Elvis Costello took a very mature and cool view to 18-year-old pop artist Olivia Rodrigo lifting his 1978 classic “Pump It Up” for her new hit, “Brutal.” When pressed about it on Twitter, Costello — who's nothing if not one of rock's most astute musicologists — tweeted back: “This is fine by me, Billy. It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did. #subterreaneanhomesickblues #toomuchmonkeybusiness”
Costello referenced Bob Dylan's 1965 groundbreaking track “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” which was based partly on the rhythm and cadence of hero Chuck Berry's 1957 favorite, “Too Much Monkey Business.”
At his 2016 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Elvis Costello explained that he was forced to become a performer in order to sell his songs: “This honor means all the more to me because I am probably the least commercially successful songwriter to have ever (laughter) been inducted into the Hall of Fame. I am, if nothing else, persistent (laughter). I honestly did start out with the intention of being a backroom songwriter, so I have to be grateful to all the music publishers who thoughtfully sent back my demo tapes, because this forced me out of my bedroom and made me raise my most argumentative voice and stand up for my own songs.”
Elvis Costello & The Imposters will next perform on August 27th in Kansas City, Missouri at the Uptown Theater.
Their only other show currently on the books is their October 16th appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.