When you hear Mary J. Blige singing “Sweet Thing” from her 1992 recording of Chaka Khan's 1975 hit, are you listening to a cover? The answer is no. A recording or performance of a 17-year-old song is not a cover. What it is, is an interpretation or a rendition or just a cool new version of a classic or forgotten song. But it's not a cover. Sorry.
So then, what's a cover? In the early decades of recorded popular music, it was common for three, four, five, or more different versions of the same song to chart at the same time. It was the song that was the hit, not the record. But that changed by the 1950s. In the early years of rhythm and blues and rock and roll, it was almost an 11th commandment that if a song became a big hit, you had to cover it. What that means is a record company would immediately release a new version of that song by an established or up and coming artist.
The new version was the cover version. Record companies covered songs to compete with the original songs for sales and radio airplay. And it worked, in all directions. Pop artists would cover R&B hits, R&B artists would cover country hits. Pop covering country. R&B covering R&B. It's just the way the music industry worked in those days.
Another common practice, especially during the 50s and 60s, was the re-recording of current hits by sound-alike artists. The purpose of this practice was to make records more affordable. The sound-alikes usually sold for about 39 cents for a single, while the original was more in the neighborhood of 79 cents. Some of the better known of these sound-alike companies were hit records based in Nashville and later K-Tel. Does that stand for “Can't tell”? Well, perhaps it does. If you spell “can't” with a K,
So, the next time you hear someone call a new version of a 50-year-old song a cover, please correct them kindly and refer them to this little audio essay.
Happy Holidays!
Listen, above.
Recommended (Actual) Covers
Wynonie Harris – “Bloodshot Eyes” (R&B cover of a country hit by Hank Penny)
Beatles – “Devil In Her Heart” (Cover of an R&B original by the Donays)
Sonny Til/Orioles – “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” (R&B cover of a pop original by Karen Chandler. The song later became a hit again with versions - not covers - by Mel Carter and Gloria Estefan.)
Bill Haley & the Comets – “Shake Rattle & Roll” (the cover)
Joe Turner – “Shake, Rattle and Roll” (the original)
Bessie Banks – “Go Now” (covered by the Moody Blues)
