COVER ME!

Number one from Cover Me best of last year was this . . . . . . . 

1. John Prine ft. The Secret Sisters – I Just Called to Say I Love You (Stevie Wonder cover)

What John Prine did to “I Just Called To Say I Love You” is amazing. He didn’t just remake it; he had to crack through both the tremendously thick crust of schmaltz around the song and the long-stewing resentment against the song. In Prine’s hands, it’s not a joke anymore; it actually means something. I went into listening to his performance with a healthy dose of cynicism; I came out with my cynicism destroyed, replaced by a sense of wonder. If, like me, you don’t think you want to hear it at first on account of all that you associate with it, I’m asking you to give it the chance it deserves. It may be the only cover I’ve ever heard that has the power to make you a better person. – Patrick Robbins