Exploration of Cover Songs

The two artist that I chose are Billie Holiday and NoFX. The latter covered Billie Holiday’s song “All of Me.” Both versions of the song are excellent though very different from one another. Both songs were performed by artists in two very different genres. That said, the end result is two amazing and amazingly different songs though they are somewhat similar at the core.

            Billie Holiday, or Eleanora Fagan, was an American jazz singer popular through the 1940s through the 1950s. She is still celebrated today as a pioneer in music and very big contributor to American pop-culture. Billie performed her song “All of Me” on television several times in 1949 and one last time in 1958 before her untimely death a year later. Her song is actually a version of Belle Baker’s song “All of Me,” but isn’t actually considered a cover of Baker’s version though some lyrics are identical. “All of Me” is a very casual and rhythmic song. It follows a the common 4/4 time, or simple quadruple time. The harmony of the piano and saxophone humming in the background give the song a very soft sound with little to no intensity. Howevery, Billie’s vibrant melody give the song it’s power and intensity. The song is very slow and ordered with an affinity to most of Billie’s other songs. Early in the song, Billie reveals that she is part of a one-sided love affair. The songs lyrics continue a pattern of listing various body parts that the singer wishes her lover would have taken from her. She then reveals that her lover took her heart. Though she lists prior to this the body parts she won’t need and the reasons she won’t need them, she literally and textually means that she wishes her lover would have taken them though he never literally took her heart. She simply fell in love with him and won’t have any use for her arms, lips, or eyes. Thus, why not take “All of Me.”

            The NoFX version of the song is similar at it’s core, but very different on the outside. Lyrically, the songs are identical. The singer of the band sings every word that Billie Holiday sang. The harmony of the NoFX version is very different, but serves the same purpose. They both carry the song. The only difference is that the NoFX version has a harmony filled with distorted guitar chords and very fat bass lines that punk rock fans can appreciate whereas Billie Holiday’s version has a very soothing, graceful feel that everyone who doesn’t like punk rock can like. The melodies are same in that they follow the same chord arrangements, but are in different keys. The melody comes from the words being sung and sound identical in casual listening sense. NoFX sped up the tempo of the song finishing it in 2:07 whereas Billie completes her song at 3:01. Again, this is because punk rock fans like fast music and jazz listeners like slower rhythms. NoFX also follows the same 4/4 time in simple quadruple beat and meter. The interesting thing about the NoFX version is most fans of the band have no idea it’s a cover song and definitely wouldn’t guess that it’s a Billie Holiday song that originated from Belle Baker’s version in 1939. This is another reason why I like NoFX so much. All in all, I like both versions equally. My mood determines which version I feel like listening to.