Cover Me by Ray Padgett
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. Cover Me>is packed with insight, photography, and music history.
“One of the best multi-subject music books to come down the pike in years. . . By taking a fresh and deeply informed approach to a project that could have been dismally predictable, Padgett has produced a book that even the most condescending music snob will find satisfying and illuminating.” —Variety
“Ray Padgett . . . offers up the inside track on the stories behind the 20 most iconic cover songs of all time, and the artists who turned them into classics.” —Parade
“Music publicist and blogger Padgett (covermesongs.com) delves into the world of the cover song by compiling interviews, archival photographs, and reproductions of disc labels to highlight 20 well-known tunes covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley and the Who to Adele, giving each a chapter tracing the song's history, production details, and other versions when appropriate. His explorations of the reasons artists choose to record covers are astute, and while some of the original performers (perhaps more obscure to current listeners) were not always pleased to have their own versions superseded, others were honored that someone valued their work enough to take on this challenge. The especially useful bibliography cites both sources contemporaneous to the time of the first recordings as well as recent scholarship and relevant websites. VERDICT This engaging nostalgia trip is sure to appeal to discophiles and cultural historians. . . .” —Library Journal
“Fresh context and intriguing background to many of these songs. . . . Astute ruminations on evolving cultural perceptions of the cover’s place in the music canon.” —AV Club.com
“One of the best multi-subject music books to come down the pike in years. . . . By taking a fresh and deeply informed approach to a project that could have been dismally predictable, Padgett has produced a book that even the most condescending music snob will find satisfying and illuminating.” —Variety
“Ray Padgett . . . offers up the inside track on the stories behind the 20 most iconic cover songs of all time, and the artists who turned them into classics.” —Parade
“Music publicist and blogger Padgett (covermesongs.com) delves into the world of the cover song by compiling interviews, archival photographs, and reproductions of disc labels to highlight 20 well-known tunes covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley and the Who to Adele, giving each a chapter tracing the song's history, production details, and other versions when appropriate. His explorations of the reasons artists choose to record covers are astute, and while some of the original performers (perhaps more obscure to current listeners) were not always pleased to have their own versions superseded, others were honored that someone valued their work enough to take on this challenge. The especially useful bibliography cites both sources contemporaneous to the time of the first recordings as well as recent scholarship and relevant websites. VERDICT This engaging nostalgia trip is sure to appeal to discophiles and cultural historians. . . .” —Library Journal
“Fresh context and intriguing background to many of these songs. . . . Astute ruminations on evolving cultural perceptions of the cover’s place in the music canon.” —AV Club.com
“Ray Padgett . . . offers up the inside track on the stories behind the 20 most iconic cover songs of all time, and the artists who turned them into classics.” —Parade
“Music publicist and blogger Padgett (covermesongs.com) delves into the world of the cover song by compiling interviews, archival photographs, and reproductions of disc labels to highlight 20 well-known tunes covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley and the Who to Adele, giving each a chapter tracing the song's history, production details, and other versions when appropriate. His explorations of the reasons artists choose to record covers are astute, and while some of the original performers (perhaps more obscure to current listeners) were not always pleased to have their own versions superseded, others were honored that someone valued their work enough to take on this challenge. The especially useful bibliography cites both sources contemporaneous to the time of the first recordings as well as recent scholarship and relevant websites. VERDICT This engaging nostalgia trip is sure to appeal to discophiles and cultural historians. . . .” —Library Journal
“Fresh context and intriguing background to many of these songs. . . . Astute ruminations on evolving cultural perceptions of the cover’s place in the music canon.” —AV Club.com
“One of the best multi-subject music books to come down the pike in years. . . . By taking a fresh and deeply informed approach to a project that could have been dismally predictable, Padgett has produced a book that even the most condescending music snob will find satisfying and illuminating.” —Variety
“Ray Padgett . . . offers up the inside track on the stories behind the 20 most iconic cover songs of all time, and the artists who turned them into classics.” —Parade
“Music publicist and blogger Padgett (covermesongs.com) delves into the world of the cover song by compiling interviews, archival photographs, and reproductions of disc labels to highlight 20 well-known tunes covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley and the Who to Adele, giving each a chapter tracing the song's history, production details, and other versions when appropriate. His explorations of the reasons artists choose to record covers are astute, and while some of the original performers (perhaps more obscure to current listeners) were not always pleased to have their own versions superseded, others were honored that someone valued their work enough to take on this challenge. The especially useful bibliography cites both sources contemporaneous to the time of the first recordings as well as recent scholarship and relevant websites. VERDICT This engaging nostalgia trip is sure to appeal to discophiles and cultural historians. . . .” —Library Journal
“Fresh context and intriguing background to many of these songs. . . . Astute ruminations on evolving cultural perceptions of the cover’s place in the music canon.” —AV Club.com
Ray Padgett founded the blog Cover Me in 2007 and has run it ever since, growing it into the largest blog devoted to cover songs on the web, with 80,000 individual readers a month. He lives in New York City and works as a senior music publicist for Shore Fire Media.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781454922506 |
| ISBN 10 | 1454922508 |
| Title | Cover Me |
| Author | Ray Padgett |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Union Square & Co. |
| Year published | 2017-10-03 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |