Pop Stars Should Not Cover Country Songs
A few weeks ago, in an odd deviation from my regular gig as a country journalist, I reviewed a Barry Manilow concert. Pop has never been my thing, but he puts on quite a show. It was virtually impossible not to sing along with all his catchy hooks. About halfway through the show, he announced he was going to cover some of his favorite songs. I prayed like I have never prayed before that he wouldn’t sing a country song. “Please, God, if you can hear me over the screams of these middle-aged women, do not let Barry Manilow sing ‘She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.’” There’s a time and a place for covering songs outside your genre, but there’s never one for a non-country star to sing a country tune.
While I think it’s perfectly acceptable when Sugarland does Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable,” it would not be OK for, say, Fall Out Boy to do Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” When Tim McGraw does the Steve Miller Band hit “The Joker,” he claims it as his own, but if Avril Lavigne were to cover a 70’s song, like Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” it wouldn’t work. Why? Why is it OK for country artists to get their rock/pop/rap on, but it doesn’t work both ways? My thoroughly biased theory is that adding a country vibe to any song just sounds good. Banjo solo in a Fergie song? Hell yes. Twangy vocals on a Sean Kingston song? Why not? Steel guitar backing a Matchbox Twenty song? Totally.
There are plenty of good examples already out there: Kenny Chesney doing John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good,” Johnny Cash doing Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt,” Carrie Underwood doing Guns ‘N Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and now Keith Urban doing Steve Forbert’s “Romeo’s Tune.” Each artist reworked the song and one-upped it, at least to my ears. I can go from hating to loving a song in about 30 seconds if you add a fiddle or threw a cowboy hat on the front man.
As for Manilow, he never did do a country song that night. Eight years ago, he did a show in Nashville and had artists like JoDee Messina and Trisha Yearwood join him on his own hits. He didn’t do theirs. So he must’ve known then what I know now: country can cover pop, but it just doesn’t work the other way around.
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B.W. LaRoy says:
I agree. Now…can we get one of our slick Nashville Music Producers to put a little steel and fiddle on ol’ Barry’s song, Copacabana, and re-launch the career of Natalie Maines of the Worn Slick Dixie Chicks. She has such a precious voice that needs no cause.
Greg says:
I just heard a horrible cover of Rascal Flatts what hurts the Most done bu some Pop Artist You can’t make a country son into R&B It was painstaking to have to hear the cover of such a great song
Steven says:
I saw Bary Manillow sing “If Tomorrow Never Comes” on TV and my first thought was “Leave Garth Brooks’ songs alone.”
Zack Fulton says:
I honestly don’t understand what’s wrong with pop stars covering country songs. What about when Whitney Houston covered Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You?” Look how big Whitney’s version became on the pop charts - number one on the pop charts for 14 weeks in a row. Or when All-4-One covered John Michael Montgomery’s “I Swear” (number one pop hit 11 weeks in a row) and “I Can Love You Like That?” You can go ahead and say what you wanna say now, but let me tell you something - one of these days, there will come a time when a pop star will cover a country song and the results just might surprise you - you could accidentally like it, and it could end up becoming a huge pop hit. Think about it.
BB says:
How can anybody complain about “Me and Bobby McGee”
by Janis Joplin or “Nothing but the wheel”
by Peter Wolf?
DAS says:
As for the earlier post of an R&B group doing the Rascall Flatts song, it couldn’t be much farther from Country than Flatts are anyway. When I hear something like “Country stars can cover Pop but not vice versa”, that to me is VERY narrow minded! Some country covering pop is good(although Alabama covering N’Sync, who stunk anyway, turned my stomach), and some pop covering country is alright(Big and Rich doing AC/DC).
funinthesun says:
I’m not quite so sure that your logic works for me. Unlike probably a lot of CMT readers, I love and appreciate a wide variety of music. For that reason, I cringe everytime I hear Sugarland cover Beyonce (truly horrid). Also, although I’m a fan of Blake Shelton and Tim McGraw - I’m so not a fan of Blake Shelton’s cover of the Michael Buble song “Home,” and Tim McGraw does not do “The Joker” justice. Blake doesn’t do enough with Home and The Joker was simply not meant to be a country song.
(for La Roy…the Dixie Chicks can sing anything and do it well, and if they so desired, they can make the biggest pop song a country gem and vice versa.)
Gerald says:
This is a little too biased. There are some good pop singers out there that were able to cover country, but general speaking, not much.
If a country singer is to make a cover on a pop song, not much could do it either! For instance, irreplacable had turned into one of the scariest highlight in AMA
B.W. LaRoy says:
As usual…Big Al has stirred the pot…proving to be the perfect Blog-journalist. Kudos Al, that ongoing Rx prescription for in-flight-tripping-to-see-Garth Brooks must be stoning you into an entertainment career stardom all your own.
Carole says:
Actually … it goes both ways. Groups like Big & Rich should stay far away from remakes of Rock ‘N Roll classics like “You Shook Me All Night Long” (AC/DC). Talk about a musical travesty!
Maxie says:
That is strange. Years ago, I used to say the same thing about country stars recording pop songs. Face it people, the genres have blended.
Sharon says:
To tell you the truth, as a songwriter, it annoys the hell out of me when well established stars do covers, particularly on an album. Let a great song live in infamy, and pay the bucks to get your own material. Songwriting is a dying art, and it’s virtually impossible to make money as an independent songwriter. Unless you get a number one hit the first time out of the gate, no one will look at you.
Also, it’s redundant. Keith Urban did “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, and I heard the same version on a pop station not two days after Keith’s release. I love the guy, and when I shell out bucks for his album, I want to hear his genius, not his interpretation of someone else’s.
jtmtj says:
Barry Manilow recorded “If Tomorrow Never Comes” sixteen years ago in 1992. It’s included as a brand new track on his “Complete Collection” boxset. He continues to sing it, because it’s very popular with his fans. At year’s end, Manilow’s website ranks the top 100 songs from his catalog, according to fans. For 2007, the Garth Brook’s song ranked No. 23, even higher than some of Manilow’s biggest hits. This is why he still sings it, and he sings it just fine.
And, to the person who suggested fiddle and banjo be added to “Copacabana”, that’s already been done. “Copa” got the full C&W treatment on the 2000 “Manilow Country” television special, which was mentioned, previously, by another poster. He sang it as a duet with one of the newer country artists (last name was Velasquez, I think), and it sounded great.
Just Joe says:
I find it amusing that people are up in arms about an R&B group doing Rascal Flatt’s “What Hurts The Most.” Rascal Flatts couldn’t be any farther from country music. They belong on pop radio, period. I wish “country” music would quit claiming them.
GREAT REMAKES says:
what not to cover…
i found one interesting article that quite suits the theme of this new blog. it’s written by Alison Bonaguro and i totally agree with her about choosing the right song for your voice or for the genre where you belong. let’s read her entry about what …
Anthony Bertorelli says:
I think that pop stars can sing a country song. The key is choosing the right song. I will agree that Manilow singing “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” (or worse: “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy”) would sound horrid; I know this without have heard either song.
But as it was mentioned above, Manilow did record Garth Brooks’ “If Tomorrow Never Comes” in 1992. Barbra Streisand recorded George Strait’s “We Must Be Loving Right.”
A Man says:
I think it dumb what they are saying. Plus Guns n’ Roses is a METAL band not a Pop Group. If Barry Manilow covers a country song let him do it. I am not much of a Manilo fan but I do not like what you are saying. I am not trying to be a hateful person but this is my opinion. If Keith Urban covers Slayers Raining Blood it would probaly be bad. Or if Carrie Underwood covered Iron Maidens Number of the Beast I would be running to the hills. Peronally I am not a big country fan. I think it is loosing its touch since 2006 with all of this Country Pop. And it is part of life I have moved on to stuff like AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Metallica, Slayer, and other metal bands. I am sorry if this comment is trying to be mean. P.S.Avril Lavigne would do just fine covering a Dolly Parton Song
likes the country says:
last time I checked cascadia’s version of what hurts the most was a club song never heard an r and b version. just because it has some bass in it doesnt make it a hip hop or r and b song
Runnin’ Kind says:
A Pop singer covering a country song? How would be know the difference anymore? What I find really, truly painful is seeing someone who ought to be a Pop artist like, oh let’s see, Jessica Simpson, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, trying to convince me that they are “Country” just because the producer added a little fiddle or pedal steel to an otherwise pop track and the singer puts on a cowboy hat and sings with a country accent. No matter how it’s sliced it’s still Baloney! I’d rather hear the Barry Manilow version. Or, since I have a choice, I’ll just put on some George Strait or Dale Watson.
Goldy says:
Barry has Covered KENNY ROGERS and DOLLY PARTON Islands in the stream on his latest Album and if I’m not mistaken it was written by one of the Bee Gees so there you go it’s come full circle. lol
Tyler says:
“I can go from hating to loving a song in about 30 seconds if you add a fiddle or threw a cowboy hat on the front man.”
So, is this a flag to readers that your interest in music is strictly superficial and based little on the actual song being played? While I appreciate the disclaimer, you should probably post it at the top of your blog so readers know to keep on moving.
Thea says:
I don’t know why someone is complaining about this. There have been plenty of pop and rock songs that have been covered by country artists, and they all sound, in my opinion, horrible. I say country artists shouldn’t cover pop/rock songs, and pop/rock artists shouldn’t cover country songs.
Steve says:
I think you’re overselling country covers just a bit. Sugarland destroyed Kings of Leon and Carrie Underwood ruined Guns N Roses, just as Mark Wills and John Michael Montgomery wrecked early R&B CLASSICS of the 90s. This isn’t because they’re doing someone else’s songs. It’s because they’re re-visiting songs that are PERFECT already. The emotion captured in Sweet Child O’Mine can never, ever be recaptured, especially by someone who has NO idea what it means (that means you, too, Sheryl Crow).
Now, I seem to remember Nina Persson and Nathan Larson (from swedish electro-alt band The Cardigans) covering Restless Heart’s “Bluest Eyes In Texas” and doing quite well with it.
The world would just be much better if we all stuck to our own genres. THIS MEANS YOU, RASCAL FLATTS (they’re terrible anyways. A joke, if you will.).
Steve says:
for Zack Fulton:
Those All-4-One songs were already recorded by All-4-One before JMM got to them. They were pre-written by someone else and given to JMM by, who I’m assuming, a bad manager. Or a greedy one, anyways. The same thing happened to Brian McKnight when Mark Wills covered Back at One. Sorry, but Wills didn’t write that one, either. Not all country singers are as pure of musicians as you’d like to think.
juliuz prize says:
Lists of the best country songs of all time, and of recent times, for your listening pleasure.
Chet says:
The problem with this blog post is that most of the country songs you don’t want covered kinda suck. Excellent originals make excellent covers. Hallelujah, Jolene, Me and Bobby McGee, Ring of fire on and on have all been done wonderfully by Pop/Rock artists