A cover band (or covers band ) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs . New or unknown bands often find the format marketable for smaller venues, such as pubs, clubs or parks. The bands also perform at private events, for example, weddings and birthday parties, and may be known as a wedding band , party band , function band or band-for-hire . A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is often called a top 40 band . Some bands, however, start as cover bands, then grow to perform original material. For example, the Rolling Stones released three albums consisting primarily of covers and then recorded one with their own original material.
15-401: A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo or a group. Sidemen and sidewomen are often well-versed in multiple styles of music, and can be hired at any level of the music industry, from playing in
30-408: A cover band to backing up established artists on major tours. While many artists can work as sidemen or session musicians , others will only fill one role. The generally accepted difference is that a sideman performs live while a session musician is hired to perform in a recording studio. Aspiring musicians often start out as sidemen, playing rhythm guitar, comping on keyboards, playing drums in
45-424: A 1980s cover band. Others focus exclusively on the music of a particular group, usually iconic groups, and are called tribute bands . It is not uncommon to find tribute bands performing the songs of The Beatles , Led Zeppelin , Kiss , Pink Floyd , Oasis , Duran Duran , Aerosmith , or U2 . Some cover bands will play a variety of song styles, from different artists, genres, and decades. Another type of cover band
60-460: A band will begin to "play out" professionally at bars and night clubs. Some cover bands are made up of full-time professional musicians. These bands are usually represented by an entertainment agency. When cover bands consist of professional musicians, they often do not have a fixed lineup; rather, they are often made up of a flexible lineup of session musicians , utilizing "dep" (deputy, that is, stand-in) musicians where necessary. The music industry
75-626: A feature for The Sunday Times about the UK tribute-band scene, which mentioned bands including Pink Fraud, the Pretend Pretenders and Clouded House. In the article, Barrell asserted that "the main cradle of the tribute band...is Australia . Starved of big names, owing to their reluctance to put Oz on their tour itineraries, Australians were quite unembarrassed about creating home-grown versions. Then, like an airborne seed, one of these bands just happened to drift to Britain." The band in question
90-517: A sideman for other artists, such as punk bassist Mike Watt with J Mascis and the Fog or Iggy and the Stooges . Cover band Cover bands play several types of venues. When a band is starting out, they might play private parties and fundraisers, often for little or no money, or in return for food and bar privileges, although many professional musicians refuse to do this. With enough experience,
105-526: A twist on the original act; for example, Dread Zeppelin plays Led Zeppelin songs in a reggae style with a lead singer dressed up as Elvis Presley , while Gabba perform the songs of ABBA in the style of the Ramones . Tribute bands usually name themselves based on the original band's name (sometimes with a pun ), or on one of their songs or albums. In 1997, the British journalist Tony Barrell wrote
120-626: Is a multi-instrumentalist who has worked with such diverse musicians as Curtis Mayfield , Dolly Parton , Jackson Browne , and Hani Naser . Waddy Wachtel 's guitar licks and experience have placed him as a bandleader while on tour with Stevie Nicks , and Chuck Leavell , who has toured with The Allman Brothers Band , but more often, is onstage with The Rolling Stones on keyboards. Often sidemen go on to form their own groups and/or solo careers; for instance, John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison , and Pete Best acted as sidemen to Tony Sheridan before becoming famous as The Beatles , with
135-466: Is considered by many musicians as a relatively difficult industry to make an income in, and cover bands can be a good source of income for professional musicians alongside other work. Cover bands play songs written and recorded by other artists, usually well-known songs (as compared to "original" bands which play music they themselves have written). There are a wide variety of cover bands – some cover bands play material from particular decades, for example,
150-429: Is one that plays songs in a different genre or style than that of the original composition (e.g., jazz versions of what were originally hard rock songs). Some cover bands perform covers that are of a different musical genre from the originals. For instance: Tribute band A tribute act , tribute band , tribute group or tribute artist is a music group , singer , or musician who specifically plays
165-637: The rhythm section , or singing backing vocals for a well-known bandleader or singer. Once sidemen have become experienced with live performance and recording with established artists, some move on to develop their own sound, a recognized name, and fans of their own, or go on to form their own groups, at which point they become bandleaders and recruit their own sidemen and sidewomen. Some examples of this are: Some sidemen become famous for their musical specialties, and become highly sought-after by pop , rock, blues , jazz and country music bands. Examples of some of these include multi-instrumentalists. David Lindley
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#1732772285373180-421: The addition of Ringo Starr . Jimmy Page left his first attempts working in bands to hone his skills as a session player, where he met John Paul Jones ; he later recruited Robert Plant and John Bonham to form Led Zeppelin . Bob Dylan 's first recorded song was as a harmonica sideman on Harry Belafonte 's cover of " Midnight Special ". Other musicians may take time from their own bands to tour or record as
195-502: The music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvis impersonators covering the works of Elvis Presley or groups like The Iron Maidens , an all-female band that pays tribute to Iron Maiden . Many tribute bands, in addition to playing the music of an artist or group, also try to emulate the vocal styles and overall appearance of that group, to make as close an approximation as possible. Others introduce
210-601: Was replaced by Tim "Ripper" Owens from the tribute band British Steel in 1996. This was the first publicised example of a tribute performer joining the band they were paying tribute to and was the inspiration for the 2001 film Rock Star . Owens eventually left Judas Priest in 2003 when Halford rejoined the band. Later occurrences of this same phenomenon include Tommy Thayer replacing Ace Frehley in Kiss in 2002 and Benoît David replacing Jon Anderson in Yes after performing with
225-553: Was the ABBA tribute Björn Again , who staged a successful publicity stunt in the early 1990s, arriving at Heathrow Airport in white one-piece outfits similar to the ones worn by ABBA on the cover of their 1976 album, Arrival . Other tribute acts such as The Beatnix (Beatles), Zeppelin Live, and The Australian Pink Floyd Show have experienced continued popularity for over a decade. Lead singer Rob Halford left Judas Priest in 1992 and
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