Last week on Another Age I played Joe Cocker's version of The Beatles' With a Little Help From My Friends and it got me thinking about cover songs and artists. Cocker's version of that song is one of my all-time favorite covers. It's a wonderful interpretation and different enough from the original that it became his own song. I think sometimes covers don't succeed, even if they're pretty good, because they sound too similar to the original.

Most UtahFM listeners are probably young enough to have grown up with the singer/songwriters in rock and pop music. It wasn't so long ago that popular music was dominated by crooners who sang other people's songs. I, for one, think the shift to artists performing their own material has been a good change, even if it means we occasionally get stuck with good writers who sing poorly and good singers who can't write.

Eliza Gilkyson, a fine songwriter in her own right, recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's Love Minus Zero/No Limit. It's not very different from the original, but for me there's something about hearing that song from a female perspective. You can find it on a compilation called A Nod to Bob.

What are your favorite covers?