Song: Make You Feel My Love
Artist: Adele
Original artist: Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan must be one of the most covered artists of the modern era. The web tells me
that more than 600 musicians have covered his work and in excess of 1,500 covers
have been made of close to 300 songs.
So, I am going to dedicate this blog plus the next couple to his work and, I suspect, I will
revisit Dylan again several times in the future.
I’ll kick off with something comparatively modern (for me!) – an Adele version of a song
that sounds like it was written for her – Make You Feel My Love. It was included on
Adele’s debut album, 19, in 2008 and was the only song on the album not written or co-
written by the lady herself. It was the fourth single released off the album and it initially
peaked at No 26 in the UK charts.
I say ‘initially’ because the Adele version would go on to achieve further success in
2010 thanks to it being a popular choice with talent show contestants. It featured three
times on X Factor and gained further attention thanks to its inclusion in the BBC’s
Comic Relief charity programme. The rejuvenated version reached No 4 in the charts.
The song was the one featured in a prank by Adele when eight of her impersonators
were invited to London’s Wimbledon Theatre to audition for a non-existent show. Adele
disguised herself and took part in the fake audition and not long after she started
singing the other impersonators realised they had been duped. The video (below)
explains all better than I can. I advise against trying to read the sub-titles as they are
among the worst I have ever seen.
Dylan included the song on his Time Out of Mind album and frequently includes it on
live performances. I don’t think he ever released it as a single.
Others to record Make You Feel My Love include Michael Bolton, Neil Diamond, Elkie
Brooks, Boy George, Garth Brooks and Pink.
