Ever since a commenter at Stereogum named JenJadeEyes made an offhand comment a few years back that they would be down to hear some bluegrass covers of #1 songs, I’ve been on a mission.
I wasn’t too familiar with that universe, but I knew such a thing had to be out there.
I remembered several decades ago being at an art festival in Madison, Wisconsin and hearing a blue grass band end their set with a rousing take on The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride.” It just felt right.
And then a number of years later a guitarist friend of mine, Paul, gave me a CD by Luther Wright and the Wrongs:
That was a bluegrass interpretation of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, in its entirety.
Loved that too, and it actually made the lyrics, message and mood of the original come alive in a way in which I hadn’t previously experienced.
So I began scouring the internet for bluegrass covers of songs that had topped the Billboard Hot 100: And eventually ended up with a playlist of 70 covers.
I was surprised to learn that there is a seemingly endless supply of bluegrass versions of popular songs, which probably infuriates the purists.
Not being one of them, I was loving what I was hearing. The musicianship is off the charts, often at lightning-fast tempos, the harmonies sublime, and the overall arrangements clever and tighter than tight. I couldn’t get enough, so I didn’t stop with the #1s, and ended up making a variety of other playlists of bluegrass covers, by eras and genres. I currently have 10 playlists.
Among the many, many covers on these playlists, there are some in particular that took me by surprise, either because of the song or style chosen, or how well the cover worked, as if it were the perfectly natural thing to do to a song that originally had nothing to do with bluegrass. Here are some examples, in no particular order.
At the end of the article, I will post links to all of the aforementioned playlists. If your basic attitude is, “I’m not down for the twang,” I would just request that you check out the very last video (“Young Folks”) on your way out the door. It might just put a smile on your face.
The Version You Might Know:
- “Fire”
Jimi Hendrix
Cover Version:
The Barefoot Movement
The Version You Might Know:
- “Ever Fallen in Love with Someone”
Buzzcocks
Cover Version:
Yonder Mountain String Band
The Version You Might Know:
- “Hey Ya!”
OutKast
Cover Version:
Avriel & The Sequoias
The Version You Might Know:
- “Royals“
Lorde
Cover Version:
The Beef Seeds
The Version You Might Know:
- “Carry On Wayward Son”
Kansas
Iron Horse
The Version You Might Know:
- “Three of a Perfect Pair”
King Crimson
Cover Version:
Front Country
The Version You Might Know:
- “Round and Round”
Ratt
Cover Version:
The Meat Purveyors
The Version You Might Know:
- “Bad Guy”
Billie Eilish
Cover version:
DD and The Butterlovers
The Version You Might Know:
- “The Trooper”
Iron Maiden
Cover Version:
Steve ‘N Seagulls (from Finland!)
The Version You Might Know:
- “Girlfriend in a Coma”
The Smiths
Cover Version:
The DeLorean Sisters
The Version You Might Know:
- “Wheel in the Sky”
Journey
Cover Version:
Dale Ann Bradley
The Version You Might Know:
- “Brain Damage”
Pink Floyd
Cover Version:
Austin Lounge Lizards
The Version You Might Know:
- “Wrecking Ball”
Miley Cyrus
Cover Version:
The Gregory Brothers
The Version You Might Know:
- “Enjoy the Silence”
Depeche Mode:
Cover Version:
The Comatose Brothers (in an elevator!)
The Version You Might Know:
- “Jump”
Van Halen
Cover Version:
(yes, David Lee Roth doing a bluegrass cover of his own song.)
David Lee Roth, John Jorgenson
The Version You Might Know:
- “Walk This Way”
Aerosmith
Cover Version:
Hayseed Dixie
The Version You Might Know:
- “Graceland”
Paul Simon
Cover Version:
The Lonely Heartstring Band
The Version You Might Know:
- “Borderline”
Madonna
Cover Version:
Buffalo Rose
The Version You Might Know:
- “Hit ‘Em Up Style”
Blu Cantrell
Cover Version:
Carolina Chocolate Drops
The Version You Might Know:
- “I’m On Fire”
Bruce Springsteen
Cover Version:
Town Mountain
The Version You Might Know:
- “Dirty Laundry”
Don Henley
Cover version:
Goodfellers
The Version You Might Know:
- “Fields of Gold”
Sting
Cover Version:
The Petersens
The Version You Might Know:
- “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”
Beyoncé
Cover Version:
The Cleverlys
The Version You Might Know:
- “Pinball Wizard”
The Who
Cover Version:
The Hillbenders
The Version You Might Know:
- “Waterfalls”
TLC
Cover Version:
Handsome Hank and his Lonesome Boys
The Version You Might Know:
- “Rehab”
Amy Winehouse
Cover Version:
Keller and the Keels
The Version You Might Know:
- “Party Rock Anthem”
LMFAO
Cover Version:
The Pigs
The Version You Might Know:
- “When I Come Around”
Green Day
Cover Version:
Alex Ellis & the Bluegrass Boys
The Version You Might Know:
- “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”
Steely Dan
Cover Version:
Frank Sollivan & Dirty Kitchen
The Version You Might Know:
- “Paperback Writer”
The Beatles
Cover Version (from 1966!):
The Charles River Valley Boys
The Version You Might Know:
- “Don’t Fear the Reaper”
Blue Oyster Cult
Cover Version:
Bobtown
The Version You Might Know:
- “White Room“
Cream
Cover Version:
The Cache Valley Drifters
The Version You Might Know:
- “Africa“
Toto
Cover Version:
Pickin’ On Series, Brad Davis
The Version You Might Know:
- “The Way It Is“
Bruce Hornsby and the Range
Cover Version:
Love Canon
The Version You Might Know:
- “Subterranean Homesick Alien“
Radiohead
Cover Version:
Rye & Dirty
The Version You Might Know:
- “Sweet Child O’ Mine“
Guns N’ Roses
Cover Version:
Thunder and Rain
The Version You Might Know:
- “Friday, I’m In Love“
The Cure
Cover Version:
Whiskey Shivers
The Version You Might Know:
- “Straight Up“
Paula Abdul
Cover Version:
Underhill Rose
The Version You Might Know:
- “Nashville Cats“
The Lovin’ Spoonful
Cover Version:
The Del McCoury Band
(okay, so maybe this one isn’t too much of a stretch, but these guys totally own this thing.)
The Version You Might Know:
- “Chop Suey!“
System Of A Down
Cover Version:
The Dead South
The Version You Might Know:
- “Young Folks!“
Peter Bjorn and John
Cover Version:
Dawn Landes
My playlists of bluegrass covers:
Bluegrass Covers – the ‘60s:
Bluegrass 70s Classic Rock Covers
80s Covers by Bluegrass Bands
Bluegrass Punk/New Wave Covers
Bluegrass Covers of 90s Songs
Bluegrass vs Metal
Bluegrass Covers the 21st Century
#1s Covered by Bluegrass (1960s-1990s)
Bluegrass Covers of #1s 2000-present
Christmas- Bluegrass/Country
Let the author know that you liked their article with a “Green Thumb” Upvote
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
I made it all the way to “Walk This Way”.
Gold- “The Trooper” by Steve ‘n’ Seagulls
Silver- “Hey Ya” by Avriel and the Sequoias
Bronze- “Wheel in the Sky” by Dale Ann Bradley
Steve ‘n’ Seagulls and Avriel and the Sequoias practically have no degree of separation. Dale Ann Bradley gets the bronze because I don’t really like “Wheel in the Sky”.
Most interesting song choice: “Girlfriend in a Coma”.
I’m looking forward to the “Fields of Gold” cover.
You made it pretty far! I watched/listened again this morning and got about as far as you did. Never gets old.
Your 3 leaders in the clubhouse so far are all solid picks. I have a hard time choosing.
There are some great ones coming up, so enjoy!!!
This has been going on a long time. Here’s one from the early 70s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFToOhOPWkw
Yes it has. The Beatles bluegrass cover on the list is from the 60s, and I’m willing to bet bluegrass musicians have been cutting their teeth on just about any song they can get their hands on for quite some time, purists be darned.
This cover of Proud Mary is a real barn burner and it pleases me greatly to hear it. Spotify doesn’t seem to have much before 1979 by these guys, or I would definitely add this to one of my playlists. It’s smoking hot.
I picked the wrong day to be in the office. I won’t be able to listen to these until tonight or tomorrow, but I’m already familiar with several of these. They’re always fun.
Also, Sierra Hull does a pretty great version of “Mad World.”
I figured you would know some of these. The Buzzcocks cover was included specifically with you in mind.
That Sierra Hull cover of Mad World really sets the mood.
Based on these and the playlists I’m thinking that you can’t consider a song to be a beloved classic until its had the bluegrass treatment.
For the most part they don’t do it for me but these ones stood out as worthy of repeat listens;
Beef Seeds – Royals
DD & The Butterlovers (which i misread as something more Sir Mix-A-Lot like) – Bad Guy
Steve N Seagulls – The Trooper
The Hillbenders – Pinball Wizard
DD and Steve look like a lot of fun as well. The less serious the better for me with these.
All good ones!
Some of these I knew, some are brand new to me. I already have your first list of #1’s and will be downloading the others.
Trivia: Hayseed Dixie’s first album was all AC/DC covers. The original band name was AC Dixie, but they had to change it for legal reasons. They have an “alter ego” band that did one album. They took the reverse approach, taking traditional bluegrass songs and rocking them up a bit.
Here’s a sample.
https://youtu.be/S7xH7DsuLm4?si=boVcsvr1lAfjOn_L
Awesome. I’ve listened to some of Hayseed Dixie’s AC/DC bluegrass covers and they are all solid.