Tyler Childers & The Food Stamps Absolutely BROUGHT It With This “Greatest Story Ever Told” Cover

Tyler Childers just might be the “King of the Cover Song.”

As a fan of his, I’ve always been impressed when the country star goes outside of his own catalogue and successfully makes another song his own. Childers has never shied away from a cover, and that’s showcased by him tackling Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night,” as well as Pink Floyd’s “Time.”

I hate to sound like a motivational poster in an elementary school hallway, but if he Tyler can dream it, he can do it. And one song that he’s traditionally loved to take on his Bob Weir’s “Greatest Story Ever Told.” If you are wondering, “That Bob Weir?” Yes, I’m talking about the Grateful Dead band member.

Bob Weir has continually toured with some iteration of the Grateful Dead every year since 1965, and Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros are one of those iterations. The most popular version of the band, at least in the past decade, has been Dead and Company.

It consists of surviving Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart (drums) and Bill Kreutzmann (drums). John Mayer has stepped into a role that honors (not replaces) the late Jerry Garcia, and bass player Oteil Burbridge and keys player Jeff Chimenti round out the group that just recently celebrated 60 years of Grateful Dead music.

But enough about the Dead… let’s get into this video of Tyler Childers bringing to life the song “Greatest Story Ever Told,” which was included in Bob Weir’s 1972 solo album. Obviously, the song has existed for a very long time as a part of Weir’s catalogue, and Tyler Childers has even performed the song with Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros in the past.

This time around though, Childers and his band – The Food Stamps – took on the song without Bob Weir in attendance. You can clearly tell that the “Nose On The Grindstone” singer connects with this track, and it seems to be very much in his vocal range. In fact… Tyler Childers kind of pushes the boundaries of the vocals in the song, in the way that only he can.

Since I’m also an avid listener of the Grateful Dead, I’d also like to point out that Tyler Childers and The Food Stamps did a great job of briefly capturing the sound of the Dead. There’s nothing like a cover that tips its cap to the original band behind the song, and like I said before, it’s that kind of attention to detail that may place Tyler Childers at the top of the list when it comes to cover songs.

Take a listen:

Does Tyler Childers lead the music industry in looking mad as a hornet during performances? I know it’s likely a “get amped up to belt out this song” method by the talented Kentuckian, but I always get caught off guard by his seemingly angry stage presence. That being said, whatever he’s doing, it’s working beautifully. If he has to look like he just stood in line at the DMV for three hours to sing “Greatest Story Ever Told” at the top of his lungs, so be it.

A few months earlier, he actually joined Bob Weir and Wolf Bros at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall:

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