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Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
Just when I thought there couldn't be any more original ways to stage a music countdown show on the radio, the innovative team at WXPN-FM, an adult alternative public station in Philadelphia, comes up with something new - the top 885 (for its 88.5 frequency) cover songs of all time - a cover being a tune sung by someone other than the original artist who made it famous or wrote it.
They've published the list on their website and it's a pretty eclectic mix, ranging from modern music to stuff going all the way back to the 60s. I think maybe 885 is stretching it, but they made it work.
The countdown is still in progress, so you may have to wait a long while to see what's at #1. As I type this, they're only up to #769. Anyway, if you're curious about who made the list or want to listen in on it, you can follow the countdown here.
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
I saw Bob Dylan listed on the chart in the early going. A lot of people have covered his work from Peter, Paul and Mary (Blowin in the Wind) to the Turtles (It Ain't Me Babe) and the Byrds (Mr. Tambourine Man.) I'm not sure if he'll come out as most covered, but he's certainly in the running.
Didn't see the chart of "Most Covered" when I wrote the paragraph above, but he already leads with 7 cover songs so far and it's still early in the countdown.
Last edited by RadioActive (December 4, 2025 6:28 pm)
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
That's a good question. My initial feeling is they may not want to play too many versions of the same tune, so maybe they'll just pick the most successful cover of a big hit and move on to the next tune.
Frankly, I'm surprised they could compile a list that stretches over 800 tunes. Must have taken a while to put that together.
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Thread Starter- Chrisphen
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
So far I'm impressed. It's a nice list of some pretty deep cuts, and looks like much thought went into it. Thanks for this post.
- Shorty Wave
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
Such a cool idea! I have bookmarked it for future reference. While browsing through the list, I thought of a few covers myself. I seem to remember that years ago there was an album titled “Cover Me”, obviously full of covers, anyone else remember it?
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
It's taking a while. As of Friday morning, they're only up to about the 760's. At this rate, we may not know the Top 10 for weeks!
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Thread Starter- Fitz
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
I like their attention to detail in listing The Flying Burrito Bros with the original Wild Horses as they did release the song first. Also the cover is by Jerry Garcia's bluegrass band Old and In The Ways.
Obvious pairing of High Masekela and The Friends of Distinction for Grazing In The Grass and I suspect they will include Tommy James and REM for Draggin The Line and maybe even the Clique and REM for Superman.
Kudos for their inclusion of Hurdy Gurdy Man by the Butthole Surfers. Why can't Toronto support a station like this.
Last edited by Fitz (December 5, 2025 11:50 am)
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
Fitz wrote:
I like their attention to detail in listing The Flying Burrito Bros with the original Wild Horses as they did release the song first. Also the cover is by Jerry Garcia's bluegrass band Old and In The Ways.
Obvious pairing of High Masekela and The Friends of Distinction for Grazing In The Grass and I suspect they will include Tommy James and REM for Draggin The Line and maybe even the Clique and REM for Superman.
Kudos for their inclusion of Hurdy Gurdy Man by the Butthole Surfers. Why can't Toronto support a station like this.
I tend to think of this board as being mostly geriatric old timers kvetching about days past in radio. Entries such as yours prove me wrong. Thank you.
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Re: Radio Station Counts Down The Top 885 Cover Songs Of All Time
Have to say I'm a bit surprised by the attention this post has gotten. I actually thought about not putting it up because it was an obscure station in Philly and I didn't think anyone would care. Boy, was I wrong.
It's a very unusual idea and I hope some station here rips it off for their own use. There are probably a number of CanCon tunes that would fit the cover bill, although I think a less unwieldy number than 885 would be a better idea!
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