Successive versions of Harlequin with Guitar, all by Pablo Picasso

Stop Trying to Be a Cover Band

Relationships require innovation, originality, and co-creation

Who would you say is the best cover band, ever? I’ve heard it argued that The Beatles, circa 1963, deserve the title. And it makes sense. By the time of their first recordings and television appearances, they were already seasoned musicians and skilled performers who could make everything they played come alive.

Covers had been their bread and butter for years. Their early albums were cover-heavy, and they were just such an engaging band, they’d have been popular even if their songwriting efforts had fallen flat.

But then that’s all they would ever have amounted to—a great, mostly forgotten cover band. In reality, in 1963 they were just getting started. Everything that made The Beatles The Beatles came after that. They turned all their attention to creating new music, new sounds, and never looked back.

Regardless of your musical taste, your favorite band has a distinctive, unique, instantly recognizable sound. They’ve brought something new, original, and creative to their genre… or created a new one.

Same with art. Picasso developed his skill as a painter emulating the styles of his time. But what he’s known and remembered for is what he went on to create that no one else had conceived…