OffBeat

On June 5, a 25th-anniversary edition of Paul Simon's classic Graceland record will be released in various formats, and in conjunction with the release, a series of videos of artists covering songs from Graceland will be posted online as well. This video, the first of the bunch, was posted by Rolling Stone today, and features GIVERS covering "That Was Your Mother", the album's second-to-last track. GIVERS are an unsurprising choice for the video series, given how many comparisons have been made between the Lafayette-based band and Simon circa-Graceland. The pairing of the group with the song makes even more sense, since "That Was Your Mother"—a zydeco tune that referenced Lafayette, zydeco and Clifton Chenier—was originally recorded for Graceland with Rockin' Dopsie, Jr. in the Cajun capital. Taylor Guarisco, GIVERS' guitarist and lead singer, appears on bass here, harkening back to his earlier days playing bass in zydeco bands. Joining GIVERS in the video are Lost Bayou Ramblers brothers Louis (on fiddle) and Andre (on accordion) Michot and veteran saxophonist Dickie Landry, who worked on the original recording of "That Was Your Mother". As a bonus, here's video of Paul Simon performing "That Was Your Mother" during the Simon & Garfunkel Jazz Fest set in 2010. View full size...