originally published: 12/03/2025
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- For over 20 years, WXPN (88.5 FM Philadelphia), the nationally-recognized leader in Triple A Radio, has crowdsourced and broadcast 885-song countdown lists, making it one of the most ambitious and longstanding programming events across the entire medium. Last year, they broadcast the "885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century" which was preceded by 2023's "885 Greatest Songs by Women." On December 4, 2025 at 8:00am ET they will kick off the "885 Greatest Cover Songs," counting down the covers that flip the script, turn a classic inside out, or breathe new life into a tune you thought you knew best.
The popular end-of-year special programming will commence each morning and will culminate with the #1 pick on the evening of December 11. Listeners can follow along on air and online in real time on XPN.org. Also tomorrow, WXPN will launch an 885 Greatest Cover Songs Quiz for listeners to test their knowledge like "Who wrote 'Hallelujah?'"
About the 885 Cover Songs countdown, Acting Program Director for WXPN Jim McGuinn explains, "The idea for a cover-songs countdown really sparked during a Throwback Thursday theme when the audience response was electric. It reminded us how much people love hearing a great song reimagined. The enthusiasm around this year's theme has been incredible — you can feel how strongly listeners are connecting with these versions. The playback is going to be a blast, with unexpected choices, big listener passion, and a few fun surprises along the way.
What I love about cover songs is that you already know them, but the right version makes the familiar feel fresh. With listeners turning out in record numbers to vote, we can't wait to kick things off on December 4 at 8:00am and count all the way down from #885 to #1. And for anyone who misses the daytime excitement, we'll have nightly 'post-game' recaps with highlights and fun stats."
This year, WXPN listeners showed up in record numbers with over 10,000 cover songs submitted. Ahead of the countdown, the entire WXPN programming staff has shared their lists of top 10 cover songs.
Last month, the forthcoming countdown was the impetus for an episode of The New York Times' Cannonball with Wesley Morris podcast, who discussed cover songs and his own submission list with Cécile McLorin Savant.
The 885 Greatest Cover Songs countdown begins December 4th at 8:00am ET. Full details, streaming options, and the new listener quiz are available at XPN.org.
WXPN, the nationally recognized leader in Triple A radio and the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk, is the non-commercial, member-supported, public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. WXPN produces World Cafe, public radio's leading music program featuring interviews and performances with today's essential and emerging artists and distributed by NPR to more than 300 stations across the U.S. WXPN also produces the Peabody Award-winning Kids Corner, which now offers a 24-hour family-music streaming service, and XPoNential Radio on XPN2 in HD and online.
