Cover Song Of The Month – Take Me Home Country Roads
Posted: December 11, 2010 Filed under: Cover Song of the Month, Foolishness | Tags: celebrities, cover song of the month, cover songs, folk music, humor, John Denver, music, music video, reggae, Take Me Home Country Roads, Toots & the Maytals, Toots Hibbert, you tube 29 CommentsThe song I’ve selected as Cover Song Of The Month goes way back, and crosses musical styles and international borders with the cover version.
The song Take Me Home Country Roads was co-written and performed by John Denver.
I have to admit that part of the reason I picked this song, besides thinking that the cover version is great, was to rag on Denver for dying in a plane crash because he was flying drunk. It turns out that while he did crash a plane, he was not drunk and that was not the cause of the crash.
Since all my drunk flying cracks have been wiped out by facts, I’ll just go on and show the original John Denver version of Take Me Home Country Roads.
The cover version I’ve chosen is by one of the gods of reggae, Toots Hibbert and his band The Maytals. It is said that Toots invented reggae…or at least the word that represents the style of music. Who knows if that’s the absolute truth? It makes a good story though if you are Toots Hibbert. I’m not.
Here is Toots and The Maytals version of Take Me Home Country Roads:
While radically different than the original, I have to tell you I love the Maytals cover version of this song. The feel and energy are very different. Truthfully, if you offered me a John Denver or a Toots and The Maytals CD, I am going to take Toots every time.
So now it is time to do what we do every month at Cover Song Of The Month Time…vote and comment! This month I have included a bonus poll question on the ethics of my earlier non fact based opinion of John Denver.
Blurt 
heard a bizarre dance remix cover of this song this past weekend… good times…
You did? I’ve got an active imagination, but I’m struggling to think of what that’d sound like.
it would sound like this:
No. You were wrong and you are wrong wrong again…yak breath. I am only being harsh because you believed JD could have flown his plane drunk just because he had driven his car drunk.. .this is a beautiful song! I love this song., I am, one from around the world who has always liked Johnny boy very, very much…despite the fact that he may not have always been golden and good. More likely Rocky Mountain high.
♥
I came to vote again…but received this polite message that might vote had already been counted. I’m from Chicago, I get to vote more than once.
No, no. One vote…and I counted yours even though your chad was dangling.
Yeah, I kind of feel bad thinking that about the guy when it wasn’t true. I did see in fact checking myself that I’m not the only one who thought so. All the same, oops.
I tried to vote again when I came for the lastest post. I tol you and I tol you-readers from Chicago always get to vote twice. Even if they write “might” instead of MY vote was already counted.
)
I always loved John Denver, and was really shocked when he died…this is one of my favourite songs of his…however, I think Toots and the girls did an amazing job…I like it! Thanks for posting it!
Wendy
Toots is great. I got to see him a few years ago in Massachusetts
I believe he died in his experimental plane, or as I like to think of those tinker toys, a mental plane.
That is what happened.
I think someone has to experiment with planes. I’m not sure songwriters are included in that particular someone.
Love Toots and the Maytals version, refreshing. Great, now it’s stuck in my head for the rest of the night…
No disrespect, sir, but is it possible that you were drunk when he crashed?
None taken, ma’am, it isn’t out of the question.
Yah mon! Toots’ da mon, mon.
I agree, the voting seems to be running our way too!
But was John Kennedy Jr. drunk when he crashed his plane? Because if he wasn’t, I owe somebody 25 cents.
No, that was Gary Busey.
Love the cover, never liked the original. Wasn’t he a muppet?
John Denver? I don’t know…maybe Bert and Ernie’s neighbor?
Love the Toots version! Somehow, it sounds a lot more enticing to take country roads back to Jamaica rather than West Virginia. Frankly, I don’t even know where WV is. Is that really a state or a state of mind?
I think it is both a state and state of mind. Jamaica is warmer and has better beaches.
I love me some reggae, but I gotta say I like the original better. Speaking of reggae covers of pop songs, you ever notice that Bob Marley sings the chorus to the theme to “The Banana Splits” in “Buffalo Soldiers”?
Check the archives! (Or are you egging him on?)
Egging me on?!?! I am self egging!
No egg.
Poor JD. He was a good soul. I would’ve possibly believed under an influence other than alcohol. It wasn’t before the Internet, though. I remember that’s how I found out.
I picked the cover song. I really enjoyed it, especially the finale, which I thought was going to head down a Tom Jones road. Thankfully, it did not.
What replaces “Mountain Mama?” I couldn’t make that out.
Do you know where the background singers got those dresses? I want one.
Darn, darn, darn! I meant to say, “Far out.” Those dresses are far out.
I think he is scatting the mountain mama part.
Far out.
John Denver’s death was tragic. I knew that it had something to do with a hard to reach valve. The picture of the aircraft on that Wikipedia page surprised me, though. I always thought it was something more like an ultralight.
Thanks for the tunes!