The recording “Luka” by Suzanne Vega was released in 1987, probably in April. For those in North America, the song’s big debut was May 9th when she and her band played it on the late-night program, Saturday Night Live. I suppose playing on that show is still a big deal; in 1987 it was a very big deal, the way The Beatles on Ed Sullivan was a milestone.

I wondered: how many cover versions of “Luka” are there in the Great Big Computer in the Sky?

There are, it turns out, a lot. I started listening to them. Some are professional, some are very good amateurs and some are a bit rough around the edges. But interestingly, after looking at hundreds of videos, I did not find a single one that was not sincere, that was not done simply because the person or the group was into the song.

I thought I would put excerpts from a few into a tribute video. The project grew a little bit as I became fascinated by this subculture of “Luka” covers.

Here it is; hope you like it.