Bob Dylan, St. Vincent and more cover classic love songs for new EP of same-sex wedding songs

Bob Dylan appears alongside Kesha, St. Vincent and more in a new compilation EP called Universal Love. The EP features covers of classic love songs with pronouns switched pronouns from the original, so that they can serve as wedding songs for same-sex couples. Some of the songs featured on the album are “My Guy”, a Temptations cover performed by Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, and “And I Love Him”, a Beatles cover performed by Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard.

According to a feature in the New York Times, many of the artists chose to do the project to honor the LGBTQ+ loved ones in their lives, and even to honor the legacy of songwriters who could not come out during their lifetime, as in the case of Valerie June’s cover of “Mad About the Girl” by Noël Coward. This EP was funded by MGM Resorts, where 20-30% of the weddings ceremonies held at their hotels are same sex marriages.

Although the world is seeing more and more queer pop stars today, many of them are still feel pressure to steer away from same sex pronouns or to keep the pronouns in their music gender neutral, even though heterosexual musicians do not face this same issue as the pronouns used in their music are not seen as restrictive. This EP is one small step of many in the right direction for acceptance, and the specificity of this album will provide a more impactful experience for many. Listen to the project down below.