"Cover Artist"

In an otherwise informative Wikipedia article on Charlie Poole, I was struck by the use of the term 'cover artist' in :

Poole was essentially a cover artist, having composed few, if any, of his recordings...

The Wikipedia link actually goes to an article on cover bands.

I was pretty sure that this usage of 'cover' was fairly recent and this definition confirmed that:

cover version

–noun

a recording of a song by a singer, instrumentalist, or group other than the original performer or composer.

Also called cover.

---

[Origin: 1965–70]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.


Traditional musicians recording in the 20's and 30's were rarely 'singer-songwriters', even if some, like A. P. Carter, gained copyrights to heretofore traditional songs.

Another article in Wikipedia offers more perspective:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_version

Here's an excerpt:

Prior to the mid-20th century the notion of an original version of a popular tune would, of course, have seemed slightly odd - the production of musical entertainment being seen essentially as a live event, even if one that was reproduced at home via a copy of the sheet music, learned by heart, or captured on a shallac recording disc. Popular musicians (and especially modern listeners) have now begun to use the word "cover" to refer to any remake of a previously recorded tune.

So I would argue that using the term 'cover artist' for an old time musician such as Charlie Poole is a misnomer. I would further argue that it's not appropriate for old time musicians today. You could argue for 'Revivalist' maybe, but if you're doing traditional tunes you're not a 'cover' artist.