One of the most popular series of B Lists, Digging Deep, has gone missing since I took the reigns of Hidden Track. It’s been nearly two years since the last time we scoured YouTube for fun covers of popular songs.

This time around we’ll be breaking up our list of ten videos into two parts to help speed up your load times. Better late than never, here’s part one of the fifth edition of The B List -- Digging Deep…

1. Arcade Fire treated President Barack Obama’s campaign staff to a private concert last week in Washington D.C. The Canadian group offered their take on Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The U.S.A. for the staffers…

READ ON for four more great covers including U-Melt doin’ Paul Simon, Panic rockin’ out some Marley and Jason Mraz pressing the Peg Button…

2. Y’know how Phish fans went nuts for The McLovins’ cover of YEM? Well, Mike Doughty’s fans showed the same level of appreciation for YouTube user Magical Polaris, who sings gorgeous versions of Unsingable Name and Down On The River By The Sugar Plant…

3. One aspect that sets U-Melt apart from other jambands is the theatrical flair they add to their compositions and covers. Keyboard wiz Zac Lasher studied theater at Emerson College for four years before joining the band. Lasher and the band enlisted Broadway actress Dani Marcus to sing Miriam Makeba’s part for a cover of Paul Simon’s Under African Skies…

4. At last year’s Red Rocks run, Widespread Panic busted out their cover of Bob Marley’s Stir It Up for the first time in 494 shows. In fact, they’ve only played the song twice in the past 23 years. Now THAT’s a rarity. Here’s a clip of Stir It Up from Red Rocks that the band posted on their YouTube channel…

5. Have you ever looked at a list of people born on your birthday? About five years ago I realized that singer/songwriter/remedy-ier Jason Mraz was born on the same day and same year I was, so I’ve kept an eye on him through the highs and lows of his career. He’s currently peaking with the undeniable success of I’m Yours. In concert Jason’s been known to throw in a cover or two and here’s his take on Steely Dan’s Peg…

Check back next week for the second part of The B List: Searching For Deep Cover V. We’re always open to suggestions.

Scott Bernstein

Scott Bernstein co-founded Hidden Track in October 2006 and was managing editor until taking over as EiC in January 2008. Scotty also writes for Relix Magazine and curates YEMblog.com.

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