Ever since Elliott Smith’s perfectly imperfect live version of Hank Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” at Largo, I’ve had a soft spot for covers of early ’80s country tunes. And while it’s hard to beat that half-reverent take, Bon Iver made an equally unusual pick at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium this summer: “If Hollywood Don’t Need You (Honey I Still Do),” a 1982 Don Williams hit about his lover leaving Amarillo for Tinseltown. The lyrics don’t really expand beyond the title, but there is this priceless, dated shout-out: “Oh, and if you see Burt Reynolds / Would you shake his hand for me / And tell ol’ Burt I’ve seen all his movies.”
Hear the faithful take above, as Justin Vernon and friends have since retired their nod to “Music City.”
