Journal 7

Cover songs have proven to be one of the most widely used tools in rock and roll ever since its birth. Artists have consistently remade songs that have previously been recorded by other artists; it's a very common practice. There have been a countless number of covers in rock and roll's brief history. There have been some songs that have been covered and there have been some covers that just completely butcher the original version. For the most part covers have had a positive impact on music.

When an artist decides to do a cover of another artists music it usually means that he or she likes that song and they would like to pay tribute to the original artist by putting there own little spin on it. It shows a great deal of respect when someone covers your song and even more respect when the cover is done well. An example of a song where the covered version is blatantly better than the original is when Jimi Hendrix covered Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Dylan's version is still a good song but when Jimi Hendrix got his hands on this song he put his own touch on it that filled the song with power and emotion. Adding a whole new element that gave fans a whole new sound to the song that they would have never heard if it weren't for the cover song. Bob Dylan was one of Hendrix's greatest influences, so Hendrix's cover was done with great respect and admiration. This would be a case where the cover is good for rock and roll.

Some covers may be cheesy and lame, butchering the original song. If a bad cover is done its not a tragedy at all. The redone version usually fades away and is quickly forgotten while the original stays timeless and keeps its stature. For example Madonna covered Don McLean's "American Pie" a few years ago. Madonna's version was very poor and unexciting so the popularity of the cover never really grew and it was quickly forgotten about. But McLean's version remains timeless. That is why a cover cannot really hurt popular music but it does have the ability to inflate the boundaries of rock and roll.