December 2023 – According to The Kidd

COVER STORIES – Part 5 of 6

The definition of a COVER VERSION – A particular recording of a song is later re-recorded by someone else, in such a way that the new recording brings something new to the meaning of the song or the feelings it invokes. This is a series of posts about striking cover versions of songs.

Here is Part 1 about the nature of cover stories, with various examples – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/11/18/cover-stories-part-1-of-6/

Here is Part 2 featuring a dozen particularly good specific cover versions – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/11/24/cover-stories-part-2-of-6/

Here is Part 3 featuring a dozen more particularly good specific cover versions – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/12/02/cover-stories-part-3-of-6/

Here is Part 4 featuring a final dozen particularly good specific cover versions – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/12/09/cover-stories-part-4-of-6/

In this post a variety of songs which are closely related to the concept of cover versions will be discussed.

PARODIES

A parody is usually done to make fun of a song, perhaps to highlight negative about the song. This can be done with gentle humour by someone who actually likes the original song and is just having a bit of fun. It could, instead, be done by someone who is highly critical of the original song. Weird Al Yankovich, by all accounts, is a genuinely nice guy who just likes taking the mickey out of people, but he also obtains permission first from anyone whose song he intends to parody. Here is a highly popular song from early in Michael Jackson’s adult career – BEAT IT – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0&ab_channel=michaeljacksonVEVO . Here is EAT IT, a parody by Weird Al Yankovic of Beat It – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI&ab_channel=alyankovicVEVO

GENDER SWITCH

In some cases a song’s lyrics are written from the point of view of a particular gender but a new recording of the song is done by someone of a different gender who changes the lyric’s pronouns accordingly. Given the enormous gender-based power differential that still exists in today’s world, a particular lyric is likely to carry a very different meaning when delivered by one gender than it is being delivered by another. The traditional American folk song MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW has been recorded by Rod Stewart – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdjaA752Cg0&ab_channel=RodStewart-Topic . Judy Collins also recorded the song but she changed it to MAID OF CONSTANT SORROW – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zp8xUAO7Hs&ab_channel=swedishbaffe

In 1965 Otis Redding composed and recorded the song RESPECT from his male perspective – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvC9V_lBnDQ&ab_channel=pieroangelo2 . Then in 1967 Aretha Franklin changed the lyrics slightly and recorded the song from a female perspective and it became a feminist anthem probably because, given the power imbalance, demanding (not begging for) respect is a hell of a lot harder for a woman to do than for a man to do (it was even harder in 1967) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF-gQP91iIE&ab_channel=MrsMattMurphy . Way back in 1952 African-American Big Mama Thornton recorded the song HOUND DOG (by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) and not many people noticed – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmpwvxW0gW0&ab_channel=RocknRoll then in 1956 Elvis Presley recorded the song and it was a big hit. This seems to be another case of a white singer covering a song released earlier by a black singer and making a fortune. Also, a woman calling a man a hound dog is more dangerous than a man calling a woman a hound dog – note the legendary guitarist Scotty Moore in Presley’s backup band here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzQ8GDBA8Is&ab_channel=jorgeollie .

Finally, the Donays was an American so-called Girl Group who had a hit with the Richard Drapkin song DEVIL IN HIS HEART – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmLJ-p5adV8&ab_channel=TheDonays-Topic . Way back in 1963 (over sixty years ago!) The Beatles recorded this same song but reversed the gender of the villain of the piece. They changed the lyrics slightly and called it DEVIL IN HER HEART reinforcing that old misogynist trope of woman as evil seductress. This is also a rare case of lead guitarist George Harrison taking lead vocals even though it wasn’t one of his own songs (in almost all of the Beatles cover recordings John or Paul took lead vocals) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGe-jfFrxCk&ab_channel=TheBeatles-Topic .

In a variation of this idea, in the mid-1930’s in Germany male artists often sang the female lyrics to popular songs. These were called cross cover versions. This practice faded rapidly, however, as soon as the Nazis decided that such a practice was decadent.

FROM TIME TO TIME

Here are three unusual cases in which particular song or piece of music is originally written and recorded with a particular time signature and when it is covered a different time signature is used which can create a new unsettled or exotic feeling.

SWEET GEORGIA BROWN (by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard) is heard here played by Benny Goodman in its original 4/4 time. Goodman is in his seventies here, and that’s the great Teddy Wilson on piano at the age of 68 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jE2g055zRA&ab_channel=SwingCla . Just for good measure, here is another cover version in 4/4 time by Brother Bones and his Shadows (released in 1949) which was used for years as the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters, as seen in this ancient clip featuring the great Meadowlark Lemon – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDLvbnoGA6M&ab_channel=tubengagements . Here is a much more sophisticated version by Dave Brubeck alternating between 7/4 time and 4/4 time. The excellent drummer is Dan Brubeck, Dave’s son, the cellist is his son Matthew, the bassist is his son Chris – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA7ebL6Cuf8&ab_channel=LovelyDiscipline .

THE MAPLE LEAF RAG (by Scott Joplin) can be heard here played in its original form in 2/4 time by Paul Barton – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYnR1zl7kFg&ab_channel=PaulBarton . Now here is an ingenious version by Johnny Guarnieri in 5/4 time (the music starts at the 1 min. 42 sec. mark) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHXxgC_ddbw&ab_channel=unigonfilms .

GREENSLEEVES is an English folk song dating from 1580 and it was originally written in 6/8 time, as heard here performed by The King’s Singers a cappella, i.e. unaccompanied (not an easy thing to do) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twix9KfES9Y&ab_channel=thekingssingers . Now here is still another version, this time in 4/4 time by Elyse Davis and the Mannheim Steamroller – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UllgHcFH58c&ab_channel=mannheimsteamroller . Neither of those time signatures is particularly unusual. However, here is a version in the highly unusual time signature of 7/4 recorded by the progressive rock band Jethro Tull – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKNUrTdkDBw&ab_channel=CahitMeteOguz

OF MINOR CONCERN

RENAISSANCE

Sometimes a song is resuscitated and covered later as part of another song, for example FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH (by Stephen Stills). The original version by Buffalo Springfield has Stephen Stills on guitar and a very young Neil Young (released 1967) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRV5LoOMyBk&ab_channel=sweetlikez . 32 years later we have a version by Public Enemy in 1999 weaving in and out of their song HE GOT GAME. Notice a much older Stephen Stills at 6 seconds in, at 47 seconds, and later at the 2 minute 18 second mark, and notice too the “man with a gun over there” at the 1 minute 42 second mark – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FmPskTljo0&ab_channel=PublicEnemyVEVO

The Police recorded the song EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE in 1983 (sometimes referred to as I’ll Be Watching You). The song is about a stalker but some people took it as a love song, which is awfully creepy. Here is the striking video from the early days of music videos, full of subtle lighting effects, with Sting on stand-up bass – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs&ab_channel=ThePoliceVEVO . In 1997 acclaimed rapper Notorious B.I.G. was murdered at the age of twenty-four. In response his friend P.Diddy released the song I’LL BE MISSING YOU singing with Faith Evans, the former wife of Notorious B.I.G., a song with words about the murder but with the same melody as the Police song, doing so with the good wishes of The Police. In fact here is a stirring live performance of the track with P.Diddy, Faith Evans and Sting – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0nL7weZrp8&ab_channel=4dd7y5stars .

In 1975 Led Zeppelin released what I think is their best track, a song called ‘KASHMIR’. Then a full thirty-nine years later the 2014 terrible remake of Godzilla was released but the film’s soundtrack at least features P.Diddy performing a rap on top of that original Led Zeppelin track, with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin sneaking into the background of the accompanying dramatic music video.

COVER STORIES – Part 4 of 6

Here is Part 1 about the nature of cover versions, with various examples – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/11/18/cover-stories-part-1-of-6/

Here is Part 2 featuring a dozen particularly good specific cover versions – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/11/24/cover-stories-part-2-of-6/

Here is Part 3 featuring a dozen more particularly good specific cover versions – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/12/02/cover-stories-part-3-of-6/

In this post a final dozen interesting cover versions:

NOTHING COMPARES 2 U (by Prince). We start with Sinead O’Connor who died less than five months ago at the age of fifty-six. This is her most successful recording delivered starkly in this music video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-EF60neguk&ab_channel=SineadOConnorVEVO . Here is the less than great original version of this song by the composer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpGA0azFdCs&ab_channel=Prince .
ME AND BOBBY McGEE (by Kris Kristofferson). Kris Kristofersson was a country / folk singer, helicopter pilot, and brilliant enough academic to become a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He wrote this song in the 1960’s and Canadian Gordon Lightfoot recorded this version of the song in 1970 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8O0GgcenVU&ab_channel=anippygirl . The most famous cover of the song is this one, recorded a year later, by American Janis Joplin, backed by the Canadian group The Full Tilt Boogie Band. Joplin recorded this shortly before she died at the age of twenty-seven – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7CtqwyxHM0&ab_channel=magghina95
HOTEL CALIFORNIA (by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Don Felder). The Eagles original version of Hotel California is excellent but very well known so I’m not going to link to it. Here instead are two live covers which are singularly different from the original. One is by the leader / founder of The Eagles, Don Henley, done in Mexican style with a great trombone arrangement and excellent percussion from Rob Ladd – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38-V0g0vl0Q&ab_channel=%E6%88%91%E8%A6%81%E5%A5%BD%E5%A5%BD%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0 . The second cover is by a much later version of The Eagles and it features some top notch acoustic guitar playing. Glenn Frey is to the immediate left of the singer Don Henley. Frey died in 2016 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlmMFAA3Ako&ab_channel=BernardBryanLansang .
YA RAYAH (i.e. The Traveller) (by Dahmane El Harrachi). Here is the best known version of this song performed by the great Algerian actor and activist Rachid Taha, who had a huge international hit with this song. Please note the unusual ten beat rhythm pattern, and the impressive oud playing by the great multi-instrumentalist Nabil Khalidi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H38Ir7dCnns&ab_channel=M.Hassan . Here is a later version of the song performed by three musical legends – Rachid Taha himself again, Algerian Rai singer Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, and French singer and actor Faudel Belloua – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cur39MJDWX4&ab_channel=DeepFreeze11
GOD ONLY KNOWS (by Brian Wilson). This track was originally released by The Beach Boys in 1966 and here they are performing the song in that same year – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpd4jzKA4SA&ab_channel=MikeAdams . 48 years later BBC Music released this version of the song performed by a long list of famous people, including Beach Boy Brian Wilson himself (at 58 seconds, and again at the very end). The complete list of participants contains 29 names (there is a complete list in the Comments section – see the 25th comment down) including Elton John, Chris Martin (Coldplay), Kylie Minogue, Stevie Wonder, Jools Holland, Brian May (Queen), One Direction, and Dave Grohl (Nirvana / Foo Fighters) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqLTe8h0-jo&ab_channel=BBCMusic
WOODEN SHIPS (by David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner). When I was a kid people were building fallout shelters and at school we were taught what to do in case of a nuclear war. Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, banged his shoe on his desk at the United Nations declaring to the United States “We will bury you” (in Russian). As a teenager I watched President John F. Kennedy appear on live television during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 telling Khrushchev to remove all Soviet nuclear weapons from Cuba or else. Or else what? Many thought there was a good chance that a nuclear war was about to start and I noticed that my family lived in London halfway between Detroit and the power station complex at Niagara Falls, two prime targets. Here is a song about the aftermath of a nuclear war recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in 1968 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q3j-i7GLr0&ab_channel=Ly1212 . Here is the same song recorded by Jefferson Airplane (one of the co-writers of the song, Paul Kantner, was a member of Jefferson Airplane), released a year later – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIccZsURyLc&ab_channel=JeffersonJukebox .
THE TOWER OF SONG (by Leonard Cohen). This song, released in 1988, is recorded here live with highly-respected session musician David Sanborn on alto saxophone – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUUZsS29qMA&ab_channel=MichlMayr and here is a later version of the song, again by Leonard Cohen, but this time with U2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVYb6pseNIA&ab_channel=MofoU2Slovakia
EVERYBODY KNOWS (by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson). In 2018 some political observers deemed this to be the theme song of the Trump administration. Here is Cohen performing the song in 2008 with the wonderful Webb sisters, plus Sharon Robinson (who co-composed this song) as backing singers. Javier Mas also delivers a great solo on acoustic guitar. Please listen carefully to the words – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu8u9ZbCJgQ&ab_channel=LeonardCohenVEVO . Here is quite a different version by Concrete Blonde – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=367C7L5A4BQ&ab_channel=ConcreteBlonde-Topic
THE WEIGHT (by Robbie Robertson). Here is the original version recorded by The Band (Robbie Robertson is the lead guitarist) along with The Staple Singers. It was their biggest hit, it is unusual musically in that in the chorus, in 4/4 time, there’s a bar in 2/4 stuck on the end. It’s also true that about 99% of all songs end on the tonic note of the scale of the key the piece is written in, but that’s not true here. This clip was recorded on the occasion of The Band’s final concert before disBANDing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-w9OclUnns&ab_channel=GreatOldiesDJ . Here is a much more recent version performed by Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr, joined electronically by musicians on five continents – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ&ab_channel=PlayingForChange . Robertson died a few months ago at the age of eighty.
99 LUFTBALLOONS (music by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, German lyrics by Carlo Karges and English lyrics by Kevin McAlea). The German band Nena’s lead singer was also named Nena (sort of like the bands Santana, and Manfred Mann). The band Nena had a huge international hit in 1983 with 99 Luftballoons in German. The song’s music video was banned in the US from play on MTV, however. The lyrics were not obscene, no one was wearing revealing clothes. It was an anti-war song but that wasn’t the reason. The reason given was that in one shot the lead singer’s armpit hair was briefly visible. Draw your own conclusions. Here are Nena performing the song in 2018 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIO5lfJ9dhs&ab_channel=NENA . The German title means 99 Air Balloons but it is translated as 99 Red Balloons. The lyrics tell the story of how 99 balloons aloft along the Iron Curtain between East and West Germany are mistaken for missiles. One thing leads to another, to years of war and finally a nuclear conflagration which destroys both sides – with no victor. This was first released during the Cold War, before the fall of the Soviet Union, a time when Reagan was president and global nuclear war was still a real possibility. Here are Nena covering their own song, this time in English – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiwgOWo7mDc&ab_channel=NENA .
THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD (by David Bowie). This was originally recorded by David Bowie – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3MX-rUtS6M&ab_channel=DavidBowie . Here is an unplugged Nirvana performance covering this song, a session viewed now as one of Nirvana’s best performances. Sadly, Cobain was only twenty-seven when he committed suicide – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fregObNcHC8&ab_channel=NirvanaVEVO . This song has nothing to do with one of my favourite science fiction stories, Bernie the Faust by William Tenn, published in 1963, about a man who accidentally sold the world.
SILENT NIGHT / STILLE NACHT, HEILIGE NACHT (by Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr). This Austrian Christmas carol, composed in 1818, has since been translated into over 300 languages, and been covered hundreds of times. Here is an unusual rendition recorded in the town square of Steyr in Austria sung, of course, in German, on the two hundredth anniversary of the writing of the song. By the looks of it the entire town turned out to sing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BS9ohD1R5g&ab_channel=RTVRegionalfernsehen v=1uHNygqhBCs&ab_channel=SineadOConnorVEVO . Here is a very different version recorded by Simon and Garfunkel in 1966. Most of the references are still well known today except perhaps Lenny Bruce. He was the first of the great subversive comic geniuses and he died at age 42 of a heroin overdose. He was penniless when he died having spent all his money on legal fees having been repeatedly arrested for his iconoclastic performances – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNyqlx0–i0&ab_channel=DowneyStudios

This set of covers began with Sinead O’Connor and so lets ends with her as well with one last cover. All her life O’Connor tried to find peace, in more than one religion; I wonder if she was ever able to find it. Her voice is incomparable once again here, sung a cappella (very difficult to do and stay in tune) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGDCKrSgYwY&ab_channel=PureSinead .

Surprise final bonus cover. This is one of my favourite covers so I’m adding it here as a last minute afterthought. The best track laid down by Jimi Hendrix, IMHO, wasn’t All Along the Watchtower or Purple Haze. It was Voodoo Chile, written by Hendrix. But then decades after Hendrix died a newcomer from Australia, Orianthi, came along, and when she covered the song she played it better than Hendrix himself. Here is the Hendrix version live in 1970 which was the year he died – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFfnlYbFEiE&ab_channel=JimiHendrixVEVO , and here is Orianthi (a shorter but a better version) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK6tcgsKgps&ab_channel=SilentDarkDrummer .

Here is a list of other unusual and excellent covers worth listening to:

LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS by The Beatles, and later covered by Elton John (with John Lennon)
BLUE SUEDE SHOES by rockabilly star Carl Perkins, and covered later by Elvis Presley
TAKE FIVE by The Dave Brubeck Quartet (the first jazz recording to sell over a million copies) and later covered by Pakistan’s Sachal Studios Orchestra
MY FAVOURITE THINGS by Julie Andrews and later covered in ground-breaking style by John Coltrane
JET SONG by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and later recorded also by Oscar Peterson
GRAVY WALTZ recorded by its composer Steve Allen and covered later by Makoto Ozone
I GOT RHYTHM by George Gershwin and later covered by Hiromi Uehara with breath-taking technique.
MACK THE KNIFE sung by the multi-talented but short-lived Bobby Darin and sung later by Louis Armstrong
LAZY RIVER originally recorded with great harmonies by the Mills Brothers and later interpreted brilliantly by Louis Armstrong
LOVE IS STRANGE originally recorded in 1956 by the guitar duo Mickey and Sylvia, with some excellent guitar work, later covered by The Everly Brothers with their intricate harmonies. The song was co-written by Bo Diddley himself.

I’d recommend covers by Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish but they are amazing talents who write or co-write almost all their own songs.

COVER STORIES – Part 3 of 6

The definition of a cover version – A particular recording of a song is later re-recorded by someone else, in such a way that the new recording brings something new to the meaning of the song or the feelings it invokes. This is a series of posts about striking cover versions of songs.

Here is Part 1 about the nature of cover stories, with various examples – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/11/18/cover-stories-part-1-of-6/

Here is Part 2 analysing a dozen specific cover versions – https://thekiddca.wordpress.com/2023/11/24/cover-stories-part-2-of-6/

In this post a dozen more specific covers are analysed:

TOMORROW BELONGS TO ME (by John Kander and Fred Ebb). This pro-Nazi anthem, actually subtly designed to leave us feeling very anti-Nazi, was composed by two Jews. The Broadway version to my mind is more musically interesting than the more widely seen version from the film ‘Cabaret’. However, the film version seems more stark and dramatic, and given the rise of Trump, Trump’s recent talk of vermin, and putting people into camps, the film version may be more relevant. Here is that Broadway version – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2VOtlT_dwI&list=PL9I-iDDnTJQs2VdEkYoKITiIUZ8c8TmYu&index=8&ab_channel=RobertSharp-Topic . Here is the film version, still chilling. How relevant is this today? I’ll let you know after we get the results of the 2024 election. Here is the film version – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tUctFu46_c&ab_channel=SeanScott
TOM DOOLEY (by Frank Warner and Alan Lomax). This is a horrible song about a horrible man who kills his girlfriend, stabbing her to death, then almost escapes but is caught and is due to be hanged. It is horrible because the lyrics seem to be sympathetic to Dooley but don’t even tell you the name of his girlfriend, the real victim – here is the Kingston Trio’s version (it was their biggest hit) released in 1958 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zdE8bliGI&ab_channel=ConnorJones . It was British singer Lonnie Donegan and his skiffle music which inspired many members of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and many others to become professional musicians. Here is Donegan’s more upbeat version of Tom Dooley in which he almost relishes the thought of Dooley’s impending execution – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0bDJ_wWSdA&ab_channel=PaulGriggs .
SIXTEEN TONS (by Merle Travis). This is an anti-capitalist song first recorded in 1947, by Merle Travis, the sort of song you don’t hear anymore. Travis was born poor and raised in coal mining country, in Kentucky in 1917. Here he is performing his song in 1955 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szbwQbe1NsI&ab_channel=WhenTheCowboySings . Also in 1955 Tennessee Ernie Ford released his version of the song and it sold two million copies. This was due to the great clarinet-driven arrangement by Ford’s music director Jack Fascinato, and by Ford’s incredible delivery – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1980WfKC0o&ab_channel=TennesseeErnieFordTV
I FOUGHT THE LAW (by Sonny Curtis of the The Crickets, Buddy Holly’s backup band). This was a big hit for The Bobby Fuller Four in 1966. Take a good look at the lead singer, Bobby Fuller. A few months after this clip he was dead, in highly mysterious circumstances. He was only twenty-three – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgtQj8O92eI&ab_channel=JohnnyB.Goode . This song was covered by The Clash whose bass guitarist, Sid Vicious, also fought the law and the law won, giving their version new meaning. Sid was a heroin user and when Vicious began living with another heroin user, Nancy Spurgeon, she was soon found dead and Vicious ended up in jail accused of her murder. Vicious himself died of a heroin overdose not long after that, at the age of twenty-one. Note the shots of Nicaragua and Afghanistan in this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL8chWFuM-s&ab_channel=theclashVEVO .
UNSQUARE DANCE. Jon Lord began his career delivering high-powered heavy metal keyboard solos as a member of Deep Purple, and later with Whitesnake, but then he began composing and playing highly complex Third Stream music combining classical and rock music. He composed lengthy works (e.g. Gemini Suite and the Durham Concerto) performed with symphony orchestras, but also composed semi-classical works interspersed with his own highly creative rock keyboard improvisations. One of Lord’s heroes, Dave Brubeck, also a Third Stream master, composed a short, amusing work in 7 / 4 time called Unsquare Dance. Here it is performed first by Brubeck. Classical composer / veteran jazz clarinetist Bill Smith delivers a great clarinet solo here, the drummer is British jazz / rock fusion drum virtuoso Randy Jones, sax player Bobby Militello has played with many well-respected jazz groups, and Brubeck’s son Chris is on electric bass – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xddeWXM8kWg&ab_channel=lackofsleeeep . Now here is the same composition covered later by Jon Lord, just for fun – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VACwF7djomQ&ab_channel=GorGhazaryan .
JOHNNY B. GOODE (by Chuck Berry) – Chuck Berry was one of the big three (with Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis) just below Elvis among the great rock and rollers. We won’t mention his arrests and the crimes he was charged with. This is Berry performing his own song in 1958 with good old rock and roll energy – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ROwVrF0Ceg&ab_channel=gaslightrecords . Peter Tosh was one of the original Wailers (Bob Marley’s backing group) before becoming a star in his own right. Tosh died at the age of forty-two, shot twice in the head during a home invasion. Here is his reggae version of Johnny B. Goode – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9G_IeVMXvc&ab_channel=RastaVibration
BEI MIR BIST DU SCHON (by Jacob Jacobs and Sholom Secunda). This was a Yiddish theatre song from 1932 New York, originally titled Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn which means “to me you’re beautiful”. The Hot Sardines are a New York jazz band formed in 2007 by the pianist Evan Palazzo and singer Elizabeth Bougerol. Bougerol was born near Paris and grew up in France, The Ivory Coast and Canada. She also has a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics. Here are the Hot Sardines – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4-XIKt-ADs&ab_channel=TheHotSardinesVEVO . This is a second song which has been given a strikingly different reggae interpretation, this time by Britain’s Jools Holland on piano and singer Joss Stone with Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra in 2015 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL1r9o5MsKM&ab_channel=TheGRStars .
KING OF THE ROAD (by Roger Miller). Here is the original song, Roger Miller’s biggest hit, released in 1965 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c7D0YsgnrE&ab_channel=ClassicHitsStudio . When it was covered by the Scottish duo The Proclaimers they added Scottish accents and great harmony vocals at the end – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owKMFBaZ9xg&ab_channel=DraxVideos .
THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT (by Solomon Linda). The first version of this song was recorded under the title MBUBE by the song’s South African composer Solomon Linda and The Evening Birds singing it a cappella back in 1939 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrrQT4WkbNE&ab_channel=FLORENCOM . The song was originally written in Zulu not English, and the style and form of the song gave its name to an entirely new genre of African a cappella music which evolved into the isicathamiya form later made popular by Ladysmith Black Mombaza. The song was then recorded by The Weavers in 1951 under the title WIMOWEH. The Tokens had a big hit with this song in 1961 under the title THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT, many artists have covered the song over the years, and it has topped the charts more than once. Here are the Nylons, a very skilful a cappella group, singing the song, complete with the incredible high descant vocal line – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4XmAbA7JU&ab_channel=UnidiscMusic
AMERICAN WOMAN (by The Guess Who). This song began as an impromptu onstage jam session. When the Canadian band The Guess Who began playing venues in big American cities in the late 1960’s they met some very aggressive American female fans. They quickly returned to Canada relieved to be back in the land of more civilized Canadian female fans (and American draft-dodgers as the song was also intended as an ant-Vietnam War song). Here The Guess Who perform it live in 1970 in front of an American audience, with a good guitar solo by Randy Bachman – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsxPe5jbauc&ab_channel=iranorma . Here is a cover of the song by Lenny Kravitz 44 years later – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm3r4jPrmE4&ab_channel=MarmeladadeLaranja .
PLEASE SEND ME SOMEONE TO LOVE (by Percy Mayfield). This song is recorded here, in 1950, by the song’s composer Percy Mayfield, with a great backing band – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxgSqmyIUAo&ab_channel=GhentRootz . Here the song is recorded by James Booker. Booker may be the most technically impressive of the people in all of these clips; note his virtuosity starting at the 2 minute 45 second mark. He was a black, gay, one-eyed junkie from New Orleans who died at the age of 42 of a drug overdose, and he was also classically trained and was a very talented pianist and singer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnMu6xCIX04&ab_channel=EduardoAndr%C3%A9 .
THE FIDDLE AND THE DRUM (by Joni Mitchell). Highly respected very influential Canadian folksinger / songwriter Joni Mitchell composed and recorded the anti-war song The Fiddle and the Drum in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War – “Oh America my friend / And so once again / You are fighting us all”. The two covers here of that song are excellent and quite different from the original. Irish singer / songwriter Karan Casey covered the song in 2008 and the video that goes with it is hard to watch. There are graphic images of the atomic bombs dropped by the Americans obliterating Hiroshima in 1945 with no sound except for Casey’s singing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR33qde1Yf4&ab_channel=txpilar . In 2004 the hard rock band A Perfect Circle did a cover as well, but not as a hard rock song. It is instead a masterpiece of difficult a cappella singing with some incredibly good three part harmonies – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk7sDi3V8xU&ab_channel=APerfectCircle-Topic .

Finally, an unusual array of miscellaneous covers of national anthems:

– the dramatic Marseillaise scene from Casablanca – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1ZM3CpDd7o&ab_channel=nikos2027

– the Russian anthem – with excellent visuals, executed extremely well, though there’s a twenty second bit at the 3 minute 37 second mark which would have Lenin and Marx spinning in their graves – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJcnuZB4Xt4&ab_channel=AndreaTarasova

– O Canada – performed by Walk Off The Earth – the guy on the far left, Mike Taylor, died in 2018 at the age of 51 of natural causes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRjZXjgHRs0&ab_channel=WalkofftheEarth

– Waltzing Matilda – the opening credits from the haunting film On The Beach, a film about how everywhere in the world everyone is dead after a nuclear war except in Australia where they are waiting to die – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAwI5ONywME&ab_channel=Ccvanl4

– and finally, three very different covers of The Star Spangled Banner:

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UicvRH6m14U&ab_channel=Ingen

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjzZh6-h9fM&ab_channel=LookyLambert

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzIk2pUuNU&ab_channel=NBC7SanDiego