Covers

What makes for a good cover?  There are cover bands who do very skilled, precise and exact versions of  original tunes but that's not what I'm talking about.  It's taking someone else's song and making it your own through arrangement and vocal style.  Oh, and giving credit to the original composer is also important (see my prior post on The Evolution of Dazed and Confused).

I'm going to occasionally write about some of my favorite covers and we'll start with this one.

Here's Hoagy Carmichael with his 1930 composition, Georgia On My Mind

Nice tune, good lyric.

Now here is the Ray Charles version from 1960.  Listen to the creativity in Ray's arrangement along with his vocal which take the song to a different emotional level.  You can listen to it over and over again and I have.

Here's another Ray Charles cover - America The Beautiful.  Another great arrangement and vocal.  And he also transposed the verses, singing the little known second verse first which makes this a song about sacrifice for a greater cause instead of a travelogue.  The combination also takes this song to another emotional level.

Occasionally people have suggested that the The Star Spangled Banner be replaced as our national anthem.  I've never agreed but I could be persuaded to make it America The Beautiful if the only approved version used Ray's arrangement!