[+] Griffiths, Dai. "Cover Versions and the Sound of Identity in Motion." In Popular Music Studies, ed. David Hesmondhalgh and Keith Negus, 51-64. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Cover versions of songs invite analysis of the effects of musical change, particularly when cover versions cross lines of gender, sexuality, race, place, class, and language. For example, Judy Collins's cover of Bob Dylan's Just Like a Woman can be read as a monologue, a lesbian version, an address to another woman, or a strict rendition of the original because Collins does not change any of the gendered pronouns from Dylan's original lyrics. Additionally, covers across race lines may either appropriate stylistic elements from the original or rewrite the cover version in a different style. International or cross-language covers often designate English as the hegemonic norm and raise questions about the use of another language as merely an exotic type of instrument. A discography of all music discussed is included.
Works: Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert (songwriters), Thelma Houston (performer): Don't Leave Me This Way (52); Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert (songwriters), Communards (performers): Don't Leave Me This Way (52); Bob Dylan (songwriter), Roberta Flack (performer): Just Like a Woman (52-53); Bob Dylan (songwriter), Judy Collins (performer): Just Like a Woman (53-54); John Gluck, Wally Gold, and Herb Weiner (songwriters), Bryan Ferry (performer): It's My Party (54); Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (songwriters), Elvis Presley (performer): Hound Dog (55-56); Little Richard (songwriter), Pat Boone (performer): Long Tall Sally (55-57); Hank Williams (songwriter), Ray Charles (performer): Your Cheatin' Heart (55, 57, 59-60); Paul Simon (songwriter), Simon and Garfunkel (performers): Bridge Over Troubled Water (58-59); Paul Simon (songwriter), Aretha Franklin (performer): Bridge Over Troubled Water (59).
Sources: Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert (songwriters), Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes with Teddy Pendergrass (performers): Don't Leave Me This Way (52); Bob Dylan: Just Like a Woman (52); John Gluck, Wally Gold, and Herb Weiner (songwriters), Lesley Gore (performer): It's My Party (54); Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (songwriters), Big Mama Thornton (performer): Hound Dog (55-56); Little Richard: Long Tall Sally (55-57); Hank Williams: Your Cheatin' Heart (55, 57, 59-60); Claude Jeter (songwriter), Swan Silvertones (performers): Mary Don't You Weep (58-59).
Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular
Contributed by: Amanda Sewell
