Arrested Pulse

All over the world, people record themselves covering the songs of musicians they admire then upload their videos to sites like YouTube. Elton John's "Rocket Man" has always been a favorite of mine and one I play frequently on my own piano. Here are a few impressive covers of that song by musicians, both professional and amateur, that are worth taking a listen to. I wish I could perform like them but I can't. All I can do is share their great work and hope you appreciate it as much as I do.

Acoustic Guitar, Rocket Flair
I'm always impressed when a person interprets a song originally composed and recorded with one instrument using another. The singer here, Cody Turpen, is clearly a talented musician and I think you'll agree that his spirited cover of this song is well worth listening to. That he captures Elton's 70s energy, and yet makes his version very much his own piece, is really impressive. I hope this guy goes out to open mics often and gets his name out there. Someone significant needs to sign him up for a major deal.

A Wistful, Fun, Engaging Sing-Along
Jason Mraz's cover of this song is engaging not only for its originality but for how he makes it a sing-along. The subdued guitar beautifully complements Mraz's powerful vocals. Not only is he connected to the song, he's connected to the people who watched him perform it life at the Cafe Dachkammer in May, 2008.


Perfection Guaranteed
Don't let the goofy winks and smug smiles fool you. Brody Dolyniuk's just trying to imitate classic Elton in full form. Stick with the song and you'll see within the first minute that this guy's got it--the style, the voice, the manner, the whole spirit of the original. An excellent piano player and beautiful singer.


Crisp, Lean, Spot-On Professionalism
This singer, who calls himself DepthWish, basically just strums the chord progression of "Rocket Man"--but his crisp, lean, spot-on vocals keep his interpretation of the song from becoming monotonous. Far, far from it.




Hacker Piano Player Goes Pro
Talk about unpretentious! On his YouTube Channel Profile, this performer, Dave, describes himself as "just a hacker piano player." He continues: "I don't read music much but I know chords. I simply read the chords and improvise." Oh, if we could all "just" be hackers like this dude!



Just For the Love of It
This performer, identified only as cwaddy7 on his YouTube Channel Profile, belts out a cool rendition of "Rocket Man" in this home recording. I really like this video because it shows a guy who loves to play guitar and sing and share his covers with others. Yes, music can be that simple sometimes.


One Last Cover Worth Sharing!
If Elton dies tomorrow, his younger classic self lives on in
owen320, whose videos of him covering Elton's songs I can't show you here because he's (unfortunately) disabled the embed link on his YouTube channel. But definitely check him out. He's Elton Incarnate. Really. Truly.