What is a cover song?

It’s an act of devotion, an organic transmission from the essence of one soul into and through another. And, sometimes, by way of the revelations of time and lived experience, one might even surpass the original.

Prior to the era of electronic recording, no one “owned” their songs; they were passed on from generation to generation, and neighbor to neighbor - shared and mutating like the living organisms they were. We still retain an instinct to study art through imitation, but if the original exists, why bother? Because we are inspired - (meaning our beings are filled with the breath of their genius) - and we want to capture, and share a bit of that magic.

The Splendid Bohemians are proud to present a new series called “Cover Art - The Splendor of the Cover Song,” in which we’ll choose a selection of great covers of artists we cherish, by other artists that we love, or want to know more about, or have been surprised by. For our maiden voyage we chose Van Morrison - one of the most dynamic and multi-faceted songwriters of his generation. We’ll go beyond the expected choices like “Gloria” and “Brown Eyed Girl” (two of the most covered numbers in Rock) to explore the deeper recesses of Van’s catalogue, and excavate some precious musical gems. Enjoy!

Below is the list of selections, the artists, and the source material:

WILD NIGHT / JOHN MELLENCAMP AND MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO ( From: Tupelo Honey, 1971)

BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD / RAUL MALO (From: Into the Music, 1979)

INTO THE MYSTIC / ALLMAN BROTHERS (From: Moondance, 1970)

THE WAY YOUNG LOVERS DO / JEFF BUCKLEY (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)

GLAD TIDINGS / MERRY CLAYTON (From: Moondance, 1970)

MOONDANCE / GREG BROWN (From: Moondance, 1970)

SLIM SLO SLIDER / JOHNNY RIVERS (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)

MADAME GEORGE / MARIANNE FAITHFUL (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)

FULL FORCE GALE / ELVIS COSTELLO (From: Into the Music, 1979)

BRAND NEW DAY / ESTHER PHILLIPS WITH THE DIXIE FLYERS (From: Moondance, 1970)

"Palisades Park" (from Wikipedia)

Chuck Barris wrote a song about an amusement park and it was suggested he use the name of an amusement park as the title. One night he was in Manhattan when he looked toward the New Jersey Palisades Cliffs, on which the amusement park sat. That was when inspiration hit and the title was added. Years later the Palisades Amusement Park closed, on September 12, 1971.[2] A tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, it is an up-tempo rock and roll tune led by a distinctive organ part. The track also incorporates amusement park sound effects, including the sounds of screaming riders on the roller coasters, and the quoting of a slower version of "Entrance of the Gladiators", played on an organ imitating a hurdy-gurdy or calliope. In the song, the singer takes a walk after dark and discovers Palisades Park, where he meets and falls in love with a girl. Among the list of rides and attractions listed in the song are: Shoot the Chute, Rocket Ship, Roller Coaster, Loop the Loop, Merry Go Round, Tunnel of Love, and the Ferris Wheel.

Chart performance

Released by Swan Records as a B-side to "June, July and August," "Palisades Park" broke in when a Flint, Michigan radio DJ played it by mistake. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 23–30 June 1962,[3] On the Hot R&B Sides chart, the song went to #15.[4] "Palisades Park" was the biggest hit of Cannon's career.[5]

And, check out Freddy Cannon's webpage:

https://www.freddycannon.com/default.htm

TWO CLASSIC SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES BY IRREPLACEABLE CHARACTER ACTORS IN FILMS WITHOUT WHOM WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS GREAT.

LAIRD CREGAR (1913-1944) from I WAKE UP SCREAMING (1941), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wake_Up_Screaming

and MARGARET WYCHERLY (1881-1956) from WHITE HEAT (1949) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Heat