Originally Posted By: eddie1261
Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
Leilani and I are a semi-cover duo.


Semi-cover? What is that? A song is either cover or original, and I know you don't write because you have said so. Even "your own twist" doesn't change that a song is a cover.


IMO a cover band is a band who tries to replicate a particular recording.

To reinterpret a recording is an entirely different thing to me.

Would you call a famous band reinterpreting a song a cover band? When the Beatles did a Motown or Buck Owens song did you think they are a cover band? When the Stones did "Harlem Suffle" or "King Bee" did that make them a cover band? When Aretha Franklin did "See Saw", "Respect", or "A Change Is Gonna Come" is she a cover artist? When Tom Jones did "I Who Have Nothing" or "Kiss" was he a cover artist? When Hendrix or anyone else did a Bob Dylan song did that make them cover artists? Zeppelin re-doing many songs by blues artists? Mac Rice did "Mustang Sally" first, does that make the Rascals or Wilson Pickett cover artists? Talking heads doing "Take Me To the River? UB40 doing "Red Red Wine"? Linda Ronstadt doing Warren Zevon, Buddy Holly, and quite a few others' songs? Or are Diana Krall, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Eliane Elias, and hundreds of other jazz artists doing standards all cover artists? What about all the people who sang the songs penned in the Brill Building?

Go to secondhandsongs.com, and you find millions of people who are famous for doing songs that were done before them. So I guess if we take that as the definition of a cover song, then Sinatra, The Animals, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Sonny Stitt, Herb Ellis, Oscar Peterson trio, Stan Getz Quartet, The Temptations, The Supremes, Vanilla Fudge, Eric Clapton, and thousands of other famous people are simply cover artists or cover bands.

There is a difference between covering a tune and reinterpreting a tune. Unfortunately, the abuse of the term is blurring the difference to some people. I guess that't the evolution of language, but where there is a difference, the same term shouldn't apply.

No, we don't write songs.

Yes we cover some songs.

Yes we reinterpret others.

Call us what you want, we've been a duo since 1985, were never out of work until COVID came along, paid off the mortgage, traveled to 6 out of 7 continents on vacations, and never needed a day job.

Whatever you call it, is OK. I call it success.

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks