TMS Spotlight: Legendary Songwriters in Rock, Folk and Pop

(Alvan Meyerowitz)

Every once in a while, there seems to be a highly acclaimed, famous songwriter who is covered by other music artists ad nauseum. Most of the time it’s someone with folk sentimentalities, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young. But sometimes a more pop oriented songwriter, like Prince, can make a huge impact on other musicians as well. These covers can not only be hits for the latter, but also the gateway to newer/younger music fans discovering the original songwriter. When I was in middle school, the 2002 collaborative cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ by the Counting Crows with Vanessa Carlton was my intro to the popular song. In fact that cover was also how I discovered Joni in general. Imagine my surprise when I later learned the blonde Canadian’s original 1970 version wasn’t a mellow, soft rock tune—like the 2002 cover—but an upbeat, acoustic ditty. A few years later when I was in high school, I watched Michael Wadleigh’s classic rockumentary Woodstock (1970), and found another favorite Joni cover; also called ‘Woodstock,’ during the end credits performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

By the time I was crossing over to college, my classic rock fanaticism was well under way and I was discovering Bob Dylan and Neil Young weren’t only legends for their own careers, but for other artists finding inspiration from their songs as well. How many recordings of Bob’s ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe’ are out there? Some people don’t even realize the 1968 rock classic ‘All Along the Watchtower’ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience is a Bob cover; or Nicolette Larson’s 1978 disco hit ‘Lotta Love’ was originally a Neil song. My personal fave of the latter is folk-pop duo She & Him's soft interpretation from 2008. For someone like Prince, who appeals to both pop and rock listeners, you would expect most covers of his material to be upbeat like the Bangles’ 1986 single ‘Manic Monday,’ which was given to the band by Prince. Or Chaka Khan’s jammin’ 1984 Grammy winning cover of ‘I Feel for You.’ Prince also wrote a successful dance single in 1984 for his favorite drummer, Sheila E., with ‘The Glamorous Life.’ Yet the essential Prince cover wouldn’t be a dance/pop track, but a sweeping romantic ballad by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor, through her iconic 1990 recording of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U.’ The multi-award winning cover is not only Sinéad’s most recognized piece, but also one of the best songs of the 1990s.

Before we knew her as the queen of 1970s soft rock, Carole King and first husband Gerry Goffin were one of the biggest studio songwriting duos in the 1960s. Many, many pop songs from the ‘60s feature the Goffin-King writing credit, including ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’ by the Shirelles (1961), ‘I’m Into Something Good’ by Herman’s Hermits (1964), ‘Chains’ by the Beatles (1963), ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ by the Monkees (1967), and ‘The Loco-Motion’ by Little Eva (1962) [also a hit cover for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974]. One of Aretha Franklin’s greatest recordings, ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ from 1967, is a Goffin-King staple too. Carole’s and Joni’s peer, Jackie DeShannon had a similar origin. One of the biggest hits for the pop-rock group the Searchers, 1964’s ‘When You Walk in the Room;’ and singer Kim Carnes’ 1981 signature song, ‘Bette Davis Eyes,’ were originally penned by Jackie.

But the top contenders for having the most material covered by various artists probably still goes to Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Not only are their classic standards from the classic rock era still being covered, but favorite songs from their later albums too. Such as Bob’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ from 1997, which has been recorded by the likes of Billy Joel (1997), Garth Brooks (1998), Kelly Clarkson (2009) and Adele (2008). The Byrds fought to be viewed as more than a Dylan cover band in the late 1960s when some of their biggest singles became ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ (1965), ‘My Back Pages’ (1967) and ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ (1968). Some of Bob’s female peers like Judy Collins, Cher, Julie Felix, Melanie, Maria Muldaur and former girlfriend Joan Baez regularly performed and recorded his material, as did various bands and solo male musicians.

Something that’s always fascinated me is when a song becomes like a right of passage for artists or groups to cover. Two songs I can think of that are regularly interpreted are ‘Different Drum’ and ‘Cinnamon Girl.’ The former was composed by the serious Monkee, Michael Nesmith; and has been recorded numerous times, including by Linda Ronstadt’s first band the Stone Poneys in 1967, the Lemonheads (1990), Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles in 2006, P.P. Arnold (1998), Dead or Alive (2017), Carrie Underwood (2014) and by Mike himself in 1972. ‘Cinnamon Girl’ was originally written and recorded by Neil Young on his 1970 album ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere;’ and has since been covered by dozens of acts, such as Hole (1991), Wilco (2013), Radiohead (2001), the Smashing Pumpkins (1994), Foo Fighters (2015), John Entwistle of the Who in 1971, Mudhoney (1991), Type O Negative (1996), Phish (1989) and the Pretty Reckless (2017).

While it’s proven to be more beneficial to write your own material as a music artist, there’s also nothing wrong with putting your own spin on a hit or classic. And as a songwriter, there’s no bigger compliment.