BY MICHAEL CHAIKEN | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
284
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day is not the first rock artist to record an album entirely of cover songs.
Forget about singers like Joe Cocker and Grace Jones who established their careers by interpreting the work of other songwriters.
There are tons of examples of rock and roll songwriters who took a busman’s holiday by tackling other people’s hits. Some artists earned kudos for their detours, such as Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music with 1973’s “These Foolish Things” and John Lennon with 1975’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Other artists earned a few raspberries such as David Bowie with 1973’s “Pin Ups” and Rod Stewart on 2003’s “It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook.”