How to take a creative approach to cover songs

Writing

Mar 12

Songwriters often have a pretty fraught relationship with cover songs.

On the one hand, you may feel justifiably proud of flying the flag of original music and developing your own body of work rather than focusing on covers. On the other hand, there’s the sense that, in many gig situations, covers are exactly what you must deliver—and that if you do play your own songs, you risk losing your audience’s attention and maybe the gig, too.

So do you stick to your guns and your own songs—or cave and just deliver the hits everyone can sing along with?

As a lifelong songwriter who also performs other artists’ music, particularly in an acoustic Grateful Dead project called Dead to the Core, I personally believe that the choice doesn’t have to be so stark. There’s a healthier way to look at covers: as a creative vehicle that can actually enhance rather than compete with your songwriting.

In the March/April 2023 issue of Acoustic Guitar, I offer seven tips on how to develop a repertoire of covers that feel like your own. Read the full text online.

Great covers uncovered

When artists take a creative approach to a cover and put their own stylistic stamp on it, sometimes they wind up with a signature song. For inspiration, consider these examples: all the performers have deep catalogs of originals yet made an enduring personal statement with a cover. Listen to the playlist “Creative Covers—Acoustic Guitar magazine” on Spotify.

Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did It Again” (Britney Spears)
Jimi Hendrix, “All Along the Watchtower” (Bob Dylan)
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, “Woodstock” (Joni Mitchell)
Judas Priest, “Diamonds and Rust” (Joan Baez)
Jeff Buckley, “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen)
José Feliciano, “Light My Fire” (Doors)
James Taylor, “You’ve Got a Friend” (Carole King)
Cowboy Junkies, “Sweet Jane” (Velvet Underground/Lou Reed)
Toots and the Maytals, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (John Denver)
They Might Be Giants, “Istanbul, Not Constantinople” (Four Lads)
Cassandra Wilson, “Harvest Moon” (Neil Young)
Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Higher Ground” (Stevie Wonder)
Rod Stewart, “Downtown Train” (Tom Waits)
Lucinda Williams, “Can’t Let Go” (Randy Weeks)
Darius Rucker, “Wagon Wheel” (Old Crow Medicine Show/Bob Dylan)
Arlo Guthrie, “City of New Orleans” (Steve Goodman)
Shawn Colvin, “Crazy” (Gnarls Barkley)

In my own repertoire, here are a few covers that I particularly love playing, and that I feel hit the sweet spot between reinventing and honoring the original:

The Beatles, “Within You Without You”
Grateful Dead, “Stella Blue”
Pink Floyd, “Wish You Were Here”
Joni Mitchell, “River”

I must mention, too, the extremely creative cover of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” by my friend Phil Henry. I was thrilled to sing and play on this track, but all credit for the arrangement goes to Phil. Read more and watch the video.