Covers

Posted by Henry on December 07, 2003

In Reply to: Whoops!! posted by Bruce Kahl on December 06, 2003

: : : Does anyone know the significance of "cover" in the term "cover band"?

: : As per MW, an intransitive sense of cover is "to act as a substitute or replacement during an absence" as in:
: : "The substitute teacher covered my class while I was away on sabattical".

: The correct spelling is "sabbatical".

It's probably a band that performs the songs of other groups, ie it covers the material of other groups. If it imitates one particular group, it is a tribute band, eg The Bootleg Beatles, Mama Mia (Abba), Rolling Clones, Fragile Yes)...There are lots more with clever names.