic rock, playing them as bluegrass songs, similar to The Gourds' version of "Gin and Juice.") Also notable are Nine Inch Elvis, who take Elvis Presley songs and rework them in an industrial fashion similar to Nine Inch Nails, and Beatallica, who perform tracks by The Beatles in the style of Metallica. Tin Pan Alley was the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States of America in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. ... mainstream pop music Traditional pop music is a genre of music which encompasses music that succeeded big band music and preceded rock and roll as the most popular kind of music in the United States, most of Europe, and some other parts of the world. ... Moog Cookbook is the name of an electronica band made up of Brian Kehew and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. ... Moog is usually referring to one of the following two people: Robert Moog, a pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. ... It has been suggested that Lounge Against The Machine be merged into this article or section. ... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... It has been suggested that true metal be merged into this article or section. ... Teen pop is a form of pop music that is light and dancey, made for and often by teens. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... This article is about the city of Las Vegas in Nevada. ... Hayseed Dixie Hayseed Dixie are a band that have been described as A Hillbilly Tribute To AC/DC, recording cover versions of hard rock songs in their own distinctive bluegrass style. ... AC/DC is an Australian hard rock band. ... Bluegrass music is considered a form of American roots music with its own roots in the English, Irish and Scottish traditional music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants of Appalachia), as well as the music of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. ... Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock n Roll or The King, was an American singer and actor. ... Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN and typeset as NIИ) is a critically and commercially successful American band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988 by Trent Reznor. ... Beatallica are a satire band that play music made from combinations of songs of The Beatles and Metallica. ...

Cover bands, tribute bands and impersonators

Main article: cover band, tribute band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays only covers, which may be from a single band or artist (a tribute band) or from many different sources. ... A tribute band (sometimes tribute group) is a musical group created in order to specifically play the music of a well-known band, often one which has disbanded or ceased touring. ...

Many artists are cover bands, bands which only perform covers. Some recording bands may lack the songwriting skills (nor have access to independent songwriters) to write their own songs, and thus do covers as a result. Other cover bands include wedding singers and other musicians-for-hire who are in the business of playing whatever music they are asked to by their customer(s). A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays only covers, which may be from a single band or artist (a tribute band) or from many different sources. ... The Wedding Singer is a romantic comedy film by Frank Coraci starring Adam Sandler as a wedding singer, and Drew Barrymore as the object of his affections. ...

Similarly, covers are often a staple of amatuer or semi-professional garage bands or other informal musical groups, the members of which typically learn their parts individually from recordings, often by ear. Garage band is a general term for startup rock bands, often consisting of teenagers and twenty-somethings. ...

Some artists become the subject of tribute bands. A tribute band is a band dedicated to recreating the performances of another artist or group, often as a form or tribute to the original band. Notable artists to be the subject of tribute bands include The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rush, ABBA and Neil Diamond. The Beatles were a British pop and rock group from Liverpool, England. ... Led Zeppelin was a British rock band that became one of the most popular and influential rock groups of all time. ... Rush is an acclaimed Canadian progressive rock band comprising bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee (real name Gary Lee Weinrib), guitarist Alex Lifeson (real name Alexander Zivojinovich), and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart (pronounced: Peert) who released their first album in 1974. ... ABBA (clockwise from top left: Anni-Frid (Frida), Benny, Agnetha, Björn) on the cover of their single Summer Night City. ... Essential Neil Diamond album cover. ...

Some iconic solo artists become the subject of impersonation, (the most prevalent being the Elvis impersonator), which has a long theatrical history, including the drag impersonator. There are numerous examples including Barbra Streisand, Tina Turner, and Judy Garland. The Savior Not Made By Hands (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek εικων, eikon, image) is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. ... Elvis impersonators are people who impersonate or copy Elvis Presley either as a hobby or career in entertainment. ... Drag in its broadest sense means a costume or outfit that carries symbolic significance, but usually refers to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of the other gender. ... Barbra Streisand - Guilty Pleasures. ... Tina Turner on the cover of her 1991 compilation album Simply the Best Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, now Brownsville, Tennessee) is an American R&B, pop, rock and soul singer, Buddhist and occasional actress. ... Judy Garland, circa 1943. ...

Most covered songs

The Beatles have been covered more than any other band; "Yesterday" has been covered over three thousand times since its original release in 1965. George Gershwin's "Summertime" (from Porgy and Bess) has had an estimated 2,500 versions recorded. Other songs which have been released many times as cover versions include the infamous "Louie Louie" by Richard Berry, "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" by Jimmy Webb, "We Will Rock You" (Queen), "Free Bird" (Lynyrd Skynyrd), "No Woman No Cry" (Bob Marley & the Wailers), "I Fought the Law" (Bobby Fuller), and many of the less recent works of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen (as of December 5, 2004, there were at least 940 published cover versions of Cohen songs [1]). The Beatles were a British pop and rock group from Liverpool, England. ... The song Yesterday by Paul McCartney was originally recorded by The Beatles for their album Help! in 1965. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... George Gershwin photograph by Edward Steichen in 1927. ... The cast of Porgy and Bess during the Boston try-out prior to the Broadway opening. ... Louie, Louie is a pop song written by Richard Berry in 1955. ... Richard Berry (April 11, 1935-January 23, 1997) was an American singer and songwriter. ... Jimmy Webb (born [[August 5][or, according to some, August 15]] 1946 in Elk City, Oklahoma) is an idiosyncratic American popular music composer. ... This article is about the song and record. ... Queen is a British rock band which came to popularity during the mid-1970s, and have amassed an enormous worldwide fanbase that continues to exist to this day. ... Free Bird, 1976 live version Free Bird is a song by American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ... Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1973 Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American Southern rock band, described by All Music Guides Stephen Thomas Erlewine as the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious, Southern image and a hard rock swagger. ... No Woman No Cry was a song written by Bob Marley. ... Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (February 6, 1945 - May 11, 1981), better known as Bob Marley, was a singer, guitarist, songwriter and Rastafarian from the ghettos of Jamaica. ... I Fought The Law is a much-covered song originally recorded by Sonny Curtis of The Crickets. ... Bobby Fuller (October 22, 1942 - July 18, 1966) was an American rock singer and guitarist best known for his classic I Fought the Law. Born in Baytown, Texas, Fuller spent most of his youth in El Paso, Texas, where he idolized Buddy Holly, a fellow West Texan. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on 24 May 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and poet. ... Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen, CC (born September 21, 1934 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Covers in particular genres

Punk

Punk music is known for deconstructing classic rock or pop songs by reinterpreting them in punk form. Bands like Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Rancid, NOFX and Goldfinger are especially known for doing so. Punk Rock is an anti-establishment music movement that began about 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified by The Ramones,the Misfits, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock cover band that formed in 1995. ... Rancid was formed in 1991 in Berkeley, California, by former members of Operation Ivy, Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong. ... NOFX are a punk band from California, sometimes referred to in the underground music press as the funniest band in rock and roll. ... Goldfinger is a 1990s ska-punk band, formed in 1993 and named after the James Bond film. ...

An extreme example of punk cover versions is the punk band GABBA, who mix the songs of ABBA and The Ramones. ABBA (clockwise from top left: Anni-Frid (Frida), Benny, Agnetha, Björn) on the cover of their single Summer Night City. ... The Ramones (L-R, Johnny, Tommy, Joey, Dee Dee) on the cover of their debut self-titled album (1976), cementing their place at the dawn of the punk movement. ...

Hip-Hop

In recent years, several jam bands and related groups have begun covering hip hop songs, most frequently only live in concert. Perhaps the most famous such-cover recorded in a studio and released commercially is a bluegrass version of "Gin and Juice" by Snoop Doggy Dogg, as performed by the Gourds. Other artists like Phish and Keller Williams have covered "Rappers Delight" (The Sugarhill Gang), "Baby Got Back" (Sir Mix-A-Lot) and other hip hop songs. The term jam band is commonly used to describe psychedelic rock-influenced bands whose concerts largely consist of bands reinterpreting their songs as springboards into extended improvisational pieces of music. ... Hip hop is a cultural movement that began amongst urban African American youth in New York and has since spread around the world. ... Bluegrass music is considered a form of American roots music with its own roots in the English, Irish and Scottish traditional music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants of Appalachia), as well as the music of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. ... Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus (born October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California) is a rap musician and actor. ... The Gourds The Gourds are an American alternative country band. ... Phish was an American rock band most noted for its extended jams and unique improvisation. ... This article about a musical group, band, singer, musician, album, or song does not make it clear whether the subject meets the WikiProject Music criteria for importance. ... Rappers Delight is a 1979 (see 1979 in music) single by American hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang; it is widely acknowledged as the first hip hop hit single. ... The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group, known mostly for one hit, Rappers Delight, the first hip hop single to become a Top 40 hit. ... Sir Mix-a-Lot Sir Mix-a-Lot (born Anthony Ray, August 12, 1963) is a rapper and producer from Seattle, Washington, USA. He created his own brand of hip hop - influenced by Electro, Kraftwerk and Gary Numan, and funk. ...

Swamp pop

A type of cover version that existed from the early 1950s to the late 1970s in Louisiana was known as swamp pop. Contemporary and classic rock, R&B, and country songs were re-recorded with Cajun audiences in mind. Some lyrics were translated to French, and some were recorded with traditional Cajun instrumentation. Several swamp pop songs charted nationally, but it was mostly a regional niche market. // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... State nickname: Pelican State Official languages None; English and French de facto Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans at last official government census, but probably Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) Senators Mary Landrieu (D) David Vitter (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 31st 134,382 km... Swamp pop is a musical genre that was born in the honky tonks of southwestern Louisiana. ... The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. ...

Samples

• The article on Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" contains samples of numerous covers

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley, OM, (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) better known as Bob Marley, was a Jamaican singer, guitarist, songwriter and activist. ... Redemption Song was the last track on Bob Marleys final album, Uprising. ...

See also

• List of notable cover versions
• Cover band
• Sampling
• Tribute band

Due to the size of this page, the main listing has been split into two sections: List of notable cover versions A-M List of notable cover versions N-Z Cover albums Artists that have released albums consisting entirely of cover songs include: A-Teens - ABBA Generation (2000) The Afghan... A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays only covers, which may be from a single band or artist (a tribute band) or from many different sources. ... In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. ... A tribute band (sometimes tribute group) is a musical group created in order to specifically play the music of a well-known band, often one which has disbanded or ceased touring. ...

External links

• A Straight Dope column on cover versions
• They Did it Their Way, the 50 greatest cover songs of all time, as selected by The Telegraph (November 23, 2004)
• The Covers Project, an online database of cover versions, searchable by artist.
• US Music Copyright Laws: Using cover song versions legally
• Article analysing the institution of the punk cover through the Jam's song 'Batman Theme'
• List of hardrock and heavy metal covers
• List of punk covers
• List of salsa covers
• Cover Song vs. Original: The big song contest