Cover version
Today, a cover version, cover song, or simply a cover, is a recording of a song that is not the original. But in the early days of recording, especially in Britain, it had a different meaning.
British Artists and Repertoire (A&R) men, seeking music for their protegés to perform, would keep tabs on Tin Pan Alley and scan the American music charts for songs (including instrumentals, though in those days 'songs' meant strictly vocal) that their artists could cover. Because the songwriter, through the publisher, gets most of the royalties from each playing of a cover tune, cover songs are both a form of flattery and a source of income for songwriters.[1]
Early examples: the traditional folk song 'Tom Dooley', popularised by The Kingston Trio in 1958, prompted a skiffle cover version by Lonnie Donegan; and the pop song 'Rubber Ball' by Bobby Vee was covered in copy-cat style, as was more usual, by Marty Wilde in 1961. The following year, Cilla Black stole sales from Dionne Warwick's original 'Anyone Who Had a Heart'...