Ray Padgett is a music blogger extraordinaire who writes about cover songs so you don't have to. His blog, Cover Me, has been going strong since 2007 with no signs of slowing down and his book I'm Your Fan, part of the 33 1/3 series, is available at a bookseller near you (or Amazon. But avoid Amazon). In part one of our interview, Ray sat with me across virtual time-space and talked about the history and purpose of the tribute album, the music of Leonard Cohen and the Machiavellian game of realpolitik that entails being the reigning King of Covers. Long live the King!