Covered In Folk: The Beatles, Part 2 (Signature Songs and Solo Projects)

John Lennon died 27 years ago, on December 8th, 1980; I was seven, and the event was meaningless. But since then, like every one of you, I've absorbed the Beatles canon -- which means, among other things, recognizing the loss of musical potential and statesmanship that marks Lennon's passing.

Mostly, it's the statesmanship I recognize. Though each Beatle -- both the still-going and the dearly departed -- went on to a fruitful solo career after the band broke up, for me, the Beatles as a cultural phenomenon are as much more a sum of their parts as they are musically. I mean, I know the music blogosphere is full of powerful Lennon tributes tonight, but by definition music blogs promote that which you haven't really heard yet. Ask the average non-audiophile to sing a Beatles song, and the odds are they know dozens; ask them to sing a post-Beatles song, and they might be able to mangle their way through the first verse and chorus of a radio hit or or two.

Of course we know Beatles songs; it's not like we have much choice. Over three centuries past their break-up, it remains a cultural rite of passage to grow familiar with the works of the Beatles. But their solo work has credibility on a smaller scale. As a member of the first post-Beatles generation, I never really took to the work of Paul or Ringo, with or without bands and mates, and my sense of the genius of Harrison and Lennon was mostly a peripheral awareness that there was more there than I was seeing from a distance, that some day I might like to listen to their work a little more closely.

In many cases, it was covers that brought me to to appreciate the continued later-in-life talents of the Beatles boys for what they were: individual talents, still powerful without each other. Great songwriters live forever, in the coverworld. That there are so many wonderful folk covers of the songs of the Beatles boys, both pre- and post-breakup, says what it needs to about their individual talents.

Today, in memory and in honor, over twenty coversongs from the fringes of the folkworld, our largest post ever here at Cover Lay Down. Including stellar folkversions of songs from the solo careers of Paul, George, and John, and some signature Beatles songs generally acknowledged as primarily a product of a single Beatlesboy. Plus a second set of select covers sung by a few of the boys themselves, as a little bonus.


The Songs of John Lennon

Alison Crowe, Imagine (orig. Lennon)

Keb' Mo', Imagine (orig. Lennon)

Rosie Thomas, Love (orig. Lennon)

Damien Rice, Happy Christmas (War is Over) (orig. Lennon)

Harry Nilsson, You Can't Do That (Lennon; orig Beatles)

The Subways, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Lennon; orig. Beatles)

The Songs of George Harrison

Girlyman, My Sweet Lord (orig. Harrison)

Tanya Donelly, Long, Long, Long (Harrison; orig. Beatles)

The Bacon Brothers, If I Needed Someone (Harrison, orig. Beatles)

Jake Shimabukuro, While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison; orig. Beatles)

Nils Okland, While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison, orig. Beatles)

The Songs of Paul McCartney

Ron Sexsmith, Listen To What The Man Said (orig. Wings)

Jem, Maybe I'm Amazed (orig. McCartney)

Dust Poets, Veronica (orig. Costello/ McCartney)

Mark Erelli, I'll Follow The Sun (McCartney, orig. beatles)

The Songs of Ringo Starr

George Harrison, It Don't Come Easy (orig. Starr, poss. w/ Harrison)

Sufjan Stevens, What Goes On (Lennon/McCartney/Starr, orig. Beatles)


I've thought long and hard about how to direct you to purchase and support today's coverartists, but ultimately, I decided that today is about George, Ringo, Paul, and most especially John. If, after you hear these incredible covers, you want more information about the recent and universally awesome albums of the artists covering these songs, ask me about them in the comments, or head on over to good old google, type in an artist's full names in quotation marks, and hit "I feel lucky" to buy direct from any artist's website.


Today's Bonus coversongs: The Beatles Boys Cover...

George Harrison, Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (orig. Arlen/Koehler)

Ringo Starr and Stevie Nicks, Lay Down Your Arms (orig. Harry Nilsson)

Harry Nilsson w/ John Lennon, Many Rivers to Cross (orig. Jimmy Cliff)

previously: Covered In Folk: The Beatles, Part 1.