The Secret History of Rock

The Covers Project

Alan Cross 1 Comment

When a band records a song that was written and recorded by someone else, we call this a “cover version.”  Covers have always been popular. 

Bands get to play some of their all-time favourite songs and fans get to hear familiar songs performed in a new way.  If you’re into covers, you must check out a website called The Covers Project.  This could be the world’s most comprehensive database of covers. 

For almost ten years, people from all over the world have been invited to contribute to the project and it has gone extremely well.  Tens and tens of thousands of tracks have been documented and more are added every week. 

And yes, there’s a search function.  Did you know that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was once covered by Willie Nelson?  Check it out. 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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One thought on “The Covers Project”

  • As I've been re-encoding my physical music media, I've been putting all of the covers I have into a separate iTunes playlist. Very useful for queuing up songs to tortu… uh, expose others to.

    Reply

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