David Byrne covers Biz Markie's “Just A Friend”

Former Talking Heads man David Byrne played a benefit show last night at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge, raising awareness for the Content Creators Coalition, a campaign group seeking improved radio royalties for artists.

During the show, Byrne decided to cover old-school rapper Biz Markie’s classic track “Just A Friend” to demonstrate the message.

“Mr. Markie didn’t write that tune,” Byrne said of his song choice. “The drum and keyboard loop was lifted from a Freddie Scott recording, but the song was written by Gamble and Huff, the great songwriting team that wrote for The O’Jays and The Spinners. So chances are Biz Markie didn’t see any royalties from all the radio play that song got.”

Watch the performance in question beneath:

[via CoS]