I spent today recording LPs to my iPod (over 39,000 songs now!). A question came to mind: What do artists like Elvis Presley, Roger Whittaker, Theo Bikel, Chet Atkins, Al Hirt, Herb Alpert, Barbra Streisand, and Frank Sinatra all have in common. They are cover artists, not singer-songwriters performing material that they have written themselves. At one time, the cover artist was the main artist: others did the writing, they did the performing. That changed in the 1960s, thanks to duos like Lennon-McCartney.
So, here’s the question: Other than Broadway vocalists (who have always been cover artists), who are the modern-day cover artists — artists who primarily perform music written by someone else? Further, who of today’s singer-songwriters — not artists from before 2000 or Broadway — are the most covered artists?
