NEW YORK, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Flanked by Tift Merritt and Marilyn Carino at New York City's Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday night, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne went where you might not have expected him to go -- he covered Biz Markie's beloved 1989 karaoke classic, "Just a Friend."
Byrne's performance was part of an all-star effort supporting Content Creators Coalition-NYC, which is petitioning for performers who didn't write their songs to receive compensation for radio play.
"Mr. Markie didn’t write that tune (although he did probably write the rap)," Byrne explained in a newsletter about his chosen cover. "The drum and keyboard loop was lifted from a Freddie Scott recording, but the song was written by Gamble and Huff, the great songwriting team that wrote for The O’Jays and The Spinners. So chances are Biz Markie didn’t see any royalties from all the radio play that song got."
Watch the full performance below:
[Pitchfork]
