David Bowie once said: “To have my fellow musicians like what I do, that’s very cool.”
He was probably speaking for many. All rock musicians are rock fans first. And what better way to show that you’re a fan than to cover a song by a favourite artist?
When you’re starting out, a cover is a means of identification – like wearing a rock T-shirt. A way to say: “This is what I love, this is who I am.” More practically, doing a cover is a way to learn how successful songs are put together, a first step toward finding your own style. So you have David Bowie singing everything from Elvis Presley tunes to Slim Whitman’s China Doll when Bowie was in The Kon-Rads; Bruce Springsteen in The Castiles playing Purple Haze and Suzanne at school dances; Steven Tyler’s band The Strangeurs handing out business cards that read: “English Sounds, American R&B,” which meant everything from Bits And Pieces to She’s A Woman; Bluesology pianist Reg Dwight (en route to being Elton) “singing Jim Reeves songs, Cliff Richard songs, anything that was popular”.
Not coincidentally, all of the aforementioned artists went on to have big hits with cover versions. But once you’re established and writing your own songs, why
