Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes stand out as the leading specialists in punk covers, assembling an assortment of familiar figures drawn from new-school punk circles. United by shared enthusiasm for music from the 1960s and 1970s, the group operates strictly as a cover act whose selections encompass material originally performed by Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, and John Denver. Although membership shifts regularly, vocalist Spike Slawson of the Swingin' Utters assembled the project in 1995 by recruiting NOFX bassist Fat Mike, Lagwagon singer/guitarist Joey Cape, No Use for a Name guitarist Chris Shiflett, who performs under the alias Jackson, and Lagwagon drummer Dave Raun. The members initially had no plans to issue recordings, yet they contributed tracks to various punk compilations throughout much of that year.

Beginning in 1997 the band issued a series of singles each titled after the performer whose material it addressed, resulting in the releases Billy, Diamond, Bob, Denver, and Barry. Its debut full-length album, Have a Ball, followed later that same year. Two years afterward came Are a Drag, whose interpretations of well-known show tunes gained traction on college radio. Later in 1999 the group turned its attention to bubblegum hits of the 1960s and 1970s for Blow in the Wind, again finding favor on college radio while attracting attention from pop listeners drawn to its buoyant approach. The R&B-oriented Take a Break appeared in July 2003, coinciding with the band's fifth consecutive appearance on the annual Vans Warped Tour. In 2004 it delivered the live recording Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah, which revisited classic rock and easy-listening selections alongside "Hava Nagila" and incorporated video footage from the performance.

Two years later Love Their Country extended the group's reach across additional styles, addressing songs associated with the Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash, and the Eagles. Following the 2007 digital holiday sampler Hanuk-Comp, Have Another Ball! surfaced in July 2008. The Australian-themed EP Go Down Under arrived in 2011 and was succeeded by the Japanese-covers EP Sing in Japanese. Their eighth studio album, Are We Not Men? We Are Diva!, collected material from leading pop divas ranging from Madonna to Cher and surfaced in summer 2014. In 2017 the band issued its first greatest-hits compilation, Rake It In.