Some country music purists think country artists should just sing country, even though the genre itself is influenced by plenty of other styles of music, including rock. With that in mind, we picked four country singers who covered rock songs, and absolutely nailed it.
Videos by Wide Open Country
1. Carrie Underwood, "Alone"
Let's face it, Carrie Underwood can sing literally anything. Underwood, who has been known to cover Guns N' Roses in her live shows, is an outspoken fan of rock music, even playing it on her own Carrie's Country SiriusXM channel.
Recently, Underwood showed off her vocal chops with a stirring rock ballad. Underwood sang Heart's "Alone" while on American Idol. It's a song she first sang when she was competing on Idol, 20 years prior.
"I grew up listening to everything," Underwood tells Audacy's Totally Private.. "I do have quite the affinity for rock music and metal, and I just love the energy, I think, more than anything. "
2. Luke Combs, "Fast Car"
When Luke Combs covered Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," it was a way for him to pay homage to a song that was part of the soundtrack of his childhood. Little could he have known at the time the lengths that song would go, and what it would help both him and Tracy Chapman achieve. Not only did "Fast Car" become a No. 1 song, but it helped Chapman make history, becoming the first Black woman as a song's sole writer to top the chart in its 33-year history. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award.
"When I was 5 years old, my dad and I would be in his truck. And he would always play music for me," Combs tells People. "He had a Tracy Chapman cassette tape, and 'Fast Car' is one of the first songs I remember. I've always been a huge fan of it and think of my dad and our time together when I hear it."
Combs loves rock music so much, he even enjoys rock concerts.
"It feels like freedom to me," he adds.
3. Dolly Parton, "Let It Be"
Dolly Parton is joined by both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on "Let It Be." The song is on Parton's 2023 Rockstar album, which also marked a career first for the two former Beatles. According to Billboard, their collaborative version of "Let It Be" is the first time a song crediting two Beatles members has charted since the group was intact.
But Parton's reason for covering the song are much more personal.
"I just sent them a love note through their managers. I just said what I was doing," Parton tells NPR. "And I said, 'I didn't want to put you on the spot, but I'd love to have you sing with me on my rock album. And if you're interested, call me at this number.' And all the people I reached out to said, 'Yes, we'd love to.' I was very honored and very proud and very humbled by that."
4. Travis Tritt, "Take It Easy"
Travis Tritt's cover of "Take It Easy" by the Eagles is so good, people sometimes forget it was a rock song first. Tritt recorded the song for the star-studded Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles album, out in 1993. But his version also became a radio hit for him, as well as a concert staple.
Tritt also became instrumental in getting members of the Eagles, who were arguing at the time, back together to shoot the video.
"After years passed, you really sort of remember that you were friends first," Glenn Frey recalls in the History of the Eagles documentary (via Rolling Stone). "You have a lot of common history together and a lot of shared experiences. I remembered mostly the good stuff... I just remembered how much we genuinely had liked each other and how much fun we'd had."
