Ray wrote the book after a long article on the story behind Jimi Hendrix covering "All Along the Watchtower" on the blog went viral in 2014. It became one of the book's chapters
Devo had to get Mick Jagger to personally approve their Stones cover since it was so weird. They met in a conference room, where they watched Jagger dance around to their recording.
"Midnight Train to Georgia" was originally titled "Midnight Plane to Houston." The title was suggested inadvertently by Farrah Fawcett on a phone call with the writer. Glady Knight refused to record it until she heard the plane/train and Houston/Georgia switch.
David Byrne did not want to record a cover, since he worried it would be all the Talking Heads would ever been known for. His bandmates and producer Brian Eno persuaded him - but, when it became their first big hit, he refused to ever record another.
Elvis Presley wanted to cover "I Will Always Love You" but when he demanded half the songwriting credit, Dolly Parton turned him down. She was distraught - until Whitney Houston covered it. Whitney was supposed to cover a different song for the Bodyguard, but Kevin Costner himself suggested "I Will Always Love You"
Trent Reznor didn't like Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" - until he saw the music video
The Gourds' bluegrass "Gin and Juice" cover was arguably the first song to ever go viral on the internet. But it went viral mislabeled as Phish, so the band didn't get the fame or glory from their only hit.

About the author: Ray Padgett lives in New York City and also works as a senior music publicist for Shore Fire Media, where his clients have included Ben Harper, Lana Del Rey, and Maxwell. His twitter is @covermesongs, and more of his work can be found at www.covermesongs.com/. His music writing has appeared in SPIN, MTV, Vice, Consequence of Sound, and more, and he’s been interviewed as an expert on cover songs by the Wall Street Journal and the BBC.