by Lesa Lakin (@lesalakin) and Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
With all that’s going on in the world, we thought we’d offer some comfort this Music Monday in the form of a playlist of remakes and covers called “Cover Me Softly: Soul-Filled Remakes and Covers.”
Sometimes the songs are reimagined, elevated and fully remade, and other times they are faithful covers by the right artist, offering just the right notes and voicing.
We’ve got “Killing Me Softly,” originally by Robert Flack and reimagined by Fugees, Maxwell’s soul stirring take on Kate Bush‘s “This Woman’s Work,” Rihanna’s hauntingly similar yet very much her own gorgeous version of Tame Impala’s “Same Ole Mistakes,” Luther Vandross’ famous redo of Dionne Warwick’s “A House Is Not a Home,” Mariah Carey’s version of Prince’s “Beautiful Ones” with Dru Hill and more.
One song on our list poses the question: Can you successfully remake/cover your own song? In the case of Lionel Richie, that’s exactly what happened with “Lady.” “Lady” was written and produced by Richie and first recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers in 1980.
“Lady” is the first record of the 1980s to chart on all four of Billboard magazine’s singles charts – country, Hot 100, adult contemporary and Top Soul Singles. Almost two decades later, Richie revisited the hit by recording the song himself in 1998.
Rogers and Richie would eventually preform the song as a duet on Richie’s 2012 release Tuskegee. If you’re interested in reading even more about it, here’s a fun story about the history of “Lady”: https://people.com/country/kenny-rogers-lionel-richie-friendship-history/
So, sit back and relax to some old familiar hits and maybe a few reimagined new finds. Have a listen… and always, always celebrate music!