Cover Song
Robert Fripp and Toyah Celebrate Valentine’s Day with “Tainted Love”: Watch
With Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday, King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife, Toyah Willcox, brought a little romance to their “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series. The pair performed the Soft Cell hit “Tainted Love” from their own bed, with a little sexual innuendo thrown into the visual. By Robert and Toyah standards, the performance itself was a bit tame, compared to their previous editions of “Sunday Lunch”. As Robert played “Tainted Love” on guitar while sitting against the headboard, Toyah popped up from out of the frame with her own guitar at the foot of the bed to begin singing the tune — which was made popular by Soft Cell as a synth-pop hit in 1981 after originally being recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. Fripp’s face was covered in lipstick kisses, and his usual fo...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Salute a Famous Misheard Lyric in Cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”: Watch
It’s Super Bowl Sunday in the United States, but in the UK it’s another super “Sunday Lunch” with Robert Fripp and Toyah. This time around, the King Crimson guitarist and his singer wife have a little fun with the Jimi Hendrix Experience classic “Purple Haze”, incorporating rock’s most famous misheard lyric into their performance. As she did last week for “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”, Toyah straps on a guitar for the Hendrix song. While Fripp is considered one of rock’s most innovative guitarists, Toyah is no Jimi Hendrix … or Robert Fripp, for that matter. But this is not an exercise in guitar histrionics, it’s an amusing take on an iconic rock song. Compared to their recent “Sunday Lunch” covers, their take on “Purple Haze” is rather subdued, both in physicality and Toyah’s attire. Where it ge...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Take on “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”: Watch
It wouldn’t be Sunday without another fun take on a rock classic by King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife, Toyah Willcox. This time, the pair cover “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”, with Toyah strapping on a guitar to go along with her vocals. Robert and Toyah have become YouTube sensations in recent weeks with their “Sunday Lunch” quarantine performances. They’ve been covering rock classics for a few months now, but they truly went viral earlier this month with a take on Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” — a rendition that saw Toyah riding an exercise bike while wearing a revealing top that garnered thousands of comments filled with euphemisms. They followed with performances of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” and Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle”, and now they’ve graced us with a cover of...
Shovels & Rope Enlist Sharon Van Etten to Cover The Beach Boys’ “In My Room”: Stream
Shovels & Rope (photo by Todd Cooper) and Sharon Van Etten (photo by Ryan Pfluger) Shovels & Rope have teamed up with Sharon Van Etten for a cover of The Beach Boys’ “In My Room”. The track is part of an upcoming covers collection called Busted Jukebox Volume 3 that’s loosely inspired by the act of parenting. The first two installments of Shovels & Rope’s collaborative series arrived in 2015 and 2017, respectively, and both of those projects were loaded with guests like Brandi Carlile and Shakey Graves. Volume 3 has the cheeky alternative titled Busted Juicebox because all of the guests musicians are parents themselves, and the songs they chose to cover — from lullabies and American songbook standards, to R.E.M. and Janis Joplin cuts — are emotionally relate...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Turn Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” into a Serpentine Workout: Watch
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox are back with another Sunday treat — a musical workout routine to the Guns N’ Roses classic “Welcome to the Jungle”. The couple’s last two “Sunday Lunch” quarantine performances — Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” — are closing in on a combined 5 million views. Those clips are as popular for Toyah’s revealing outfits as much as the couple’s quirky takes on the rock classics, and the trend continues for the GN’R cover. Fitness seems to be a central theme to the playful pair’s recent performances. After rocking an exercise bike (“Enter Sandman”) and a cheerleader routine (“Rebel Yell”), Toyah turns the focus on biceps with dumbbell curls, all while paying homage to Axl Rose’s signature snake dance. Fu...
Ghost’s Tobias Forge Covers Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” with the Hellacopters on Swedish TV: Watch
Ghost frontman Tobias Forge joined The Hellacopters for a cover of The Rolling Stones classic “Sympathy for the Devil” Friday evening (January 22nd) on Swedish television. The performance aired as a segment on the På Spåret quiz show on Sweden’s national TV network SVT. Forge, who has taken on a handful of identities as Ghost’s frontman over the years, retired his Cardinal Copia persona during the band’s only show of 2020, a March 3rd gig in Mexico City. That concert ended the tour cycle for their most recent album, Prequelle, and introduced Forge’s new guise, Papa Emeritus IV. Performing as Papa Emeritus IV, Forge was backed by fellow Swedes The Hellacopters for the televised rendition of “Sympathy for the Devil”, a song with a title that fittingly sums up a central theme of Ghost’s ...
Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, 311, Filter, The Used, Veruca Salt Members Cover Jane’s Addiction’s “Mountain Song”: Watch
The Kings of Quarantine — a collective spearheaded by Slaves on Dope members Jason Rockman and Kevin Jardine along with Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher — are back with an all-star cover of the Jane’s Addiction classic “Mountain Song”. This time around, they’re joined by members of Limp Bizkit, 311, Filter, Veruca Salt, The Used, and In Flames. Kelliher and Jardine are joined on guitar by Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland, while vocals are handled by Rockman, Veruca Salt’s Louise Post, Filter’s Richard Patrick, and The Used’s Bert McCracken. The rhythm section is made up of 311’s P-Nut on bass and In Flames’ Tanner Wayne on drums. The singers all do an admirable job on the challenging tune, as “Mountain Song” is one of Perry Farrell’s finest vocal moments in Jane’s Addiction. McCracken’s turn is e...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Gift Us with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” on an Exercise Bike: Watch
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah owned the pandemic in 2020 with a “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series featuring a number of memorable performances. Thankfully, for those of us still wanting eccentric covers of our favorite rock songs, the couple have continued the series into 2021. Their latest effort is a rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” featuring Toyah riding an exercise bike. As Fripp plays the iconic “Enter Sandman” riff on guitar, Toyah rides the bike, writhing around as she sings and acts out the song’s lyrics. This time around, it’s not so much the performance as it is Toyah’s revealing choice of apparel that has garnered the most comments on YouTube. In just one day, the clip has more than a half million views. “Enter Sandman” isn’t Robert and Toyah...
Sky Ferreira Shares Unreleased Cover of David Bowie’s “All The Madmen”: Stream
She still hasn’t offered any updates on her new album, but Sky Ferreira has given us something. On Friday, the 28-year-old pop artist took to Instagram to share a previously unreleased cover of David Bowie‘s “All The Madmen”. As Ferreira indicated in the caption with an all-caps “HBD”, her rendition of the tune from his 1970 album The Man Who Sold the World was in honor of Bowie’s 74th birthday. Ferreira also wrote informed fans that the cover is not new. She labeled it a “lost tape recording/demo” version of the song, and included a parenthetical, “(I just found this btw)”, to underscore that it’s a rarity she recently dug out of the archives. Nevertheless, a new song of any kind from Ferreira doesn’t happen often. After breaking out with her 2013 debut Night Time, My Time, we’v...
Steve Earle Honors to Justin Townes Earle with “Harlem River Blues” Cover on Kimmel: Watch
Earlier this week, Steve Earle honored his late son, Justin Townes Earle, with the release of the covers album J.T. In what was surely an emotional moment for the country legend, the surviving Earle performed his rendition of “Harlem River Blues” on Thursday’s Kimmel. JTE passed away over the summer after an accidental drug overdose. As he mourned, his father decided to record J.T. because it was “the only way I knew to say goodbye.” Backed by his band The Dukes on Kimmel, Earle’s performance of “Harlem River Blues” was thus something of a public eulogy for his departed son. Watch the replay below. 100% of the artist advances and royalties earned from sales of J.T. will be donated to a trust Justin’s three-year-old daughter with Jenn Earle, Etta St. James. [embedded content] Rela...
David Bowie’s Covers of John Lennon and Bob Dylan Unearthed for 74th Birthday: Stream
Today, January 8th, would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday. In honor of The Man Who Fell to Earth, previously unreleased covers of John Lennon and Bob Dylan have been unearthed for the public for the first time. The first recording is Bowie’s reimagining of “Mother”, which Lennon put out in 1970. This cover was originally recorded by Bowie in 1998 with longtime producer Tony Visconti. It was supposed to appear on a Lennon tribute collection, but the release never came to fruition. The other cover is of “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven”, from Dylan’s 1997 Grammy-winning album Time Out of Mind. Bowie recorded this version in 1998 while working on his live album LiveAndWell.com that came out the following year. The new Bowie recordings are packaged as a limited-edition two-song 7-inch ...
Duran Duran Share Cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years”: Stream
Duran Duran will mark what would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday by joining the star-studded tribute livestream “A Bowie Celebration: Just for One Day”. In anticipation, the new wave legends have shared a new cover of Bowie’s 1972 classic “Five Years”. “Five Years” wasn’t chosen at random. As the opening track to Bowie’s iconic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it provided a formative moment for DD frontman Simon Le Bon. In a statement, he called it “our first taste of its perfection,” explaining, “My life as a teenager was all about David Bowie. He is the reason why I started writing songs. Part of me still can’t believe in his death five years ago, but maybe that’s because there’s a part of me where he’s still alive and always will be. When we got...
