Cover Version - History

History

The term "cover" goes back decades when cover version originally described a rival version of a tune recorded to compete with the recently released (original) version. The Chicago Tribune described the term in 1952 this way: "trade jargon meaning to record a tune that looks like a potential hit on someone else's label." Examples of records being covered include Paul Williams' 1949 hit tune "The Hucklebuck" and Hank Williams' 1952 song "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)." Both crossed over to the popular Hit Parade and had numerous hit versions. Prior to the mid-20th century the notion of an original version of a popular tune would, of course, have seemed slightly odd — the production of musical entertainment being seen essentially as a live event, even if one that was reproduced at home via a copy of the sheet music, learned by heart or captured on a shellac recording disc.

In previous generations, some artists made very successful careers out of presenting revivals or reworkings of once popular tunes, even out of doing contemporary cover versions of current hits. Musicians now play what they call "cover versions" (e.g. the reworking, updating or interpretation) of songs as a tribute to the original performer or group. Using familiar material (e.g. evergreen hits, standard tunes or classic recordings) is an important method in learning various styles of music. Most albums, or long playing records, up until the mid-1960s usually contained a large number of evergreens or standards to present a fuller range of the artist's abilities and style. (See, for example, Please Please Me) Artists might also perform interpretations ("covers") of a favorite artist's hit tunes for the simple pleasure of playing a familiar song or collection of tunes. A cover band plays such "cover versions" exclusively.

Today there are broadly three types of entertainers who depend upon cover versions for their principal repertoire:

Tribute acts or bands are performers who make a living by recreating the music of one particular artist. Bands such as Björn Again, Led Zepagain, The Fab Four, Which One's Pink, The Iron Maidens and Glory Days are dedicated to playing the music of ABBA, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden and Bruce Springsteen respectively. There are also tribute acts that salute the Who, The Rolling Stones and many other classic rock acts. Most tribute acts target artists who remain popular but are no longer performing, thus giving an audience the ability to experience the "next best thing" to a return of the original act. In general, the formation of tribute acts is roughly proportional to the enduring popularity of the original act; for example, dozens of Beatles tribute bands have formed over the decades, and an entire subindustry has formed around Elvis impersonation. Most tribute bands attempt to recreate another band's music as faithfully as possible, but there are some such bands who introduce a twist. Dread Zeppelin performs reggae versions of the Zeppelin catalog, and Beatallica creates heavy metal fusions of songs by the Beatles and Metallica.

Cover acts or bands are entertainers who perform a broad variety of crowd-pleasing material for audiences who enjoy the familiarity of hit songs. Such bands draw from Top 40 hits of different decades to provide a pleasurable nostalgic entertainment in bars, on cruise ships and at events such as weddings, family celebrations and corporate functions.

Revivalist artists or bands are performers who are inspired by an entire genre of music and who are dedicated to curating and recreating that genre and introducing it to younger audiences who have not experienced that music first hand. Unlike tribute bands and cover bands who rely primarily on audiences seeking a nostalgic experience, revivalist bands usually seek new young audiences for whom the music is fresh and has no nostalgic value. For example: Sha Na Na started in 1969 as a celebration of the doo-wop music of the 1950s, a genre of music that was not initially fashionable during the hippie counter-culture era. The Blues Brothers started in 1978 as a living salute to the blues, soul and R&B music of the 1950s and 1960s that was not in vogue by the late 70s. The Blues Brothers' creed was that they were "on a mission from God" as evangelists for blues and soul music. The Black Crowes formed in 1984, initially dedicated to reviving 1970s style blues-rock. They subsequently started writing their own material in the same vein.