Soul legend Al Green turns his attention to college rock band REM, sharing a cover of the Georgia band’s 1993 single “Everybody Hurts.”
Green’s cover of the song was released on Tuesday (November 19), with the veteran singer reimagining the original in his signature soul style, with a full band including strings and backing vocals backing his delivery Hopeful lyrics.
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“While recording ‘Everybody Hurts,’ I could really feel the heaviness of the song and wanted to inject a little hope and light into it,” Green wrote on social media. “There is always light that can break through those dark times.”
Originally released in 1992 on the album automatically for the people“Everybody Hurts” was released as the record’s second single and became its most successful single. While the album itself peaked at number two on the charts advertising billboard Of the 200 songs, “Everybody Hurts” peaked at number 29 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number 13 on the pop charts.
It has since been used by a number of charities, including Samaritans UK, Help Haiti Fund and the Disaster Emergency Committee, who organized the cover version to help support the devastation caused by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Covers by Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Rod Stewart, Jon Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue and more Many contributed, and it eventually peaked at No. 21 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart.
The song became mired in mild controversy in February 2019 when President Donald Trump shared a clip from his State of the Union address amid a montage of frustrated congressional Democrats. REM later protested his use of the song, citing the title of their 1988 song “Pretend to Be a World Leader” in their response, and eventually convinced Twitter to remove Trump’s original clip.
The cover of “Everybody Hurts” is the first single Green has released since last year’s cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” and his first new music in ten years, following his 2018 cover of Freddy Fender’s “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.” . Green’s final studio album, put it downreleased in 2008, peaked at No. 9 advertising billboard 200.
