An Unexpected Musical Cover

Mini challenge 1: One song for Monday

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash (OK, I know this is a “hate Mondays” picture, but the choices on Unsplash for “Monday” were unusually bad.)

Francis B.’s original Monday challenge for Week 1: Find a Hidden Gem On YouTube; one unusual or unexpected cover song you love. (See the full mini-challenge below.)

Rate-A-Record: A YouTube Gem

Francis B.’s choice, a “Sultans of Swing” cover by the orthodox Jewish Gat Brothers, shows how national or ethnic identity is far less rigid in the world of music than we might think. My choice is a cover by the Taiwan folk / pop singer Koumis of Skeeter Davis’s 1963 country crossover megahit “The End of the World” (original here; probably Terry Barr will be one of the few listeners in my orbit who heard this song when it was released).

I chanced upon Koumis from a YouTube suggestion after I had been looking up various female vocalists. I had no idea that I would discover my favorite singer in the world from such a random link. If possible (even though YouTube is certainly lo-fi), listen to the video below with headphones or audiophile amp and speakers in order to hear the quality of her voice (I don’t think you’ll find Koumis on the various streaming…