July 5, 2019 11:57AM ET
Hear Beck Join Bird and the Bee on Campy Cover of Van Halen's 'Hot for Teacher'
Track appears on Greg Kurstin and Inara George's upcoming LP Interpreting the Masters: A Tribute to Van Halen
The Bird and the Bee — the duo of singer Inara George and producer Greg Kurstin — have tapped Beck for a delightfully campy cover of Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher." The track will appear on the Bird and the Bee's upcoming covers album, Interpreting the Masters: A Tribute to Van Halen, out August 8th via No Expectations/Release Me Records.
The Bird and the Bee's version of "Hot for Teacher" cleverly flips the hair metal classic into a hot jazz tune, with Eddie Van Halen's iconic guitar riff transformed into a rollicking organ rumble while George croons the tune as if she's on stage at a smokey lounge. The duo also do away with David Lee Roth's delightfully juvenile spoken word part, but in place of "I dropped my pencil!" it's Beck playing a substitute teacher named Mr. Goodbody who comes to class with a very specific lesson plan: "We'll be reviewing the text from Moby Dick, so please turn now to page… 69."
Beck — who worked with Kurstin on his 2017 album Colors — said of the collaboration, "The Bird and The Bee bring unforeseen angles to the Van Halen song book. Makes sense because, like Eddie Van Halen, Greg is a kind of musical wunderkind in his own right and Inara's vocals bring a cool counterpart to Diamond Dave's pyrotechnics. Making a cameo on their version of 'Hot For Teacher' felt like an extension of the kind of riffing and fooling around we do in the studio on a normal session."
The Bird and the Bee's version of "Hot for Teacher" follows previously released covers of "Panama" and "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love." The duo will also embark on a 15-date tour later this year, starting with a special show in Los Angeles on August 2nd that will feature Dave Grohl on drums and Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass. George will then continue the tour with a backing band August 11th in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In This Article: Beck,	Van Halen