This fun game comes to us from the excellent BBC Radio London presenter Robert Elms (check out his show!). This game, which is sometimes a segment on his show, is called Cover to Cover.
Robert finds a great song, and then he finds great covers of that song by great musicians, and then he asks his radio audience to call and text in to say which they think is the best.
Robert Elms has the BBC archives at his fingertips, but now with Spotify and Apple Music many people have access to much of the music in the world. So now, you can play this game at home! It’s a super fun way for adults to listen to songs you haven’t heard in a while and for kids to hear new music from two very different perspectives.
Some thoughts on great cover to covers are:
Try “Yesterday”. Play the Beatles version and then the Aretha Franklin version.
Try “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan and then the Jimi Hendrix version.
Try “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops and then the Donny Elbert version
Try “California Dreamin’” by Bobby Womack and then the Mamas & The Papas version
Try “Mystery Train” by Junior Wells (it’s his song!) and then the Elvis version
There are so many more! Let us know which cover to covers you come up with on your own and which versions win at your house!
