Johnny Cash Has Been Everywhere (Man) (2012)

After the Man in Black retired from being the Dread Pirate Roberts, he had time to visit them all.

There are five Springfields in Wisconsin!? Kind of like George Foreman naming all of his kids George -- sort of defeats the purpose of having names.

Before Beatles, performer and songwriter was typically separate jobs. It was quite normal for a song to be recorded by multiple different artists and even to chart with multiple artists at the same time. The idea of a "cover version" did not really exist, since none of the versions were considered more original than the other. Famously, Elvis Presley never wrote a song himself. Beatles changed that, because they made it prestigious for performers to write their own material.

I also think Janis Joplin can rightly take credit for recording the definitive version of "To Love Somebody". I mean, the BeeGees version is good, but hers is otherworldly.

Similarly, Jimi Hendrix can surely claim to have recorded the definitive version of "All Along the Watchtower".

Actually, there's got to be a pretty long list of songs written and recorded by Dylan that somebody else recorded the definitive version of. PP&M covering "Blowing in the Wind" comes to mind.

My favorite example of this is "China Girl" by David Bowie, written by Iggy Pop.

Bowie and Iggy were friends, and for many years (maybe still to this day!), the songwriter's royalties for China Girl were Iggy's primary source of income. Which I think is great. Like a form of patronage. Bowie was a great guy.

Though I prefer Iggy's version of the song.

Siouxsie & the Banshees cover Iggy's "The Passenger", and Ms Sioux wins this time.

Now if only Bowie had covered a Banshees song, the circle would be complete.

That was an amazing cover, I like both artists but Johnny Cash just blew that out of the park. Combined with his death just a few years later too, man.

"Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode was also a excellent example.

From Nashville Songwriters Association-

Songwriters are paid via 3 royalty streams:

Mechanical Royalty – A songwriter receives a mechanical royalty from the sale of a song on an album or a legal digital download. This rate is set by a Copyright Royalty Board made up of 3 judges who meet every 5 years to set rates. The original mechanical royalty was established in 1909 and set at 2 cents. Today, the current rate is 9.1 cents (typically split with co-writers and publishers).

Performance Royalty – A songwriter receives a performance royalty when their song is performed on terrestrial broadcast radio, in a live performance venue, or via online streaming services. In the United States, performance royalties are paid out through Performing Rights Organizations (ASCAP, BMI and SESAC) and are governed by consent decrees from WWII requiring the PROs to go to rate court to receive their rates from entities seeking to license the songs they represent.

Synch Fees – A songwriter receives a synch fee when his/her song is licensed for use to synchronize with video (i.e. television, movie, YouTube video). This royalty is freely negotiated in the marketplace and is typically split 50% to the writers and 50% to the artist and record label.

Geoff Mack was probably well-paid for his work.. And from multiple artists performing and recording it, and many radio stations broadcasting it. Cash probably made more money for Mack than any other artist.

Nor Connecticut