Bluegrass covers of pop songs goes back a long way in our music. Perhaps the first to gain universal recognition was the arrangement of Fox On The Run that Emerson & Waldron picked up from British rockers Manfred Mann in the early ’70s. Bill and Cliff’s version went on to be re-recorded by The Country Gentlemen and Tom T. Hall, and is now part of the bluegrass canon.
That tradition continues to this day, from The Country Gentlemen’s take on Teach Your Children, and Seldom Scene’s After Midnight, right up to this summer’s run of pop songs performed by Mountain Faith on America’s Got Talent. People don’t seem to tire of the combination of a recognizable number they have heard on the radio with the unexpected notion of hearing it done bluegrass style.
Here’s a new one from deep left field… The guys from Australia’s Mustered Courage, never shy about pushing the boundaries of bluegrass, have reached back to the ’70s themselves for a remake from the disco era.
See what you think of a grassed up version of September, a monster hit for Earth, Wind & Fire in 1971 when we all wore big lapels and high-waisted bell bottom britches.
You can keep up with the boys online.
