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Coffee Break

Coffee Break: Covers

With a twenty-seven piece band and a stage strewn with carnations, Joe Cocker inaugurated First Ave with a bang in April 1970.
With a twenty-seven piece band and a stage strewn with carnations, Joe Cocker inaugurated First Ave with a bang in April 1970.Darrell Brand | Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society Press

by Sean McPherson and Anna Weggel

December 22, 2020

We've got cover songs on the brain today for a couple of reasons.

It was on this day in 2014 that Joe Cocker passed away. He was known for his distinctive versions of popular songs like the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" which he covered in 1968 and his 1974 cover of "You Are So Beautiful", among others.

And some music critics have been referring to 2020 as the "year of the cover". It might be that with the times we are living in, old songs are taking on new meaning. Or maybe we're all just searching for something familiar to lean on.

So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what cover songs do you want to hear?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs played

Joe Cocker - She Came In Through the Bathroom Window
Yola - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Sonic Youth - Superstar
Donny Hathaway - Jealous Guy (Live)
Ty Segall - Every 1's A Winner
Dinosaur Jr. - Just Like Heaven
Brad Mehldau - Blackbird