Despite being among the greatest songwriters of his generation, Jason Isbell has never had a song or album be certified Gold (500,000 units sold) or Platinum (1 million) by the RIAA, with one exception: his 2013 classic “Cover Me Up”, which went Platinum after Morgan Wallen covered it in 2019. Now, in the aftermath of Wallen getting caught on video using a racial slur, Isbell has vowed to donate all of his proceeds from “Cover Me Up” to the Nashville chapter of the NAACP.
After footage showed Wallen using the N-word, his sales skyrocketed, which helped his new album Dangerous earn the No. 1 spot in America. On February 10th, Isbell quote-tweeted an article about Wallen’s perverse successes, writing, “So… A portion of this money goes to me, since I wrote ‘Cover Me Up.’” He added, “I’ve decided to donate everything I’ve made so far from this album to the Nashville chapter of the @NAACP. Thanks for helping out a good cause, folks.”
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Revisit Isbell’s (superior) version of “Cover Me Up” below. Last month, he and his wife Amanda Shires performed their pro-choice song “The Problem” on Fallon, and last year Isbell and his band the 400 Unit released Reunions, one of the Top 50 albums of 2020. Earlier this week, Isbell spoke to Consequence of Sound about the politics of mental health.
As for Wallen, his record contract has been suspended, and his music pulled from radio stations across the country. But hey, at least Diplo is still a fan, and even played his collaboration with Wallen at a recent Super Bowl super-spreader party in Tampa Bay, Florida.
So… A portion of this money goes to me, since I wrote ‘Cover Me Up.’ I’ve decided to donate everything I’ve made so far from this album to the Nashville chapter of the @NAACP. Thanks for helping out a good cause, folks. https://t.co/Ch3FlDBmJf
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) February 10, 2021