Cover Me

The Stories Behind the Greatest Cover Songs of All Time

Ray Padgett

• Publisher: Union Square & Co.
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781454930655
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

From the creator of the popular website covermesongs.com comes the perfect book for music fans: the inside stories behind 20 iconic cover songs and the artists who turned them into classics. A great cover only makes a song stronger. Jimi Hendrix's version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." The Beatles rocking out with "Twist and Shout." Aretha Franklin demanding "Respect." Without covers, the world would have lost many unforgettable performances. This is the first book to explore the most iconic covers ever, from Elvis's "Hound Dog" and Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help from My Friends" to the Talking Heads' "Take Me to the River" and Adele's "Make You Feel My Love." Written by the founder of the website covermesongs.com, each of the 19 chapters investigates the origins of a classic cover—and uses it as a framework to tell the larger story of how cover songs have evolved over the decades.
Jimi Hendrix doing "All Along the Watchtower." The Beatles singing "Twist and Shout." Aretha Franklin demanding "Respect." Ray Padgett, the founder of the popular website covermesongs.com, explores these and other iconic covers in the first book ever on this topic. As he investigates each of 19 songs, Padgett also tells the larger story of how covers have evolved over the decades.
Cover Me is packed with insight, photography, and music history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (Big Mama Thornton cover)
• The Beatles “Twist and Shout” (Isley Brothers/Top Notes cover)
• The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (Todd Duncan cover)
• Aretha Franklin “Respect” (Otis Redding cover)
• Jimi Hendrix “All Along the Watchtower” (Bob Dylan cover)
• Joe Cocker “With a Little Help From My Friends” (The Beatles cover)
• The Who “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran cover)
• Creedence Clearwater Revival “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” (Marvin Gaye cover)
• Gladys Knight & The Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia” (Jim Weatherly cover)
• Patti Smith “Gloria” (Them cover)
• Talking Heads “Take Me to the River” (Al Green cover)
• Devo “Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones cover)
• “Weird Al” Yankovic “Polkas on 45” (various artists cover)
• Pet Shop Boys “Always on My Mind” (Elvis Presley/Brenda Lee cover)
• Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (Dolly Parton cover)
• Fugees “Killing Me Softly” (Roberta Flack/Lori Lieberman cover)
• The Gourds “Gin and Juice” (Snoop Doggy Dogg cover)
• Johnny Cash “Hurt” (Nine Inch Nails cover)
• Adele “Make You Feel My Love” (Bob Dylan cover)
• Acknowledgments
• Bibliography
• Photo Credits