origin of the term "cover version"?

"what material do you cover?" "oh all styles. jazz, blues AND swing"

"I covet your songs, because I can't write my own." t got switched to r, the rest is hisroty.

Yes, but why the actual word "COVER"? I gather that's the question.

thanks Tracer, like Alex, I thought you hadn't answered the question, but now I see you kind of did.

phil

i would think something along the lines of "Can we COVER all the parts to this tune?"

From the FAQ for rec.music.rock-pop-r+b.1970s:

In the 1950s, the term 'cover' version was used to describe a new recording of an existing song, usually released within a few weeks of the original. Generally, the cover version was performed by a mass-market (i.e. white) artist, trying to achieve wide success of a song originally performed by a regional-market (i.e. black) artist. The cover version would literally 'cover up' or obscure the original song, and achieve the greatest popularity.

Artists who wrote their own songs, like Fats Domino or Little Richard, generally didn't mind this practice, since they still received songwriting (and sometimes publishing) royalties, and profited greatly no matter who had the hit. Pat Boone was one of the most successful cover artists of that decade.

As time went on, though, by the 1970s, 'cover' gradually came to mean _any_ New version of an old song, performed by a contemporary artist."

I'd guess it probably comes from the usage of "to cover for someone" meaning to take over another's role in their absence. For instance: "Can you cover for me at the bar while I go to the restroom?"

You mean, like : "Hey Pat, can you cover for me until America is ready to accept a black pop singer?"

YEAH! Burn!

So Curt's theory is that the term "cover" version originated in the 1950s to describe the work of Pat Boone and his ilk, because it "covered up" the work of the original artist. If that's so, then who first used the term in this way? Presumably the term wouldn't have been used by the "cover" artists themselves or their fans since it is implicitly critical of them. I'd like to see some citations.

We don't need no steenkin citations!

Anyway I'm right so I don't know why you're still arguing about it. Move on.

Yeah, old Pat did "Isn't That A Shame"! It is indeed.