40 Years Ago Today: Beatles Sergeant Pepper Anniversary Inspires "Cover Song"
Nashville songwriter Luke Powers celebrates the lore and explores the meaning of the world's most famous album cover.
NASHVILLE (PRWEB) June 6, 2007 -- Luke Powers, professor-songwriter whose quirky takes on pop culture include "I Saw John Kennedy Today," has penned a song on the Fab Four's iconic album cover.
"Cover Song" is featured on his newly released CD Picture Book (2007, Phoebe Claire Publishing) available from http://CDBABY.com and I-Tunes.
The CD, produced by Austinite Tommy Spurlock (Rodney Crowell, George Jones, The Band), features Garth Hudson of The Band as well as Anthony Crawford (Neil Young, Blackhawk) and Randy Hardison (Garth Brooks).
"I'm pretty sure it's the first song written about an album cover," Powers says, "if not, is sounds like good PR."
The famous (and not-so-famous) faces provide fodder for lyrics--and even a few rhymes:
"I'm looking at the cover
of Sergeant Pepper,
crowd of famous people
standing round the Beatles:
Mae West, Karl Marx, Edgar Allen Poe,
Bob Dylan, Einstein
and Marilyn Monroe--
some faces I don't know . . . ."
"If you're like me," Powers says, "you've looked at that album cover hundreds of times and wondered who the heck some of these people are. Between John's obscure footballers and George's maharishis, it's worse than Jeopardy."
Powers' lyrics also notes: "There's Aleister Crowley/Gandhi in a palm tree." According to album lore, EMI executives insisted that the Mahatma be airbrushed out (he was subsequently replaced by a palmtree). Jesus Christ, one of John's perennial fixations, was similarly nixed.
Powers also weaves the "Paul is dead" myth into the song:
"Young George, young John and Paul
dressed like a funeral.
And the rumor says that Paul has died,
and the guru smiles as he recalls
his past lives . . . ."
Ultimately, Powers contends, the album cover is about fame and the meaninglessness of fame. "You put that many famous faces together and it undermines the idea of ego and uniqueness."
"That's the message of 'Cover Song' and of the Sgt. Pepper album, I think. Or I could be totally wrong."
Powers has recently collaborated with Tommy Spurlock and drummer Jamie Oldaker (Eric Clapton, Leon Russell) as The Spicewood Seven on the acclaimed protest CD Kakistocracy (2007), available on I-Tunes. Kakistocracy features Garth Hudson (of The Band), Elana Fremerman James (Bob Dylan), Leon Rausch (Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys) and Rosie Flores. For streams: http://www.myspace.com/lukepowers. Critical praise of the CD includes:
"Makes Steve Earle look like a Milquetoast" - Stewart Mason (AMG)
"I don't have enough thumbs up to give" - Kathy Coleman (about.com)
"A fine album!" Vin Scelsa, Idiot's Delight, Sirius Radio
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