Walk Off The Earth - "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall"

For this year's installation of Danette's birthday song, I'm choosing a recommendation that she shared with me: a cover of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" by the Canadian alt-folk group Walk Off The Earth.  

I would not normally pick a Bob Dylan song for Danette's birthday, but there are three reasons to do so.  First, it is illustrative of Danette's policy of liking songs by Neil Young, Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, and especially Bob Dylan as long as they're covered by other people.  And as much as I venerate those artists, I concede her point.  

Second, it's also a recognition by Danette of my preference for male/female duets: few songs can not be improved by splitting the vocals between a man and a woman.  

Third, I believe Danette heard this song in an Outlander episode.  Apparently Walk Off The Earth's version was not released on any their LPs, and was just a one-off cover they did and posted on YouTube.  The Outlander producers wanted to use "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" but figured they could not get Dyaln's permission, and then they stumbled across this version.  Julianne is a big Outlander fan, and the TV series has been on high-rotation in the house as a result, pulling various members of the family into the story.  In the future, Outlander, Charmed, Supernatural, and similar shows will likely remind us of this point in our lives. 

Happy Birthday Danette!  Sorry it's "only" a Bob Dylan song, but at least it's a cover...

Walk Off The Earth - "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall"

Bob Dylan - "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall"

Previous birthday songs:

2019: Nicki Minaj - "Monster"
2018: Bear Hands - "Giants"
2017: Alvvays - "Archie, Marry Me"
2016: Molly Hatchet - "Flirtin' With Disaster"
2015: Avett Brothers - "Kick Drum Heart"
2014: Ani DiFranco - "32 Flavors"
2013: The Green Pajamas - "Kim the Waitress"
2012: The Cure - "High"
2011: Blink 182 - "Josie"
2010:  Dead Milkmen - "Punk Rock Girl"  

P.S. Danette hates Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, so I won't mention their cover.  Besides, there's no M/F duet ;-)

Little Richard - "Rip It Up" (the song remains the same)

Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) died in May.  I've been meaning to cover his death, but couldn't find the song or a succinct way to describe his enormous influence on rock-n-roll.  I've decided to just link my way out of describing his impact on music since I'm unlikely to have anything novel to say on the subject.  But thanks to a tip from my friend Gregg, I've finally found the right song.

"Rip It Up" was a 1956 single from the LP "Here's Little Richard".  It's been covered by numerous musicians, but the 2020 collaboration between Richmond's Butcher Brown and Little Richard for the NFL's Monday Night Football theme is the latest.  Bottom line: continuing with a Bocephus MNF theme was no longer tenable, again.  Swapping to an updated Little Richard song?  Perfect.

"Let's ball tonight!"

Little Richard - "Rip It Up" (1956)

Little Richard and Butcher Brown - "Rip It Up" (2020)