For example, in the USA the song Gloria is known as a Laura Brannigan hit from 1982, but it is really a reworked and fully reworded version of a 1979 Italian song, no lyrics other than the word Gloria is shared.
I found out about the Italian version while watching the wolf of wallstreet, song sounded familiar...but due to being in Italian it didn't catch until the beat and the lyric "Gloria" since the beat is almost the same.
And speaking of 1982, Dolly Parton had a hit song called I Will Always Love You. Of course, the Whitney Houston version from 1992 is by far the better-known one.
I wish i could find it again but it has been taken down, the 1979 song Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles is a cover of a 1979 song called Video Killed The Radio Star, by Bruce Wooley and the camera club. Bruce Wooley, and Trevor Horn (Of the buggles) wrote it together. Weird cover story.
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye. The Gladys Knight and the Pips version was the first released commercially. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles recorded it first, but it was not released commercially, having been rejected by Barry Gordy as not having been "strong enough".
"Respect" - Aretha Franklin. Otis Redding wrote and recorded the song. She took it to much greater heights a couple of years later.
"Blinded by the Light," by Manfred Mann. Originally by Bruce Springsteen.
Quote from: Henry on October 06, 2014, 12:36:01 PM
And speaking of 1982, Dolly Parton had a hit song called I Will Always Love You. Of course, the Whitney Houston version from 1992 is by far the better-known one.
The song is older than 1982 (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). Parton originally penned it in 1973, releasing it in 1974. It is, far, far better than Houston's screeching that permeates the cover.
Hugo Montenegro - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Paul Revere and the Raiders- Indian Reservation (originally released 1959 by Marvin Rainwater as "The Pale Faced Indian")
"Get Down, Make Love"--originally by Queen, covered by Nine Inch Nails. I think the NIN version is slightly more famous.
"Hurt"--originally by NIN, but covered by Johnny Cash. I prefer the NIN version, but a lot of people seem to prefer Cash's version.
The song "The First Cut Is the Deepest" was written by Cat Stevens and originally released by P.P. Arnold. The more famous versions are by Sheryl Crow and Rod Stewart.
"Twist and Shout" is widely associated with the Beatles, especially by younger people who remember it from the Ferris Bueller movie, but it was originally a hit for the Isley Brothers.
Much more recently, Natalie Imbruglia had a hit with "Torn" (seemingly inescapable on the radio in 1997), a song originally recorded by an obscure band named Ednaswap.
"I'm A Man." Originally by the Spencer Davis Group. A minor hit by Chicago on their first album.
I would almost argue that Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me" is more famous than the original by The Kinks.
Can't remember who originally recorded "Soul Man" -- think it may have been Sam & Dave -- but The Blues Brothers' version is more famous.
For a long time, "With a Little Help From My Friends" performed by Joe Cocker was much more popular than the Beatles' version on Sgt. Pepper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POaaw_x7gvQ
Some might argue that John Belushi performing as Joe Cocker performing "With a Little Help From My Friends" enjoyed a brief spot at the top:
http://vimeo.com/66707201
Quote from: hbelkins on October 06, 2014, 01:12:51 PM
"I'm A Man." Originally by the Spencer Davis Group. A minor hit by Chicago on their first album.
I would almost argue that Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me" is more famous than the original by The Kinks.
Can't remember who originally recorded "Soul Man" -- think it may have been Sam & Dave -- but The Blues Brothers' version is more famous.
Not sure I'd argue any of those as being more famous than the originals.
Spencer Davis Group took "I'm A Man" up to #10 on the Billboard charts while Chicago's version only got to #49.
Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me" is more famous due to a Nissan commercial than anything else, but may be equal in how famous and popular the song is.
"Soul Man" is a Sam and Dave song (penned by Issac Hayes and David Porter), and I'd argue that the original is more famous than the Blues Brothers cover. An interesting tidbit is that Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn played on both the original and the Blues Brothers cover.
Nissan commercial? Not quite. "You Really Got Me" was a huge hit for Van Halen almost twenty years prior. People used to tell the Kinks they did a great Van Halen cover, it was so well known.
Quote from: Molandfreak on October 06, 2014, 12:45:04 PM
"Blinded by the Light," by Manfred Mann. Originally by Bruce Springsteen.
*shrug* As a Springsteen fan, that's debatable to me. I was raised on the original, and never heard Manfred Mann's version until I was into my 20s. Although I realize that's anecdata and doesn't actually speak to which one's more famous.
On the opposite side, "Jersey Girl". Written by Tom Waits, but in my eyes, has to be a considered Springsteen song.
Wow, we went this far without mentioning Jimi Hendrix's cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower".
Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2014, 01:44:29 PM
Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me" is more famous due to a Nissan commercial than anything else, but may be equal in how famous and popular the song is.
I always thought the reason that one was famous was because every radio station played "Eruption"/"You Really Got Me", where it was always played as a medley, even though they are separate songs, like Queen's "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions".
Who can forget that classic George Benson theme from the Muhammad Ali biography movie The Greatest, starring Muhammad Ali: "The Greatest Love of All"?
The answer is EVERYONE, because all anyone remembers is the Whitney Houston cover.
(Apologies to Randy Watson and Sexual Chocolate, who never truly got their due for their version, but it is what it is.)
Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young did better than Hall & Oates did.
Broken Arrow by Rod Stewart did better than Robbie Roberston who wrote and originally released it.
Eric Clapton I Shot The Sherrif did better than Bob Marley.
Also Clapton had hits with JJ. Cale Cocaine, and After Midnight.
Depending on who you ask, the unplugged Layla is a hit over the original for today's generation of music lovers. Though the same artist, it is a cover. However the classic Clapton fans will say that the Derek and The Dominos version is the more famous one.
Blue Suede's "Hooked on a Feeling" was a cover of a cover. The original was by B.J. Thomas, and the first cover was by Jonathan King (who added the hooga chaka to it). The David Hasselhoff cover is well known, too ;)
I'll start the list of countless Led Zeppelin songs that they were not the first to record but nonetheless will always get most of the credit for with Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues."
Might as well add Robert Johnson's "Crossroads," and the many people from Eric Clapton on that got more credit than he did.
Come to think of it, the world of covered blues songs could be a thread all on its own.
Does anyone know ig Billy Joel's Shameless was more popular by Mr. Joel himself or after it gotten covered by Garth Brooks? If Mr. Brooks was more popular than this would count toward this thread.
I don't know if the argument could be made that Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi is *less* popular than the cover by Counting Crows & Vanessa Carlton, but try finding someone under 30 who doesn't think those versions are reversed.
"If You Asked Me To" by Celine Dion was far more popular than the original Patti Labelle version. I didn't even know the latter existed until I heard it play over the credits of "License to Kill".
"Hard To Handle" By the Black Crowes was originally done by Otis Redding in 1968.
"How Am I Supposed To Live Without You". The Michael Bolton version from 1989/90 is most remembered, but it was done by Laura Branigan in 1982.
"Ashes By Now". The LeAnn Womak version is more known, but Rodney Crowell did the original.
quote from roadman65:
QuoteDoes anyone know ig Billy Joel's Shameless was more popular by Mr. Joel himself or after it gotten covered by Garth Brooks? If Mr. Brooks was more popular than this would count toward this thread.
I had no idea "Shameless" was not a Garth original. I did stand out to me as a not-very-country country song, though.
R.E.M.'s "Superman" from 1986's Life's Rich Pageant was a cover from a group called The Clique, who did the original in 1969.
Quote from: NJRoadfan on October 06, 2014, 06:39:10 PM
"If You Asked Me To" by Celine Dion was far more popular than the original Patti Labelle version. I didn't even know the latter existed until I heard it play over the credits of "License to Kill".
Celine Dion also covered "Power of Love," which was originally done by Jennifer Rush in 1984.
Phil Collins did "A Groovy Kind of Love," which covered a previous version by The Mindbenders.
Carole King's "You've Got a Friend". For many years after it was released, James Taylor's version got far more air play than the original did.
Quote from atohi:
Quote
Celine Dion also covered "Power of Love," which was originally done by Jennifer Rush in 1984.
Phil Collins did "A Groovy Kind of Love," which covered a previous version by The Mindbenders.
Air Supply also did "The Power of Love".
As for "A Groovy Kind of Love", I like Phil Collins's version, but the Mindbenders version has better rhythm/timing/ect.
"Mr. Tambourine Man" as recorded by the Byrds was certainly a bigger hit and more popular than Bob Dylan's original. Whether it is more "famous" might be debatable.
Same might be true for their version of "My Back Pages," too.
Quote from: SteveG1988 on October 06, 2014, 12:32:02 PM
For example, in the USA the song Gloria is known as a Laura Brannigan hit from 1982
interesting. when I think of "Gloria", I think of either Them or U2. don't know if I've ever heard Laura Brannigan's song.
Not sure about relative popularity, but I remember when my younger brother was excited about this song from Limp Bizkit. After actually realizing what was being screeched, I immediately said "Oh! Faith. That's a George Michael cover." He didn't believe me (or my sister) until he was able to confirm with an internet search. At the time I recall him being devastated.
Also relevant: http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2013-04-18/cover-me-20-famous-songs-you-had-no-idea-were-covers/
It's interesting that this discussion doesn't dip a lot before 1970. If it did, there would be no end. Sometime around then, for reasons not clear to me, there was a lessening of the practice of everyone rerecording everyone else's songs, which previously happened so much that it's hard to know where the sweater stops unraveling.
In any case, two from the fifties:
"Sh-boom," made famous by the Crew Cuts, but originally released by The Chords. "Hound Dog," immortalized by Elvis Presley, originally recorded several years earlier by Big Mama Thornton. Predictably for the time, both originals were recorded by blacks, and were rerecorded by whites more marketable to an America not yet comfortable with so-called "race records" (in the case of "Sh-Boom," just months after the original, and with far greater airplay).
Quote from: roadman on October 06, 2014, 07:42:13 PM
Carole King's "You've Got a Friend". For many years after it was released, James Taylor's version got far more air play than the original did.
Carole King, however, wrote so goddamn many hits that everyone knows and don't know are written by her (and Gerry Goffin) that I'm sure she got over it. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," "The Loco-Motion," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good," and so many more... all recorded by others, with the proceeds hopefully making it back her way.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 06, 2014, 08:32:12 PM
Quote from: roadman on October 06, 2014, 07:42:13 PM
Carole King's "You've Got a Friend". For many years after it was released, James Taylor's version got far more air play than the original did.
Carole King, however, wrote so goddamn many hits that everyone knows and don't know are written by her (and Gerry Goffin) that I'm sure she got over it. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," "The Loco-Motion," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good," and so many more... all recorded by others, with the proceeds hopefully making it back her way.
Point very well taken.
How could I forget "Cum On Feel The Noize" by Quiet Riot, first performed by Slade?
QR didn't find the magic again when they covered "Mama Weer All Crazy Now."
Quote from: DandyDan on October 06, 2014, 04:38:48 PM
Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2014, 01:44:29 PM
Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me" is more famous due to a Nissan commercial than anything else, but may be equal in how famous and popular the song is.
I always thought the reason that one was famous was because every radio station played "Eruption"/"You Really Got Me", where it was always played as a medley, even though they are separate songs, like Queen's "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions".
Speaking of medleys, the album rock station in my area (WKQQ-FM in Lexington) used to play "Livin' Lovin' Maid" and "Ramble On" as a medley back in the vinyl days. When they switched over to CDs, the medley became "Hearbreaker" and "Livin' Lovin' Maid." I always wondered why.
Chris LeDoux's Cadillac Cowboy, originally written and performed by a little known (but awesome) bar performer named Chuck Pyle
Quote from: roadman on October 06, 2014, 08:44:33 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 06, 2014, 08:32:12 PM
Quote from: roadman on October 06, 2014, 07:42:13 PM
Carole King's "You've Got a Friend". For many years after it was released, James Taylor's version got far more air play than the original did.
Carole King, however, wrote so goddamn many hits that everyone knows and don't know are written by her (and Gerry Goffin) that I'm sure she got over it. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," "The Loco-Motion," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good," and so many more... all recorded by others, with the proceeds hopefully making it back her way.
Point very well taken.
Half of my pop-arcana knowledge of this kind comes from Alex McNeil's Friday afternoon (12-2) installment of Lost & Found on WMBR, 88.1 FM. The man is an encyclopedia. This thread topic, which he's done many shows on, is a softball for him. He'll do two hours of things like "Country songs of the 60s by Americans that didn't chart here but were hits in the UK." Also does a Saturday morning show playing the charts from a single station some particular week in time, showing the long-gone phenomenon of regional pop hits. God bless those nerds.
I don't know which songs specifically, but Martha and the Vandellas had a number of songs that were remade as covers and became well known.
The poster children for this category could very well be the Carpenters. In a sense, they were really a cover group and repackaging outfit–even when it comes to the songs that people identify as being "theirs" .
Relatively unknown versions of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" were recorded by Dionne Warwick (1963), Richard Chamberlain (1963), Dusty Springfield (1964), and songwriter Burt Bacharach himself (1968)–and a truly awful version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrTcNT_3knc&spfreload=1) sung by Herb Alpert–all before the song became a #1 hit for the Carpenters in 1970.
Their signature song, "We've Only Just Begun" , was recorded by the song's lyricist, Paul Williams, for a Crocker National Bank commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGmdwHTP1I&spfreload=1), which is how Richard Carpenter first heard the song.
"For All We Know" , "Superstar" , "Hurting Each Other" , "It's Going to Take Some Time" , "Sing" , "I Won't Last a Day Without You" –all are best known as Carpenters songs, and all are covers.
Old Fashioned Love Song by 3 Dog Night is a cover that Paul Williams (Little Enos on Smokey And The Bandit) wrote and sung originally.
The Show Must Go On by 3 Dog Night uses a traditional song that Ringling Brothers uses in their circus as the verse intros.
Suzanne Vega uses the theme from I Dream Of Jeannie written by Hugo Montenero and Buddy Kaye in one of her songs.
Shaggy made a cover of Juice Newton's Angel of the Morning which also was a cover itself.
You just delved into a fascinating and deep vein in this category by bringing Burt Bacharach (and Hal David) into this. Their songs will send you chasing versions back through time (which, given their incredible talents, is a fun chase).
The Carpenters were more part of an older showbiz tradition, I feel. Their popularity happened during the last days of the "entertainers" on TV–people who would sing a song, any song, chat a bit and sing another song. There was a blurrier connection between artists and songs in that world (except for signature songs like "Tie a Yellow Ribbon"). The Carpenters took a lot of not-original songs and made something new and good out of them.
Someone once tried to lecture me that there was no point in covering the Beatles and no one should even try. I dismissed this, because like it or not, when everyone knows (and a lot of people like) songs, they more or less become our folk songs. And the folk tradition is largely playing songs people know and love, not playing something to necessarily be new and different.
Another just came on where I am that illustrates the fact that there's a generational factor here. "Signs" charted in one era by Five Man Electrical Band, in another by Tesla. Two generations may never agree which is "the famous one."
The same maybe said about two songs from the nineties that were covers.
I Swear by John Michael Montgomery later the same year covered by All 4 One could be considered equally popular by fans.
Then I'll Stand By You which was originally done by The Pretenders and later that decade by Carrie Underwood also has that generation gap as well as genre gap to make it debatable.
Someone mentioned Johnny Cash. Isn't Soundgarden's Rusty Cage also a cover?
"Black Magic Woman" was, IIRC, done by Fleetwood Mac before Santana's version became one of their big hits.
As for Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell's part at the end "(high voice) Paved Paradise (low low voice) Put up a parking lot hahahaha" made that original song.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 06, 2014, 10:31:20 PM
Another just came on where I am that illustrates the fact that there's a generational factor here. "Signs" charted in one era by Five Man Electrical Band, in another by Tesla. Two generations may never agree which is "the famous one."
That's true, and it makes me think of The Loco-Motion (which was already mentioned above). Little Eva's version and the Grand Funk Railroad version
both reached #1. That's gotta be rare.
Quote from: SteveG1988 on October 06, 2014, 12:40:00 PM
I wish i could find it again but it has been taken down, the 1979 song Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles is a cover of a 1979 song called Video Killed The Radio Star, by Bruce Wooley and the camera club. Bruce Wooley, and Trevor Horn (Of the buggles) wrote it together. Weird cover story.
That sorta stretches the definition of "cover." A similar example is Do Ya by Electric Light Orchestra, which is technically a cover of Do Ya by The Move. But it was written by ELO lead singer Jeff Lynne, who plays guitar on both versions (but did not sing on the original), Bev Bevan plays drums on both versions, and Richard Tandy plays bass on the original and keyboards on the cover!
Quote from Roadman65:
QuoteI Swear by John Michael Montgomery later the same year covered by All 4 One could be considered equally popular by fans.
You forgot "I Can Love You Like That." This was an interesting instance of an artist taking two songs by another artist in a different genre and remaking them almost as soon as they became popular.
Later in the 90's, Country Artist Mark Wills did this with pop group 98 Degrees' song "I Do (Cherish You)"
What is interesting is The Pointer Sisters came with I'm So Excited, but did not get airplay until Showtime made the song part of their advertising slogan: We Make Excitement. I guess they owe the premium movie network for that one song, even though it might of become popular on its own at a later date.
On Celine Dion's Power of Love, it is to note that Air Supply also did that song as well, but instead of "I am your lady, and you are my man" the line was switched to "You are my lady, and I am your man"
Also Billy Squire also did Loco Motion.
Do not even forget Billy Idiol and his version of Mony Mony which was originally Tommy James and The Schondells.
The three versions of Rock N Roll Music, done by Chuck Berry, and covered both by The Beatles and Beach Boys
were all popular.
However, I do not see George Harrison's My Sweet Lord as a cover to the Chiffon's He's So Fine as some dumb judge
says so where George Harrison had to pay out royalties to the writer of He's So Fine before he died. The two songs
are somewhat a like, but not exactly as the court system has you believe.
Quote from: OracleUsr on October 06, 2014, 11:44:07 PM
Someone mentioned Johnny Cash. Isn't Soundgarden's Rusty Cage also a cover?
Soundgarden did the original on Badmotorfinger.
Another cover I should remember, because I always crank it up when I hear it on SiriusXM Ozzy's Boneyard, is Metallica's cover of "Am I Evil?" by Diamond Head. I believe they play it at every concert and have for years.
There are two versions of Telstar
First performed by The Tornados in 1962 it #1 on the billboard hot 100.
Oddly enough both versions seem to get equal airplay nowadays, it probably comes down to licensing the song, one may be cheaper or easier for a station to get ahold of due to it being a different record company.
Another one would be the Peter Gunn theme, where the definitive version is by Duane Eddy
Quote from: Brian556 on October 06, 2014, 11:48:57 PM
Quote from Roadman65:
QuoteI Swear by John Michael Montgomery later the same year covered by All 4 One could be considered equally popular by fans.
You forgot "I Can Love You Like That." This was an interesting instance of an artist taking two songs by another artist in a different genre and remaking them almost as soon as they became popular.
Later in the 90's, Country Artist Mark Wills did this with pop group 98 Degrees' song "I Do (Cherish You)"
I think it was a trend for a while for country musicians to do covers of romantic pop songs. I think Alabama did a cover of NSYNC's God Must have spent a little more time on you.
iPhone
Quote from: roadman65 on October 06, 2014, 05:32:09 PM
Does anyone know ig Billy Joel's Shameless was more popular by Mr. Joel himself or after it gotten covered by Garth Brooks? If Mr. Brooks was more popular than this would count toward this thread.
Garth's version was definitely more popular.
Another good example is "I Feel For You". It was a top 5 single for Chaka Khan, but was originally written and recorded by Prince.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 07, 2014, 01:02:00 AMHowever, I do not see George Harrison's My Sweet Lord as a cover to the Chiffon's He's So Fine as some dumb judge
says so where George Harrison had to pay out royalties to the writer of He's So Fine before he died. The two songs
are somewhat a like, but not exactly as the court system has you believe.
First of all,
the court system? it was a single judge. You say that like there's a pervasive pattern in the courts of ruling "My Sweet Lord" is derivative of "He's So Fine."
Secondly, did someone say it was a cover version? It's preposterous to even frame it that way.
FWIW, "He's So Fine" was on in a store the other day, and I immediately caught myself singing "And I really want to know you...." they are
really similar. It's hard for me to disagree that it's derivative at the least, regardless of the intent or motivation.
Quote from: SteveG1988 on October 07, 2014, 06:49:51 AM
There are two versions of Telstar
First performed by The Tornados in 1962 it #1 on the billboard hot 100.
That is the version I'm familiar with. This is the first time I've heard the Ventures' version. I'm more familiar with
Walk, Don't Run, Pipeline and their cover of
Hawaii Five-O
Here is one song, recorded in three different decades, that went to #1 twice and #3 once. It's called "The Loco-Motion."
-1962 by Little Eva (#1)
-1974 by Grand Funk Railroad (#1)
-1988 by Kylie Minogue (#3)
My favorite version is the one recorded by Grand Funk Railroad.
"Act Naturally" was first recorded by Buck Owens in 1963, then recorded by the Beatles in 1965, although the one recorded by Buck Owens was more popular on the charts.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 07, 2014, 08:04:13 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on October 07, 2014, 01:02:00 AMHowever, I do not see George Harrison's My Sweet Lord as a cover to the Chiffon's He's So Fine as some dumb judge
says so where George Harrison had to pay out royalties to the writer of He's So Fine before he died. The two songs
are somewhat a like, but not exactly as the court system has you believe.
First of all, the court system? it was a single judge. You say that like there's a pervasive pattern in the courts of ruling "My Sweet Lord" is derivative of "He's So Fine."
Secondly, did someone say it was a cover version? It's preposterous to even frame it that way.
FWIW, "He's So Fine" was on in a store the other day, and I immediately caught myself singing "And I really want to know you...." they are really similar. It's hard for me to disagree that it's derivative at the least, regardless of the intent or motivation.
With so much music for us to listen to, there are many instances where different songs sound the same. One of my favorite examples is the melodies of both "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Werewolves of London". They are very similar. In fact, Kid Rock recorded "All Summer Long" which used a "mash up" of both songs.
Shaggy on his hit song Angel uses two different songs to put to his beat.
I think they are running out of songs to write so now covers and mixed covers are the thing.
NE 2 just pointed out how rappers are using other hit songs with the Original artists as a bed while they rap over it in another music related thread.
Covering and sampling are fundamentally different.
Somebody mentioned Metallica. They've done a crapload of covers that are probably more well known than the original. "Whiskey In The Jar," anyone?
Taco's Puttin' On the Ritz (1983) was a cover of a song that was first published by Irving Berlin in 1929 and recorded numerous times in the decade or two since then. Interestingly, Berlin was still alive when Taco released his version, making him (then 95) the oldest living songwriter to ever hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (peaked at #4). Berlin had outlived his copyright on the song, based on the law as it had existed at that time.
Mike
Quote from: hbelkins on October 06, 2014, 09:08:47 PM
Speaking of medleys, the album rock station in my area (WKQQ-FM in Lexington) used to play "Livin' Lovin' Maid" and "Ramble On" as a medley back in the vinyl days. When they switched over to CDs, the medley became "Hearbreaker" and "Livin' Lovin' Maid." I always wondered why.
Holy cow ... I posted practically the same thing two and a half years ago...
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=6067.msg133296#msg133296
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2012, 03:27:51 PM
Back in the days of vinyl, the area's album rock station (WKQQ-FM in Lexington, then 98.1, now 100.1) played "Living Loving Maid" and "Ramble On" as a medley.
When they went to CDs, it became "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid."
Not sure why they made that change.
Quote from: mgk920 on October 07, 2014, 11:24:08 AM
Taco's Puttin' On the Ritz (1983) was a cover of a song that was first published by Irving Berlin in 1929 and recorded numerous times in the decade or two since then. Interestingly, Berlin was still alive when Taco released his version, making him (then 95) the oldest living songwriter to ever hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (peaked at #4). Berlin had outlived his copyright on the song, based on the law as it had existed at that time.
Mike
Holy crap, Taco! You're like some kind of time machine genius. He was banished from our collective memory by 1985 or 86.
This song happened around when Diamond Dave put out his "Just a Gigolo" single, which probably remains the best-known version of the song to many.
Another flashback to 1992: Mariah Carey's live performance of I'll Be There would soon surpass the Jackson 5 original (1972, I believe), and six years later, she made a better version of I Still Believe, which was originally recorded by an oscure 80s artist named Brenda Starr or something like that (my mind is very foggy, correct me if I'm wrong).
Too bad we can't include sampled songs, because Will Smith (of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince fame) had lots of hits that sampled older songs, such as Gettin' Jiggy Wit It (which borrowed the melody from Sister Sledge's He's the Greatest Dancer), Men in Black (Patrice Rushen's Forget Me Nots) and Will 2K (The Clash's Rock the Casbah).
Quote from: hbelkins on October 07, 2014, 11:21:14 AM
Somebody mentioned Metallica. They've done a crapload of covers that are probably more well known than the original. "Whiskey In The Jar," anyone?
Metallica's cover album was Garage Inc. Some of it was rereleasing The Garage Days Re-Revisited EP, but there was a lot of other stuff on there. A lot of it is stuff by bands I never would have heard of without them playing it. On their 2 disc set, the only songs I can say for sure they didn't do the best known version are "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger and "Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Quote from: DandyDan on October 08, 2014, 06:55:58 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on October 07, 2014, 11:21:14 AM
Somebody mentioned Metallica. They've done a crapload of covers that are probably more well known than the original. "Whiskey In The Jar," anyone?
Metallica's cover album was Garage Inc. Some of it was rereleasing The Garage Days Re-Revisited EP, but there was a lot of other stuff on there. A lot of it is stuff by bands I never would have heard of without them playing it. On their 2 disc set, the only songs I can say for sure they didn't do the best known version are "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger and "Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I would add "Stone Cold Crazy" to that list.
Quote from: 6a on October 06, 2014, 06:22:09 PM
I don't know if the argument could be made that Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi is *less* popular than the cover by Counting Crows & Vanessa Carlton, but try finding someone under 30 who doesn't think those versions are reversed.
The first version I remember hearing is Amy Grant's from the mid-1990s.
Quote from: Brian556 on October 06, 2014, 08:08:45 PM
Quote from atohi:
Quote
Celine Dion also covered "Power of Love," which was originally done by Jennifer Rush in 1984.
Air Supply also did "The Power of Love".
So did Laura Brannigan in the late 1980s - the first version I remember hearing.
Quote from: elsmere241 on October 08, 2014, 10:54:00 AM
Quote from: 6a on October 06, 2014, 06:22:09 PM
I don't know if the argument could be made that Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi is *less* popular than the cover by Counting Crows & Vanessa Carlton, but try finding someone under 30 who doesn't think those versions are reversed.
The first version I remember hearing is Amy Grant's from the mid-1990s.
I would argue based purely on my own experience that the Amy Grant version got more airplay than the Counting Crows version never did, but admittedly, outlets for these songs rarely reach my years by my own doing, so I may not be the best judge. Or maybe that makes me the perfect judge.
"Hush" by Billy Joe Royal, covered by every band and its cat, but the most famous is by Deep Purple.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 08, 2014, 12:51:04 PM
Quote from: elsmere241 on October 08, 2014, 10:54:00 AM
Quote from: 6a on October 06, 2014, 06:22:09 PM
I don't know if the argument could be made that Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi is *less* popular than the cover by Counting Crows & Vanessa Carlton, but try finding someone under 30 who doesn't think those versions are reversed.
The first version I remember hearing is Amy Grant's from the mid-1990s.
I would argue based purely on my own experience that the Amy Grant version got more airplay than the Counting Crows version never did, but admittedly, outlets for these songs rarely reach my years by my own doing, so I may not be the best judge. Or maybe that makes me the perfect judge.
I grew up very, very familiar with the Joni Mitchell version and do not recall hearing any other until a few years ago, when I heard a version with what sounded like Auto-Tune in it (!) and I thought to myself, "well, someone surely missed the point, didn't they?"
Both Sides Now was made more famous by Judy Collins than by Joni Mitchell.
I wish I could say Eat It by Weird Al was more popular than Beat It, but they do not call Michael Jackson The King of Pop for nothing.
Because The Night was made more famous by Patty Smith (not Smythe) than Bruce Springsteen.
Downtown Train was made more famous by Rod Stewart than both Tom Waits (the original) and Patty Smythe who covered it with Scandal in the 80's later on.
"Because the Night" had yet another life as a 10,000 Maniacs song.
Chan Romero's Hippy Hippy Shake was covered first by the Beatles, and later by the Swinging Blue Jeans (another Liverpool group), who had the hit version. Billy Stewart's cover of George and Ira Gershwin's Summertime was a top-10 hit.
And let's not forget an all-too-common practice in the 1950's: "cover" versions by white singers of records made originally by black artists. Time and time again black singers would be robbed of performance and airplay payments by the white singers who stole the songs because the major record labels were convinced that the public didn't want to hear the black versions. Thanks to some radio personalities like Alan Freed, who refused to play the covers, the practice eventually died off.
Quote from: SidS1045 on October 08, 2014, 08:29:06 PM
Chan Romero's Hippy Hippy Shake was covered first by the Beatles, and later by the Swinging Blue Jeans (another Liverpool group), who had the hit version. Billy Stewart's cover of George and Ira Gershwin's Summertime was a top-10 hit.
And let's not forget an all-too-common practice in the 1950's: "cover" versions by white singers of records made originally by black artists. Time and time again black singers would be robbed of performance and airplay payments by the white singers who stole the songs because the major record labels were convinced that the public didn't want to hear the black versions. Thanks to some radio personalities like Alan Freed, who refused to play the covers, the practice eventually died off.
I posted about this upthread. I didn't know Freed helped abate the practice, though. Good for him.
Fight For You, originally sung by Stevie Hoang and Iyaz, the Jason Derulo version is the better-known version.
Harry Nilsson won a Grammy with "Without You," a song by the illustrious Badfinger, but which he assumed was The Beatles' until he went to record it.
Nilsson was on the other side of this (sort of) when his song "One (is the Loneliest Number)," which was originally recorded by someone else, was made a hit with a cover by Three Dog Night. I believe this also earned a Grammy.
Mariah Carey did Nilsson's Without You and did well with it. Her voice can carry all the octaves in that song to make it great.
On another cover song hit, Carey also did well with the Jackson Five's I'll Be There with Trevon.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 08, 2014, 09:39:56 PM
Mariah Carey did Nilsson's Without You and did well with it. Her voice can carry all the octaves in that song to make it great.
On another cover song hit, Carey also did well with the Jackson Five's I'll Be There with Trevon.
Trevon?
There seems to be a lot of people who think that The Man Who Sold The World is from Nirvana and not David Bowie.
Rascal Flatts' version of Life Is A Highway seems to get a lot of play on some stations ever since it came out with the Cars movie in 2006, compared to the original by Tom Cochrane.
Also, here's a list. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CoveredUp
The Toni Basil song "Mickey" is well known, but it's less well known that it's a cover of "Kitty" by Racey, from a few years before:
http://youtu.be/aLDr5bdAhkc
Listening to the original, it makes much more sense stylistically as British New Wave. It just sounds more... right.
Here is an odd one, a cover that is really just the original recording interpolated with covers of songs from the studio's library done in the same style.
Baroque Hoedown, 1967. Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley
1972, Walt Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade.
I heard Talk Talk's "It's My Life" on the radio the other day and immediately thought of this thread. While they were both hits, I think No Doubt's 2003 cover version has probably superseded it in airplay and the collective consciousness.
"Love Hurts" writen by Boudleaux Bryant and it was first recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1961 was completely eclipsed by the cover made in rock ballad by Nazareth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFE2SnliiV0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soDZBW-1P04
Good one. I didn't know that until Phil Everly died and there were tons of retrospectives on the radio.
One of my favorite Judas Priest songs is their live version of a Joan Baez song called "Diamonds and Rust."
Speaking of Joan Baez, her hit version of "The Night They Drove ol' Dixie Down" was a remake of a song by The Band. I was nine when that song was a hit in 1971 and it used to puzzle me why the hell Joan Baez was singing about her "wife from Tennessee." :D
Dolly parton makes a ton of money off the Whitney Houston version
"Wagon wheel" was originally done by Old Crow Medicine Show I like it much better than Darius Rucker. DR version is to country poppy, not horrible. The DR version had much more commercial success. But OCMS is much better IMO.
Bob Dylan wrote the chorus for a movie in 1968, Keith Secor from OCMS wrote the lyrics around it. Thats why writing credit is Dylan and Secoe
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 21, 2014, 12:42:08 PM
I heard Talk Talk's "It's My Life" on the radio the other day and immediately thought of this thread. While they were both hits, I think No Doubt's 2003 cover version has probably superseded it in airplay and the collective consciousness.
I actually prefer Talk Talk's version.
"Come and get your love" who was a one-hit wonder from Redbone was covered in eurodance version by the Real McCoys who had reached #1 at the Billboard dance chart. Note then the original version got a new breath in popularity thanks of being part of the soundtrack of the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7eloXr2iak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kctlBvsaFuE
Rod Stewart made many successes doing other people's songs. I said it once before, but Robbie Robertson's Broken Arrow was not only made a hit, but noticed as well by Mr. Stewart as Robertson's version was one of those "other' albums songs that was not created on the album to be a hit.
There is We're Having A Party as well, done before which I would like to say Southside Johnny did first, but I believe it might of been done even before the Jersey artist.
Sam Cooke's original of "Having a Party" is arguably better known than Southside's version.
Just wondering: Did anyone ever record Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue" before Johnny Cash made it famous?
Elvis's "It's Now of Never" on a technicality: I think the words may have been changed.
"Black Betty" was not an original composition of any of the members of Ram Jam. It's been recorded many times by many artists, yet their 1977 version is the biggest hit and is the only one I've ever heard.
Richard Harris, peformed the song "MacArthur Park" who was written by Jimmy Webb but it was completely eclipsed by the disco version of Donna Summer. However, the original version was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic under the title "Jurrasic Park"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPMpeNDIGdk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0BD2eWIww
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4zvQfDhi0
Funny, I think of Richard Harris when I think of this song. His is the only version I hear.
Quote from: Kacie Jane on October 06, 2014, 04:29:34 PM
Quote from: Molandfreak on October 06, 2014, 12:45:04 PM
"Blinded by the Light," by Manfred Mann. Originally by Bruce Springsteen.
*shrug* As a Springsteen fan, that's debatable to me. I was raised on the original, and never heard Manfred Mann's version until I was into my 20s. Although I realize that's anecdata and doesn't actually speak to which one's more famous.
On the opposite side, "Jersey Girl". Written by Tom Waits, but in my eyes, has to be a considered Springsteen song.
I like Springsteen's better as well.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 24, 2014, 09:16:18 AM
Sam Cooke's original of "Having a Party" is arguably better known than Southside's version.
Southside only got exposure in NY - NJ among the now defunct WNEW, the original WPLJ when it was Rock, and I believe other regional stations mostly because Southside was from the NY Metro Area.
You know something really interesting, when I first heard The Righteous Brothers doing You've Lost That Lovin on Howard Stern when he actually was a DJ on the now defunct 66 WNBC, I actually thought that Mr. Stern was actually playing Hall & Oates version of the song as a slow speed. Remember, the old turntables with its variable speeds, where if you played a 45 RPM record at 33 RPM (the 12 Inch disc speed)? It sounded like a man with a deep voice as it was in slow motion sound. Being that Howard Stern has his sense of humor that got him famous, I though he was doing it to be funny. Then I learned that Bill Medley has a deep slow motion type of voice along with the song being done at a slower speed than the Philly duo played it at ,and that Hall & Oates actually covered the song. I guess Hall and Oates made famous once again the original version that Stern decided to play it as he must of took his job somewhat seriously at first.
Also another interesting story is when Mellencamp first came out with I Need A Lover, I was unsure who was singing it. So I askied my friend Frank who sung that song being a DJ at a skating rink he would know the song. His reply was " Pat Benetar" in which I though he was nuts at the time. I said yeah whatever" to him and later found out it was Mellencamp when he was Cougar and that also Pat Benetar also did the song as a cover which would make sense to why Frank responded with "Pat Benetar" at the time. He, no doubt, knew that it was indeed a cover.
I believe that Pat Benetar did not go well with her version as it to this day is never played, or at least in these markets over on the east coast.
Funny, I heard Pat Benatar's version on the radio last week. I only listened briefly before saying "Mellencamp's is better" and changing the station.
Does the Bee Gees' "If I can't Have You" version count if they wrote it, but recorded it after Yvone Elliman had published hers?
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes recorded 'Don't Leave Me This Way' before Thelma Houston did. But I'm not sure Harold's version is actually first.
Thelma had the far greater hit with the material, but I have to say, I enjoy both versions.
Maynard Ferguson did very well with his take on Theme From Rocky over the Bill Conti version.
I heard Bill Donaldson and the Heywoods do MacArthur Park before Donna Summer, but I don't know if it there version was released. (I heard them perform it on, IIRC, The Merv Griffin Show) As for the Harris or Summer version being a bigger hit, Idunno, the Harris version was a very big hit at the time, but so was the Summer version.
Mony Mony was, I believe more popular with Billy Idol than with Tommy James.
I don't remember the name of the band that did the 80's version of "Always Something There to Remind Me," but probably very few people know that Dionne Warwick had an earlier, if not the original, version. And the only reason I know that is because my parents had the double LP set featuring her version.
And, IIRC, Adele's "Rumor Has it" is a cover of a Reba McIntyre (SP?) song.
Quote
don't remember the name of the band that did the 80's version of "Always Something There to Remind Me," but probably very few people know that Dionne Warwick had an earlier, if not the original, version. And the only reason I know that is because my parents had the double LP set featuring her version.
And, IIRC, Adele's "Rumor Has it" is a cover of a Reba McIntyre (SP?) song.
Naked Eyes did "Always Something There To Remind Me"
Adele's "Rumour Has It" is nothing like the Reba song by that title. I think you are wrong there.
Quote from: OracleUsr on November 02, 2014, 09:45:12 PM
I don't remember the name of the band that did the 80's version of "Always Something There to Remind Me," but probably very few people know that Dionne Warwick had an earlier, if not the original, version. And the only reason I know that is because my parents had the double LP set featuring her version.
And, IIRC, Adele's "Rumor Has it" is a cover of a Reba McIntyre (SP?) song.
Like more than one song already mentioned, this song with multiple lives was a Burt Bacharach/Hal David tune. Dionne Warwick was practically the house vocalist for those guys for a while.
What I love most about their songs is that with Bachrach's complex melodies, Hal David never wasted a note, poetically threading a lyric to each one (listen to "This Guy's In Love With You" for a good example). There's good reason so many of their songs were successful more than once.
Odd; I heard someone do a version that was very similar to Adele's version and I thought it was Reba. Not sure then.
Quote from: spooky on October 07, 2014, 07:12:59 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on October 06, 2014, 05:32:09 PM
Does anyone know ig Billy Joel's Shameless was more popular by Mr. Joel himself or after it gotten covered by Garth Brooks? If Mr. Brooks was more popular than this would count toward this thread.
Garth's version was definitely more popular.
Another good example is "I Feel For You". It was a top 5 single for Chaka Khan, but was originally written and recorded by Prince.
I listened to an interview with Garth and he actually explained why he recorded "Shameless." He had actually heard it and liked it but heard that it wasn't being released as a single so he contacted Billy Joel to get permission to make his own version.
To go back to country covers of late 90s romantic songs, there was also the Mark Chestnut cover of "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." I actually miss this trend. Country lends itself well to heart felt ballads so I didn't mind that trend. Alabama's version of "God Spent A Little More Time" blows N'Sync's way out of the water.
David Bowie recorded "China Girl" to help iggy pop out of a financial bind, the royalties helped a lot.
Quote from: amroad17 on October 07, 2014, 09:03:55 AM
Here is one song, recorded in three different decades, that went to #1 twice and #3 once. It's called "The Loco-Motion."
-1962 by Little Eva (#1)
-1974 by Grand Funk Railroad (#1)
-1988 by Kylie Minogue (#3)
My favorite version is the one recorded by Grand Funk Railroad.
"Act Naturally" was first recorded by Buck Owens in 1963, then recorded by the Beatles in 1965, although the one recorded by Buck Owens was more popular on the charts.
Locomotion written by Carole King.. She wrote a shit ton of songs
"Go Where You Wanna Go" originally by the Mamas & Papas, but made popular by the 5th Dimension
Paul Muriat made "Love is Blue" popular in the US (originally "L'amour est bleu" in France)
"Soul Coaxing" by Raymond Lefèvre is a cover of "Ame Câline" by Michel Polnareff
Oh, boy. Thread got revived...
-There She Goes, originally by The La's. The Sixpence None The Richer version is very overplayed even today.
-Hey Joe, originally by The Leaves, famous by Hendrix
-Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, originally Robert Hazard, everyone knows Cyndi Lauper's version
-The Depeche Mode song Personal Jesus was written by Johnny Cash
-Woodstock, known as a CSNY song, was a Joni Mitchell song
-CCR's Proud Mary was an Ike and Tina Turner song
I've honestly never heard the Garth Brooks version of Shameless. Maybe it's the heavy Long Island influence I've had?
"Watchtower" or whatever it was called...most know it for Jimi Hendrix. It was written and first recorded by Bob Dylan.
"No More I Love You's" by Annie Lennox (1995), but first done by British band The Lover Speaks around 1986.
"Der Kommissar" by Falco (1982), made more famous to English speakers by After The Fire. (I prefer Falco's version.)
Quote from: cl94 on February 05, 2016, 10:03:16 PM
-The Depeche Mode song Personal Jesus was written by Johnny Cash
"Personal Jesus" is originally by Depeche Mode. Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson both did covers of it.
Quote from: briantroutman on October 06, 2014, 09:54:34 PM
The poster children for this category could very well be the Carpenters. In a sense, they were really a cover group and repackaging outfit–even when it comes to the songs that people identify as being "theirs" .
Relatively unknown versions of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" were recorded by Dionne Warwick (1963), Richard Chamberlain (1963), Dusty Springfield (1964), and songwriter Burt Bacharach himself (1968)–and a truly awful version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrTcNT_3knc&spfreload=1) sung by Herb Alpert–all before the song became a #1 hit for the Carpenters in 1970.
Their signature song, "We've Only Just Begun" , was recorded by the song's lyricist, Paul Williams, for a Crocker National Bank commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGmdwHTP1I&spfreload=1), which is how Richard Carpenter first heard the song.
"For All We Know" , "Superstar" , "Hurting Each Other" , "It's Going to Take Some Time" , "Sing" , "I Won't Last a Day Without You" –all are best known as Carpenters songs, and all are covers.
I don't know about The Carpenters taking the crown. First you have Johnny Rivers -- take out "Secret Agent Man" and "Poor Side Of Town" and darn near every one of his other 2-dozen hits were covers. Then Linda Ronstadt had about half of her charted hits on Billboard's Hot 100 as covers.
"Dream a Little Dream of Me," originally recorded by Ozzie Nelson in 1931. Covered umpteen dozens of times, of which many were hits.
Quote from: stridentweasel on February 05, 2016, 11:45:39 PM
Quote from: cl94 on February 05, 2016, 10:03:16 PM
-The Depeche Mode song Personal Jesus was written by Johnny Cash
"Personal Jesus" is originally by Depeche Mode. Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson both did covers of it.
Proud Mary was written by John Fogerty of CCR. Released by CCR in 1969. Ike and Tina covered it, released in 1971
Happy Monday's "Step On" (1990) is a cover of John Kongos' "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (1971), which has a cool 5 against 4 motif in the chorus.
Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld1vQVoaQIM
New: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CQLAhNlbfQ
Quote from: thenetwork on February 06, 2016, 01:46:09 AM
Quote from: briantroutman on October 06, 2014, 09:54:34 PM
The poster children for this category could very well be the Carpenters. In a sense, they were really a cover group and repackaging outfit–even when it comes to the songs that people identify as being "theirs" .
Relatively unknown versions of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" were recorded by Dionne Warwick (1963), Richard Chamberlain (1963), Dusty Springfield (1964), and songwriter Burt Bacharach himself (1968)–and a truly awful version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrTcNT_3knc&spfreload=1) sung by Herb Alpert–all before the song became a #1 hit for the Carpenters in 1970.
Their signature song, "We've Only Just Begun" , was recorded by the song's lyricist, Paul Williams, for a Crocker National Bank commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGmdwHTP1I&spfreload=1), which is how Richard Carpenter first heard the song.
"For All We Know" , "Superstar" , "Hurting Each Other" , "It's Going to Take Some Time" , "Sing" , "I Won't Last a Day Without You" –all are best known as Carpenters songs, and all are covers.
I don't know about The Carpenters taking the crown. First you have Johnny Rivers -- take out "Secret Agent Man" and "Poor Side Of Town" and darn near every one of his other 2-dozen hits were covers. Then Linda Ronstadt had about half of her charted hits on Billboard's Hot 100 as covers.
Secret Agent Man was originally just a TV theme
'All by Myself' by Eric Carmen, the Celine Dion version is probably the most well known.
"Sign of the Gypsy Queen" that April Wine turned into a minor hit was originally by an obscure singer named Lorence Hud.
Randy Newman wrote "Mama Told Me Not to Come" for Eric Burdon, then recorded it himself instead before Three Dog Night got their hands on it. If you ever hear his version of it, it makes perfect sense. It sounds just like a Randy Newman song.
Harry Nilsson made a hit out of Badfinger's lesser-known "Without You," staying at number one for four consecutive weeks. Badfinger never even released it as a single.
Three Dog Night recorded and made the famous hit out of Nilsson's "One" (is the lonliest number).
I could bring it full circle with Harry Nilsson's album of all Randy Newman songs, but none of those are better known than the originals.
As I have a sort of thing for popular instrumentals. Think of "Popcorn" by Hot Butter, it's not well known but that version we are all familiar with, using that cool moog synthesizer and that crazy drummer is actually a cover. It was originally performed by Gershon Kingsley, but Hot Butter's version became huge, it was a top 10 hit on the Hot 100.
Similarly, Love is Blue by Paul Mauriat, we know that as an instrumental with a very recognizable harpsichord part. It was actually a song originally with lyrics by Vicky Leandros.
Quote from: cl94 on February 05, 2016, 10:03:16 PMThe Sixpence None The Richer version is very overplayed even today.
While a different kind of forgetfulness than people thinking that their's is the original version of that song (how often do you hear the original without have to resort to pre-cover version stuff and/or playing it yourself? Certainly nowhere near as much as the cover), the album with
Kiss Me and
There She Goes (though only after the re-release after they got famous) on was billed as their debut one in the UK, despite their having done gigs and having people in the UK with both previous albums on CD, etc.
And, of course, two of the three songs that Sixpence None The Richer are known for (their cover of
Don't Dream It's Over being less famous than the original) are covers. No one really talks of their other work. They are One Hit Wonders, with two other hits that aren't actually there's.
Quote from: national highway 1 on February 16, 2016, 02:24:22 AM'All by Myself' by Eric Carmen, the Celine Dion version is probably the most well known.
I misread that and thought it was a B-side for this
Which would be amazing to hear!
Surprised no one has mentioned Bruce Springsteen's Fire. The Pointer Sisters' version was much more famous. And of course, there was Robin Williams' (as Elmer Fudd) version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vT-VaMXsAw
Also, Patti Smith was a co-author of Because The Night with Springsteen, so hers is not a true cover version.
Quote from: jwolfer on February 05, 2016, 04:35:23 PM
Quote from: amroad17 on October 07, 2014, 09:03:55 AM
Here is one song, recorded in three different decades, that went to #1 twice and #3 once. It's called "The Loco-Motion."
-1962 by Little Eva (#1)
-1974 by Grand Funk Railroad (#1)
-1988 by Kylie Minogue (#3)
My favorite version is the one recorded by Grand Funk Railroad.
Locomotion written by Carole King.. She wrote a shit ton of songs
Little Eva was Carole King and Gerry Goffin's babysitter. Although the initial release of the Loco-Motion had Little Eva's name on the single, there's some question as to whether Little Eva or Carole King actually recorded the song. The "Little Eva" version sounds very similar to some of Carole King's early releases as a solo artist (
Oh, Oh, It Started All Over Again for one).
Both Sides Now a song written and sung by Joni Mitchell, was covered by Judy Collins. I believe that Collins version was more popular than Mitchell's.
Quote from: roadman65 on March 04, 2016, 01:18:50 PM
Both Sides Now a song written and sung by Joni Mitchell, was covered by Judy Collins. I believe that Collins version was more popular than Mitchell's.
I can't speak for it's popularity, but the first time I heard that song was a Frank Sinatra cover.
Quote from: roadman65 on March 04, 2016, 01:18:50 PM
Both Sides Now a song written and sung by Joni Mitchell, was covered by Judy Collins. I believe that Collins version was more popular than Mitchell's.
The Circle Game is a Joni Mitchell song that was covered by Tom Rush. At least in New England, Tom Rush's version is more well known than Mitchell's version (to this day, I occasionally have to correct people who believe it was Tom Rush's song and that Joni Mitchell covered it).
Your comment about
Both Sides Now reminds me of the time I saw Judy Collins in concert in 1989 (she was the headlined artist, but the concert also included Tom Rush, Christine Lavin, and Jonathan Edwards - which is why I went). As Judy Collins, who was the last performer to take the stage, began to perform, the effects of the weather (outdoor venue and foggy night) began to take its toll on some of the sound equipment. By the time she was singing
Both Sides Now, the problem with the stage speakers (the ones that face the artist) was bad enough that she kept interrupting the song with complaints.
As I recall, it went something like this:
I've looked at clouds from both sides now - Geez this feedback is pretty bad -
From up and down, and still somehow It's cloud illusions I recall - can you do something about the damm (and she DID use that word) feedback -
I really don't know clouds at all
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
Quote from: national highway 1 on September 23, 2017, 09:10:47 AM
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
I never heard the Mariah Carey version
LGMS428
Quote from: geocachingpirate on October 06, 2014, 01:00:40 PM
The song "The First Cut Is the Deepest" was written by Cat Stevens and originally released by P.P. Arnold. The more famous versions are by Sheryl Crow and Rod Stewart.
Sorry for the long reply, I guess it's better late than never. ;)
Keith Hampshire did also a cover of "The firstr cut is the deepest" in 1973 who hit #1 in Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4HiSM-0rfY
Bessie Banks recorded this song named "Go now" who was written for her by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett but got quickly eclipsed by the cover done by the Moody Blues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prlWGe2EHro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS3ixmsQgCk
Quote from: jwolfer on September 23, 2017, 09:17:44 AM
Quote from: national highway 1 on September 23, 2017, 09:10:47 AM
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
I never heard the Mariah Carey version
LGMS428
More well-known where? Every search gives the Journey version first. Hell, I didn't even know a Mariah Carey version existed. The Journey version hit #2 in the US and stayed there for weeks.
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, & Understanding: Made famous by Elvis Costello in 1978, but written by Nick Lowe and performed by his band Brinsley Schwarz (Lowe was the lead vocalist & bassist) in 1974. Lowe produced Costello's cover, while his future Rockpile "buddy" Dave Edmunds produced the original.
I'm Not Your Stepping Stone: An obscure album track by Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1966, made famous by The Monkees a year later. It was written by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart -- a good reason why The Prefab Four got ahold of it.
Funky Broadway: Written by Arlester "Dyke" Christian and recorded by his group, Dyke and the Blazers, in 1967. Wilson Pickett had the big hit with it later that year. BTW, the song has nothing to do with the famous Broadway in NYC. It's about Broadway Road in Phoenix, where they recorded the song. Broadway Rd. & 16th St. was (and is) a mostly African-American neighborhood in South Phoenix.
Beyonces if I were a boy is a cover.
Quote from: cl94 on September 23, 2017, 12:47:01 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on September 23, 2017, 09:17:44 AM
Quote from: national highway 1 on September 23, 2017, 09:10:47 AM
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
I never heard the Mariah Carey version
LGMS428
More well-known where? Every search gives the Journey version first. Hell, I didn't even know a Mariah Carey version existed. The Journey version hit #2 in the US and stayed there for weeks.
I didn't know she had covered it either.
Quote from: national highway 1 on September 23, 2017, 09:10:47 AM
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
Yup, so is her cover of Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak"... :rolleyes:
Quote from: SectorZ on September 23, 2017, 11:12:54 PM
Quote from: national highway 1 on September 23, 2017, 09:10:47 AM
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
Yup, so is her cover of Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak"... :rolleyes:
That's like saying Britney Spears's cover of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction is more popular than the Rolling Stones's version. :ded:
Another one that nobody has mentioned yet is Quiet Riot's (Come) On Feel the Noize (1983), a cover of a song that was originally released by in 1973 by the British act Slade.
Mike
Quote from: mgk920 on September 24, 2017, 01:30:29 AM
Another one that nobody has mentioned yet is Quiet Riot's (Come) On Feel the Noize (1983), a cover of a song that was originally released by in 1973 by the British act Slade.
Mike
Quiet Riot had a thing for covering Slade. Mama Weer all Crazee Now was also a Slade song.
The song "Everybody's Talkin'", originally written & recorded by Florida folk-pop songwriter Fred Neil, was appropriated by Harry Nilsson for the film Midnight Cowboy, complete with orchestration by film-score great John Barry (who was the musical director for the film); by far it was the version receiving the highest level of airplay and record sales.
Another song that was better known via its cover artist than its original writer/performer was "You Can Close Your Eyes" by James Taylor; the Linda Ronstadt cover (from her 1974 "Heart Like a Wheel" album) received much more airplay than the original.
I hear Phil Collins' cover of You Can't Hurry Love far more often than the Supremes' original.
Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2014, 12:42:56 PM
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye. The Gladys Knight and the Pips version was the first released commercially. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles recorded it first, but it was not released commercially, having been rejected by Barry Gordy as not having been "strong enough".
"Respect" - Aretha Franklin. Otis Redding wrote and recorded the song. She took it to much greater heights a couple of years later.
... and "Heard it through the Grapevine" was also covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970.
I don't count "Video Killed the Radio Star" as a cover because the songwriter was in the group who later recorded it. I know that Fred McGwynn, Ozzy Osborn, and Paul McCartney rerecorded a bunch of songs solo that they had done with the Byrds, Black Sabbath, and the Beatles or Wings. I also don't count Elton John and John Lennon's version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" as a cover because Lennon was one of the writers (and it sounds like something that he would have written on his own). The same goes for any The Who songs that Pete Townsend (who would often record songs in his home studio, play all of the instruments and then teach them to the boys) might have released solo.
But the champion covers of all time (or at least my nominees):
"Blinded by the Light" originally by Bruce Springsteen 1973 covered by Mannfred Mann in 1976
"We're All Alone" originally by Boz Scaggs covered by Melissa Manchester
"Get Ready" originally by The Miracles covered by Rare Earth
"Girls Talk" originally by Elvis Costello covered by Dave Edmonds (with or without RockPile) and Linda Ronstadt. But Nick Lowe from RockPile produced the Costello version, so whether the Edmonds version is a actually a cover is debatable.
Almost all of Phil Collins's covers ("Groovy Kind of Love", "You Can't Hurry Love", "True Colors") are first rate.
Thought of this thread earlier today when I heard "Red Red Wine" on the radio. UB40's cover version seems to be far better known than Neil Diamond's original.
Just saw the whole Little Eva/George Harrison sequence, and it made me remember the time that John Fogerty was sued for plagiarizing himself. There was a riff in his solo song "Old Man Down the Road" that was extremely close to a riff from "Run Through the Jungle" by CCR, of which he was once a member, and had credit in writing the song. However, Fantasy Records owned the rights to the CCR catalog, and Fantasy argued that because Fogerty left CCR, he did not have the rights to use any CCR music, even if he was crediting in writing the song. Fogerty was able to win the case in showing that it was a distinct, different riff, and even countersued for expenses and won.
Another cover I can think of is Always on my Mind. It was written by a country trio, and first recorded as You Were Always on my Mind by Gwen McRae and also by Brenda Lee. However, there were three more famous covers: Elvis (in his Vega$ days), Willie Nelson (for which he won a Grammy), and the Pet Shop Boys' techno-pop version.
I'd argue that Tainted Love by Soft Cell is more famous than the original by Gloria Jones.
Same with Puttin on the Ritz by Taco
Hurt, Johnny Cash Cover.
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on October 03, 2017, 04:32:44 PM
Hurt, Johnny Cash Cover.
Trent Reznor had a quote to the effect of "Johnny Cash took my song away from me."
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on October 04, 2017, 01:30:50 AM
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on October 03, 2017, 04:32:44 PM
Hurt, Johnny Cash Cover.
Trent Reznor had a quote to the effect of "Johnny Cash took my song away from me."
Yeah, "It's like it isn't mine..." or to the affect of, "Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend."
Quote from: michravera on September 24, 2017, 11:22:27 AM
Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2014, 12:42:56 PM
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye. The Gladys Knight and the Pips version was the first released commercially. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles recorded it first, but it was not released commercially, having been rejected by Barry Gordy as not having been "strong enough".
"Respect" - Aretha Franklin. Otis Redding wrote and recorded the song. She took it to much greater heights a couple of years later.
... and "Heard it through the Grapevine" was also covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970.
I don't count "Video Killed the Radio Star" as a cover because the songwriter was in the group who later recorded it. I know that Fred McGwynn, Ozzy Osborn, and Paul McCartney rerecorded a bunch of songs solo that they had done with the Byrds, Black Sabbath, and the Beatles or Wings. I also don't count Elton John and John Lennon's version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" as a cover because Lennon was one of the writers (and it sounds like something that he would have written on his own). The same goes for any The Who songs that Pete Townsend (who would often record songs in his home studio, play all of the instruments and then teach them to the boys) might have released solo.
But the champion covers of all time (or at least my nominees):
"Blinded by the Light" originally by Bruce Springsteen 1973 covered by Mannfred Mann in 1976
"We're All Alone" originally by Boz Scaggs covered by Melissa Manchester
"
Actually, it was Rita Coolidge who had the hit version in 1977.
This Magic Moment. The Jay & The Americans version is more popular and gets more airplay than the original version by The Drifters.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 23, 2017, 11:37:11 PM
Quote from: SectorZ on September 23, 2017, 11:12:54 PM
Quote from: national highway 1 on September 23, 2017, 09:10:47 AM
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
Yup, so is her cover of Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak"... :rolleyes:
That's like saying Britney Spears's cover of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction is more popular than the Rolling Stones's version. :ded:
Or Devo's. :)
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on October 10, 2017, 12:08:33 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 23, 2017, 11:37:11 PM
Quote from: SectorZ on September 23, 2017, 11:12:54 PM
Quote from: national highway 1 on September 23, 2017, 09:10:47 AM
'Open Arms' by Journey. The more well-known version is a cover by Mariah Carey from her 1995 album Daydream.
Yup, so is her cover of Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak"... :rolleyes:
That's like saying Britney Spears's cover of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction is more popular than the Rolling Stones's version. :ded:
Or Devo's. :)
I didn't realize before this past weekend "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Blood Sweat & Tears was a cover version. Originally recorded by Brenda Holloway .
Quote from: cl94 on February 05, 2016, 10:03:16 PM
-Woodstock, known as a CSNY song, was a Joni Mitchell song
However, Mitchell specifically wrote the song for CSNY while recording her own version of it. She gave them the song and taught it to them. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young did rearrange a few lyrics in the chorus.
Quote from: national highway 1 on February 16, 2016, 02:24:22 AM
'All by Myself' by Eric Carmen, the Celine Dion version is probably the most well known.
Where in the world would that be? It's definitely not North America.
Quote from: Brandon on October 10, 2017, 01:05:22 PM
Quote from: cl94 on February 05, 2016, 10:03:16 PM
-Woodstock, known as a CSNY song, was a Joni Mitchell song
However, Mitchell specifically wrote the song for CSNY while recording her own version of it. She gave them the song and taught it to them. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young did rearrange a few lyrics in the chorus.
Quote from: national highway 1 on February 16, 2016, 02:24:22 AM
'All by Myself' by Eric Carmen, the Celine Dion version is probably the most well known.
Where in the world would that be? It's definitely not North America.
"All by Myself" is a power ballad by American artist Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (Adagio sostenuto) of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18. The chorus is borrowed from the song "Let's Pretend", which Carmen wrote and recorded with the Raspberries in 1972.
Carmen's original version has spawned numerous cover versions by such artists as Rico J. Puno in 1976, Celine Dion in 1996, Frank Sinatra, Igudesman & Joo, Il Divo, and Only Men Aloud!.
(per Wikipedia)
I heard Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon" over the PA at work, and it got me to thinking, I know I heard a cover of it somewhere before. Sure enough, Urge Overkill covered the song for the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Neil Diamond's original is probably the more well known version, though. Although I happen to like Urge Overkill's version better myself.
Neil Diamond's original:
https://youtu.be/qGvMjgLXBi0
Urge Overkill's cover:
https://youtu.be/1fr1iyhkyVs
"Cry" by Faith Hill was originally by Angie Aparo (and not a country song).
Justin Hayward's (often credited to the Moody Blues as a whole, though it was just Hayward in a solo collaboration) version of "Forever Autumn" was a Lego jingle in 1969 that the original performers turned into "Forever Autumn" in the early 1970s and scored a hit in Japan, but their version was unknown elsewhere.
(https://i.imgur.com/vDXwtli_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium)
Most 90s kids are too young to remember Torn - my '89-born brother had only just turned 8 when it came out.
Though, for 80s kids, those tweets are right.
Quote from: english si on October 19, 2017, 04:01:50 AM
Most 90s kids are too young to remember Torn - my '89-born brother had only just turned 8 when it came out.
Though, for 80s kids, those tweets are right.
I was born in '81, and I remember Torn from a mix tape. Kids these days have no clue what a mix tape is. So I almost agree with you. However, the term "90s kid" could mean a kid who grew up in the 90s, not one who was born in the 90s. The 90s for me were 4th grade through high school, so those were certainly defining years for me.
Quote from: kphoger on October 19, 2017, 01:01:08 PM
Quote from: english si on October 19, 2017, 04:01:50 AM
Most 90s kids are too young to remember Torn - my '89-born brother had only just turned 8 when it came out.
Though, for 80s kids, those tweets are right.
I was born in '81, and I remember Torn from a mix tape. Kids these days have no clue what a mix tape is. So I almost agree with you. However, the term "90s kid" could mean a kid who grew up in the 90s, not one who was born in the 90s. The 90s for me were 4th grade through high school, so those were certainly defining years for me.
I was born in 1995 and I remember it well. I'm sure it was played on the radio a lot during the 00's. Also, I agree with kphoger's definition (i.e., I was born in the 90's, but I consider myself a 00's kid).
Quote from: 1995hoo on October 02, 2017, 09:09:49 PM
Thought of this thread earlier today when I heard "Red Red Wine" on the radio. UB40's cover version seems to be far better known than Neil Diamond's original.
Coincidentally, I heard UB40's version today driving home from work, and it's still in my head 3 hours later.
Quote from: english si on October 19, 2017, 04:01:50 AM
Most 90s kids are too young to remember Torn - my '89-born brother had only just turned 8 when it came out.
Though, for 80s kids, those tweets are right.
A "90s kid" is someone who was a
child in the 90s, not someone who was born then. Someone born in December 1999 is sure as heck not a 90s kid; their childhood lasted from Dec 2002-Dec 2012, making them very much an 00s kid. Someone born after 1996 has absolutely zero cred as a 90s kid.
The quintessential 90s kids were born in 1986/87; someone born 1 Jan 1987 would have turned 3 on the first day of the 90s and 13 on the first day of the 00s, which fits the childhood range perfectly.
This Masquerade - Leon Russell covered by George Benson
And when I die - Laura Nyro covered by Blood Sweat and Tears
Eli's Comin' - Laura Nyro covered by Three Dog Night
Stoned Soul Picnic - Laura Nyro covered by The Fifth Dimension
Wedding Bell Blues - Laura Nyro covered by The Fifth Dimension
Handbags and Glad Rags - Mike d'Abo covered by Rod Stewart probably best known by Chase
Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) - Bob Dylan covered by Manfred Mann (of which Mike d'Abo was a once a member)
Spirit in the Night - Bruce Springsteen covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band (don't know about more popular but it sure got a lot of air play)
The 59th Street Bridge Song - Simon & Garfunkle covered by practically everybody in the world but best known by Harpers Bizzare
Speaking of Satisfaction (mentioned elsewhere in the thread), I don't think anyone's cover has been more popular than the original but the Stones were extremely flattered when Otis Redding, one of their idols, covered it.
Sorry if there are any repeats. I skimmed the thread but I probably missed some of these.
^ As already mentioned upthread, Manfred Mann's Earth Band also had a #1 hit with Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light", though Chris Thompson's weird accent led to lots of misheard lyrics.
There was a time when Rod Stewart's Your Song got more airplay than the Elton John original. Also, on a technicality, John and the late George Michael's duet of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me has become superior to John's original, and Stewart's Forever Young is far better known than Bob Dylan's composition.
I would go with Yesterday by The Beatles (actually only Paul). Marvin Gaye's cover gave him a run for his money.
There's some interesting history behind the song After the Love Has Gone. Originally, Bill Champlin (of Chicago fame) was to record the song, but then Earth, Wind & Fire wanted it for their own (which eventually became a pop/R&B standard for them), and he agreed to let them have it. However, he has gone on to record several versions of it, including one with the supergroup Airplay (which also included fellow cowriters David Foster and Jay Graydon, as well as Tommy Funderburk).
Airplay
Earth, Wind & Fire
Heard this one on the radio this morning and it made me think of this thread: George Harrison had a #1 hit single in 1987 with "Got My Mind Set on You," a cover of a song originally recorded by James Ray in 1962 (under the title "I've Got My Mind Set on You"). Harrison's version is far better-known.
Quote from: Henry on November 16, 2017, 10:04:57 AM
There was a time when Rod Stewart's Your Song got more airplay than the Elton John original. Also, on a technicality, John and the late George Michael's duet of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me has become superior to John's original, and Stewart's Forever Young is far better known than Bob Dylan's composition.
Stewart's
Forever Young has very little relation to Dylan's
Forever Young (and no relation whatsoever to Alphaville's Forever Young), although Stewart did agree to share royalties with Dylan because it had similar stanzas.
Stewart also made
Having a Party popular. It was originally a Sam Cooke song, and was also covered by Southside Johnny.
Quote from: Henry on November 22, 2017, 09:55:32 AM
Originally, Bill Champlin (of Chicago fame)
Chicago was my favorite band when I was in high school. I was devastated when Terry Kath died, but found Donnie Dacus to be an adequate replacement, and "Hot Streets" a fitting continuation of the band's legacy.
They brought Champlin in after Dacus was dismissed and Chris Pinnick sat in on "Chicago XIV". I didn't like the ballad-heavy, de-emphasis on horns approach of the late 80s, but Champlin's voice was like the proverbial nails on the chalkboard to me. It drove me crazy to hear him singing Kath's parts on "Ballet for a Girl in (Misspelling of Buckhannon)." I think Champlin's voice, as much as the shift in direction, caused me to be less of a fan in the later years.
Conversely, I don't have any issues with the way Jason Scheff filled in for Peter Cetera, but Scheff's gone now and I'm not sure who's singing Cetera's old songs.
The original version of Knock on Wood by Eddie Floyd is completely eclipsed by Amii Stewart version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kceiks__PsE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAbq_qkzFR0
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on November 23, 2017, 04:52:37 PM
The original version of Knock on Wood by Eddie Floyd is completely eclipsed by Amii Stewart version.
Since when? They seem to get about equal airplay from what I've seen. Now, Otis Redding's (extremely good, IMHO) version of Knock on Wood seems to get buried.
Despite being a story from 2000, Rolling Stone had this linked on their page a little while ago - it's a long read, but I found the article to be really enjoyable....
In the Jungle: Inside the Long, Hidden Genealogy of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-lion-sleeps-tonight-genealogy-what-you-dont-know-w474059)
Arlo Guthrie's cover of Steve Goodman's City of New Orleans became way more popular than Goodman's version, and eventually prompted Amtrak to restore that name to their Chicago to New Orleans train.
Quote from: roadman on November 24, 2017, 11:43:59 AM
Arlo Guthrie's cover of Steve Goodman's City of New Orleans became way more popular than Goodman's version, and eventually prompted Amtrak to restore that name to their Chicago to New Orleans train.
Later covered by Willie Nelson.
Also, Travis Tritt's version of "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" is much more well known than the original by Elvis (one of his last songs).
Speaking of Travis Tritt, his cover of "Take It Easy" helped reunite the Eagles (the Eagles version is still more well known)
Thanks to an unbelievably annoying series of TV commercials, a bunch of kids are going to know "Holiday Road" as an advertising jingle rather than as Lindsay Buckingham's song from the "Vacation" movies. :ded:
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 02, 2017, 05:30:09 PM
Thanks to an unbelievably annoying series of TV commercials, a bunch of kids are going to know "Holiday Road" as an advertising jingle rather than as Lindsay Buckingham's song from the "Vacation" movies. :ded:
Interestingly, the verse in that commercial is 4 lines long (2 sung by a male and 2 sung by a female), whereas in the actual song, the verses are only 2 lines long.
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 02, 2017, 05:30:09 PM
Thanks to an unbelievably annoying series of TV commercials, a bunch of kids are going to know "Holiday Road" as an advertising jingle rather than as Lindsay Buckingham's song from the "Vacation" movies. :ded:
The same thing with oodles of other iconic songs from before they were born.
<sigh....>
:meh:
Mike
This thread hasn't been active in 2 1/2 years, but since I just found out about it, I have to throw a couple of songs in.
"Take Me To the River," by The Talking Heads was originally by Al Green. The original rarely get any airplay on the radio.
"Police On My Back," by The Clash is far more well known than when it was originally sung by The Equals. In fact I remember some kid introducing me to the song, and I knew it was a cover tune, but I forgot who did it. He insisted it was a brand new song. I had no proof until I saw a liner note on a CD Box set specifically crediting the Equals for the song. Since then I listen to the original more than The Clash's version, and everybody else does the opposite.
Quote from: D-Dey65 on July 09, 2020, 01:33:32 AM
This thread hasn't been active in 2 1/2 years, but since I just found out about it, I have to throw a couple of songs in.
"Take Me To the River," by The Talking Heads was originally by Al Green. The original rarely get any airplay on the radio.
"Police On My Back," by The Clash is far more well known than when it was originally sung by The Equals. In fact I remember some kid introducing me to the song, and I knew it was a cover tune, but I forgot who did it. He insisted it was a brand new song. I had no proof until I saw a liner note on a CD Box set specifically crediting the Equals for the song. Since then I listen to the original more than The Clash's version, and everybody else does the opposite.
Did you know that Foghat also did a cover of that Al Green song?
Did anyone mention "The Man Who Sold the World?" Everybody knows it's a David Bowie song, but everybody knows the Nirvana version. And even though everybody knows the "Unplugged" version, they also did this:
https://youtu.be/iz3tmYDl6XI
I also like this performance Beck and the surviving members of Nirvana did in tribute to David Bowie:
https://youtu.be/ScUOspWnYnk
Nirvana's version of "Love Buzz" from the late 80s probably gets heard more often the original by Shocking Blue:
https://youtu.be/5x4DExYv35c
Things like this happen when when a band gets so famous, it's practically second only to the Beatles. Speaking of which, here's everybody who's still alive except Ringo and Nirvana's earlier drummers, doing a new song:
https://youtu.be/7a8j_LEryAs
Battle of New Orleans. Most famous version is of course by Johnny Horton.
Pat Benatar's "We Belong" is a cover of a song written by a fairly obscure Los Angeles folk duo. Pat and Neil Giraldo like to pretend publicly that the song was entirely theirs.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 09, 2020, 01:21:09 PM
Pat Benatar's "We Belong" is a cover of a song written by a fairly obscure Los Angeles folk duo. Pat and Neil Giraldo like to pretend publicly that the song was entirely theirs.
Pat made her career off covers. Her version of "You Better Run" was the second song ever played on MTV (some critics called it the first "proper" song, which I interpreted as MTV paying the Bungles to make "Video Killed the Radio Star").
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 24, 2017, 01:44:14 AM
Quote from: mgk920 on September 24, 2017, 01:30:29 AM
Another one that nobody has mentioned yet is Quiet Riot's (Come) On Feel the Noize (1983), a cover of a song that was originally released by in 1973 by the British act Slade.
Mike
Quiet Riot had a thing for covering Slade. Mama Weer all Crazee Now was also a Slade song.
Actually, the leader of Quiet Riot didn't want to cover
Cum On Feel the Noize, because (1) he wasn't crazy about Slade's music and (2) he wanted the album to be all original songs. It was the producer who suggested they do the cover, because Quiet Riot's music wasn't catching on in the USA and the Slade song was a hit in other countries. He figured it would be a pretty safe bet for them to cover it, and hopefully their version would catch on here and boost sales of their upcoming album.
After discussing the matter, the band members decided to play the song, but to do a terrible job at it, in expectation that the producer then wouldn't
want to release it. So they never practiced the song, nor even requested permission from Slade to cover it. The producer would call every so often and ask how
Cum On Feel the Noize was coming along, and they would lie by saying it was starting to sound really good. They didn't fess up to the producer until they were in the studio ready to record.
Everyone was laughing about it–except the producer, probably–and the drummer eventually just decided to start playing because, well,
someone had to. (Notice that the Slade version has no drum intro.) One by one, then, the other instruments joined in. Because the band hadn't practiced, they weren't too familiar with the order of the song, so they skipped a verse or a chorus or something along the way. This whole time, the lead singer was busting a gut laughing in the corner of the recording studio.
After the take was over, the producer played it back and the lead singer was a little angry–because it actually turned out
good, and that's not what they had decided on. The band joked that maybe he could still at least
sing it badly. Anyway, they then added the vocal track, and the song became VH1's 80th best one hit wonder of all time. It was only
after recording the song that they got permission from Slade to cover it.
Even though Slade got some increased popularity due to Quiet Riot's cover of their song, Slade was still pretty bitter about the success of the cover version. In fact, one day, Quiet Riot's drummer ran into Slade's bassist while shopping and extended his hand in thanks for letting them cover the song. Slade's bassist turned around, walked out of the store, and left his hand hanging midair.
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on July 09, 2020, 01:37:52 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 09, 2020, 01:21:09 PM
Pat Benatar's "We Belong" is a cover of a song written by a fairly obscure Los Angeles folk duo. Pat and Neil Giraldo like to pretend publicly that the song was entirely theirs.
Pat made her career off covers. Her version of "You Better Run" was the second song ever played on MTV (some critics called it the first "proper" song, which I interpreted as MTV paying the Bungles Buggles to make "Video Killed the Radio Star").
"Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles dates from 1979, two years before MTV even got on the air. It was chosen by MTV for a rather obvious reason for their first video.
Elton John's version of "Pinball Wizard" is better known than the version done by The Who. Elton John version was done for the movie based on the Who's rock opera Tommy.
Quote from: cwf1701 on July 09, 2020, 02:53:33 PM
Elton John's version of "Pinball Wizard" is better known than the version done by The Who. Elton John version was done for the movie based on the Who's rock opera Tommy.
I don't agree with this; the original Who version is the one that gets the airplay.
Quote from: cwf1701 on July 09, 2020, 02:53:33 PM
Elton John's version of "Pinball Wizard" is better known than the version done by The Who.
Uh...no it's not.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 09, 2020, 04:31:42 PM
Quote from: cwf1701 on July 09, 2020, 02:53:33 PM
Elton John's version of "Pinball Wizard" is better known than the version done by The Who.
Uh...no it's not.
For a while, the Rod Stewart version from the LSO/Tommy (1972) album received a lot of airplay, eclipsing the 1969 Who original recording -- but it wasn't a real issue, as Daltrey and Townshend were intimately involved in the album's production, with Daltrey reprising his vocals of Tommy himself. Some critics prefer Stewart's version over both the original and Elton John's later film-included version. Myself, I'm torn -- generally I lean toward originalism with music -- but Stewart sang the hell out of that song!
Quote from: stridentweasel on July 09, 2020, 08:14:55 AM
Did anyone mention "The Man Who Sold the World?" Everybody knows it's a David Bowie song, but everybody knows the Nirvana version. And even though everybody knows the "Unplugged" version, they also did this:
https://youtu.be/iz3tmYDl6XI
I also like this performance Beck and the surviving members of Nirvana did in tribute to David Bowie:
https://youtu.be/ScUOspWnYnk
Hole, and a few other lesser known bands did covers of that song, though I can't find those right now.
I used to speculate that record companies got certain grunge bands to do covers of it as a means of coming out of the closet as either gay or bisexual.
I don't know if this was mentioned, but "The First Cut is the Deepest" was originally a high tempo Cat Stevens' song.
But much less famous, than the slower Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow versions.
Quote from: briantroutman on October 06, 2014, 09:54:34 PM
The poster children for this category could very well be the Carpenters. In a sense, they were really a cover group and repackaging outfit–even when it comes to the songs that people identify as being "theirs" .
Relatively unknown versions of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" were recorded by Dionne Warwick (1963), Richard Chamberlain (1963), Dusty Springfield (1964), and songwriter Burt Bacharach himself (1968)–and a truly awful version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrTcNT_3knc&spfreload=1) sung by Herb Alpert–all before the song became a #1 hit for the Carpenters in 1970.
Their signature song, "We've Only Just Begun" , was recorded by the song's lyricist, Paul Williams, for a Crocker National Bank commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGmdwHTP1I&spfreload=1), which is how Richard Carpenter first heard the song.
"For All We Know" , "Superstar" , "Hurting Each Other" , "It's Going to Take Some Time" , "Sing" , "I Won't Last a Day Without You" –all are best known as Carpenters songs, and all are covers.
Anne Murry and Joe Cocker are also examples of this.
Both made a career of doing covers, but in a way most people thought their version was the version
"With a Little Help From my Friends"
"She Came in Through the Bathroom Window"
"The Letter"
"You are so Beautiful"
Bob Dylan: (first the song, then the famous cover)
"Knocking on Heaven's Door" Guns n Roses
"My Back Pages" "Mr. Tambourine Man" The Byrds
"All Along the Watchtower" Jimmi Hendrix
"To Make you Feel My Love" Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Adel
"Everything is Broken" Kenny Wayne Shepherd
"The Times They are a Changin" Peter, Paul and Mary
"Girl From the North County" Jonny Cash
"Wagon Wheel" Old Crow Medicine Show, Darius Rucker
And people wonder why I don't understand why there is even a discussion on who the best songwriter ever is. The man is the best.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 10, 2020, 04:55:13 PM
"Girl From the North County" Jonny Cash
I like the version where they sing together.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 10, 2020, 04:55:13 PM
"Wagon Wheel" Old Crow Medicine Show, Darius Rucker
That was only co-written by Dylan. It was never actually released by Dylan, and the Old Crow Medicine Show version doesn't even use Dylan's verses.
Quote from: kphoger on July 10, 2020, 05:06:37 PM
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 10, 2020, 04:55:13 PM
"Girl From the North County" Jonny Cash
I like the version where they sing together.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 10, 2020, 04:55:13 PM
"Wagon Wheel" Old Crow Medicine Show, Darius Rucker
That was only co-written by Dylan. It was never actually released by Dylan, and the Old Crow Medicine Show version doesn't even use Dylan's verses.
I know, but I still think of it as a Bob Dylan song. It wasn't really co written, it was unfinished by Bob Dylan that Old Crow Medicine Show finished.
For a brief moment back around 1989, Guns 'N Roses' cover of McCartney's Live and Let Die got a ton of airplay (even though Axl Rose's vocals sound like he was being strangled during the chorus) -- but that version has been noticeably absent from commercial radio since about 1994 or so. Of course, the original McC & Wings version (with George Martin orchestration) was always definitive.
Quote from: kphoger on July 09, 2020, 02:12:54 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 24, 2017, 01:44:14 AM
Quote from: mgk920 on September 24, 2017, 01:30:29 AM
Another one that nobody has mentioned yet is Quiet Riot's (Come) On Feel the Noize (1983), a cover of a song that was originally released by in 1973 by the British act Slade.
Mike
Quiet Riot had a thing for covering Slade. Mama Weer all Crazee Now was also a Slade song.
Actually, the leader of Quiet Riot didn't want to cover Cum On Feel the Noize, because (1) he wasn't crazy about Slade's music and (2) he wanted the album to be all original songs. It was the producer who suggested they do the cover, because Quiet Riot's music wasn't catching on in the USA and the Slade song was a hit in other countries. He figured it would be a pretty safe bet for them to cover it, and hopefully their version would catch on here and boost sales of their upcoming album.
After discussing the matter, the band members decided to play the song, but to do a terrible job at it, in expectation that the producer then wouldn't want to release it. So they never practiced the song, nor even requested permission from Slade to cover it. The producer would call every so often and ask how Cum On Feel the Noize was coming along, and they would lie by saying it was starting to sound really good. They didn't fess up to the producer until they were in the studio ready to record.
Everyone was laughing about it–except the producer, probably–and the drummer eventually just decided to start playing because, well, someone had to. (Notice that the Slade version has no drum intro.) One by one, then, the other instruments joined in. Because the band hadn't practiced, they weren't too familiar with the order of the song, so they skipped a verse or a chorus or something along the way. This whole time, the lead singer was busting a gut laughing in the corner of the recording studio.
After the take was over, the producer played it back and the lead singer was a little angry–because it actually turned out good, and that's not what they had decided on. The band joked that maybe he could still at least sing it badly. Anyway, they then added the vocal track, and the song became VH1's 80th best one hit wonder of all time. It was only after recording the song that they got permission from Slade to cover it.
Even though Slade got some increased popularity due to Quiet Riot's cover of their song, Slade was still pretty bitter about the success of the cover version. In fact, one day, Quiet Riot's drummer ran into Slade's bassist while shopping and extended his hand in thanks for letting them cover the song. Slade's bassist turned around, walked out of the store, and left his hand hanging midair.
Kevin DuBrow. Didn't he feud with just about every other 80s metal band lead singer at some time or another?
First song of theirs I ever heard was "Metal Health," the title track of their first big album, which everyone seemed to think was called "Bang Your Head." Heard it, and Vandenberg's "Burning Heart" and "Wait," on an AOR station in Harrisonburg, Va., while on a family vacation there. I typically bought albums then, and recorded them to cassette to play in the car or the portable unit, but I bought the cassettes of both albums that night at a Kmart in Harrisonburg after having heard the songs on the radio earlier that day.
And yes, Slade did have a bit of a resurgence due to "Cum On Feel the Noize." Their hit as a result of Quiet Riot's hit was "Run Runaway."
Randy Rhoads, the guitarist on Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums, got his start in Quiet Riot before they became famous.
Quote from: sparker on July 10, 2020, 05:50:31 PM
For a brief moment back around 1989, Guns 'N Roses' cover of McCartney's Live and Let Die got a ton of airplay (even though Axl Rose's vocals sound like he was being strangled during the chorus) -- but that version has been noticeably absent from commercial radio since about 1994 or so. Of course, the original McC & Wings version (with George Martin orchestration) was always definitive.
I still heard it fairly frequently on the local classic rock station within the past decade, but it certainly wasn't played as often as Paradise City or Welcome To The Jungle.
Quote from: sparker on July 09, 2020, 05:40:31 PM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 09, 2020, 04:31:42 PM
Quote from: cwf1701 on July 09, 2020, 02:53:33 PM
Elton John's version of "Pinball Wizard" is better known than the version done by The Who.
Uh...no it's not.
For a while, the Rod Stewart version from the LSO/Tommy (1972) album received a lot of airplay, eclipsing the 1969 Who original recording -- but it wasn't a real issue, as Daltrey and Townshend were intimately involved in the album's production, with Daltrey reprising his vocals of Tommy himself. Some critics prefer Stewart's version over both the original and Elton John's later film-included version. Myself, I'm torn -- generally I lean toward originalism with music -- but Stewart sang the hell out of that song!
Nah.
Annie Lennox had a big hit in 1995 with "No More I Love You'd". Turns out some obscure British band did it first around 1986. Haven't heard it in ages, but kinda liked their version, too.
Rod Stewart's "Downtown Train" is way more popular than songwriter Tom Waits' version.
"Me and Bobby McGee" of Janis Joplin fame, written and performed originally by Kris Kristofferson.
Everything Guy Clark wrote, Jerry Jeff Walker about covered and made it famous, particularly "L.A. Freeway"
Bonus: "Unchained Melody" is actually a cover of a song from a movie called Unchained, then the Righteous Brothers made it a phenomenal hit and a rock legend.
Quote from: Brandon on July 09, 2020, 02:46:26 PM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on July 09, 2020, 01:37:52 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 09, 2020, 01:21:09 PM
Pat Benatar's "We Belong" is a cover of a song written by a fairly obscure Los Angeles folk duo. Pat and Neil Giraldo like to pretend publicly that the song was entirely theirs.
Pat made her career off covers. Her version of "You Better Run" was the second song ever played on MTV (some critics called it the first "proper" song, which I interpreted as MTV paying the Bungles Buggles to make "Video Killed the Radio Star").
"Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles dates from 1979, two years before MTV even got on the air. It was chosen by MTV for a rather obvious reason for their first video.
Another technicality exists with Drift Away, which the late Dobie Gray made a hit in the 1970s. Since Uncle Kracker's cover of the song debuted in 1999, his version is the better-known one, although Gray is still singing on it as well. In this regard, it is similar to Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with George Michael and Elton John's duet outdoing John's original by a long shot).
Quote from: Henry on July 14, 2020, 10:13:22 AM
Another technicality exists with Drift Away, which the late Dobie Gray made a hit in the 1970s. Since Uncle Kracker's cover of the song debuted in 1999, his version is the better-known one, although Gray is still singing on it as well. In this regard, it is similar to Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with George Michael and Elton John's duet outdoing John's original by a long shot).
The original was a top 10 hit and was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year.
G.C. Cameron's song "It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday" who was part of the movie soundtrack of Cooley High got a bigger success when Boyz II Men covered it.
Quote from: Henry on July 14, 2020, 10:13:22 AM
Another technicality exists with Drift Away, which the late Dobie Gray made a hit in the 1970s. Since Uncle Kracker's cover of the song debuted in 1999, his version is the better-known one, although Gray is still singing on it as well. In this regard, it is similar to Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with George Michael and Elton John's duet outdoing John's original by a long shot).
I've not heard the cover.
Now the Toto song Africa cover that is been out for a while is being played more than original back in the 80's.
Quote from: US71 on July 14, 2020, 11:29:27 AM
Quote from: Henry on July 14, 2020, 10:13:22 AM
Another technicality exists with Drift Away, which the late Dobie Gray made a hit in the 1970s. Since Uncle Kracker's cover of the song debuted in 1999, his version is the better-known one, although Gray is still singing on it as well. In this regard, it is similar to Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with George Michael and Elton John's duet outdoing John's original by a long shot).
I've not heard the cover.
I discard the term "cover" in favor of "remake" anytime anyone who was involved in the production of the original song is in any way involved in the second version. Anything which Paul or John, Ozzy, Brian or Mike, or Pete (or any of the boys or 1Ds) subsequently did on their own or with others or which Elton subsequently did with someone else is a "remake".
You get into a grey area when the voice of a dead person is tracked into a later duet with a latter day star. I've got several karaoke hits of this kind. But, still, I would think of these as "karoke covers".
You also get into a grey area when a writer or singer on the original just plays an instrument on the second version.
Quote from: roadman65 on July 14, 2020, 11:58:22 AM
Now the Toto song Africa cover that is been out for a while is being played more than original back in the 80's.
As a child of the 80s, I seriously doubt that. It was a number one hit at one point. On an album that won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
I think an off shoot to this topic is "Songs that got popular for one generation that so much time had gone by since the original, no one knew it actually was a cover."
There are lots of examples of that. The original was a hit, huge hit, then decades went by, then it was covered and no one knew it had been done before. I would say I good example of this is "Killing me Softly with His Song". It was a big hit for Roberta Flack, but tell any youngster that only knows the Fugees version and they will be shocked to hear the song is actually an oldie. Plus songwriter Lori Lieberman had moderate success with that song with her version. In both situations the hit was a cover.
The ol kids not knowing the stuff they think they created had been done decades before. Ah, to be young and dumb.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 17, 2020, 12:04:21 PM
I think an off shoot to this topic is "Songs that got popular for one generation that so much time had gone by since the original, no one knew it actually was a cover."
There are lots of examples of that. The original was a hit, huge hit, then decades went by, then it was covered and no one knew it had been done before. I would say I good example of this is "Killing me Softly with His Song". It was a big hit for Roberta Flack, but tell any youngster that only knows the Fugees version and they will be shocked to hear the song is actually an oldie. Plus songwriter Lori Lieberman had moderate success with that song with her version. In both situations the hit was a cover.
The ol kids not knowing the stuff they think they created had been done decades before. Ah, to be young and dumb.
Big Yellow Taxi.
When my son heard the original, Joni Mitchell version, he asked if it was a remake of the Counting Crows song.
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 14, 2020, 01:50:41 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on July 14, 2020, 11:58:22 AM
Now the Toto song Africa cover that is been out for a while is being played more than original back in the 80's.
As a child of the 80s, I seriously doubt that. It was a number one hit at one point. On an album that won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
In a way, it's true: we have instant nostalgia now. Couple that with a typical cycle of 25-30 year-old stuff a previous generation "missed out on", and the less-notable becomes popular again.
The usual timeline for a hit song is a few weeks or even a few months of airplay, and then it mostly fades into obscurity. Then it gets picked up again 15-20 years later, or sooner with dedicated niche stations, and you can't stop hearing it, because there's so many wells of different tastes and styles to go to now.
That's an example I remember when I was a kid - you didn't hear it much by the time 1986 rolled around, because something else was new and fresh and that's what radio does. There's a vagueness point where a lot of music and taste resides for about 3-15 years because It Isn't Cool Anymore. At some point, it's old enough to have Been Forgotten and then seems fresh again.
Quote from: formulanone on July 17, 2020, 12:53:55 PM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 14, 2020, 01:50:41 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on July 14, 2020, 11:58:22 AM
Now the Toto song Africa cover that is been out for a while is being played more than original back in the 80's.
As a child of the 80s, I seriously doubt that. It was a number one hit at one point. On an album that won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
In a way, it's true: we have instant nostalgia now. Couple that with a typical cycle of 25-30 year-old stuff a previous generation "missed out on", and the less-notable becomes popular again.
The usual timeline for a hit song is a few weeks or even a few months of airplay, and then it mostly fades into obscurity. Then it gets picked up again 15-20 years later, or sooner with dedicated niche stations, and you can't stop hearing it, because there's so many wells of different tastes and styles to go to now.
That's an example I remember when I was a kid - you didn't hear it much by the time 1986 rolled around, because something else was new and fresh and that's what radio does. There's a vagueness point where a lot of music and taste resides for about 3-15 years because It Isn't Cool Anymore. At some point, it's old enough to have Been Forgotten and then seems fresh again.
The syndrome you speak of is "You listen to that song? It's old and crappy. Its from 2017" Yet no one bats an eye playing a Beatles song.
I have always said a decade comes back into fashion about 20 years after it happened. That's because the generation that lived through it grew up to the point where listening to older song isn't make fun of worthy, and that generation's kids don't know anything about that decade and is seeing it for the first time, and like history, it's a "(fill in decade)'s greatest hits", so the younger only sees the best that decade has to offer. Its like it gets discovered again; by the ones that lived it because they are removed enough now to not see it for what it was at the time, and by a generation that doesn't know any better.
Examples: 1. Happy Days in the 70s took place in the 50s-early 60s
2. Dirty Dancing came out in the 80s about the 60s which I think spearheaded a whole bunch of 60s covers reentering the charts (The Bangels covering "Locomotion" and "Hazy Shade of Winter", "There's Always Something There to Remind Me" being covered are examples)
3. The 90s gave us "That 70s Show" and you had George Michael covering "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", Stone Temple Piolots covering Led Zeplin, and Nirvana with "The Man Who Sold the World" cover. There was a short 60s fascination in the mid 90s when Forrest Gump came out and reintroduced a lot of 60s music, but also Lynard Skynard songs got more airplay in the 90s
4. 2000s, 80s fashion came back at the end of the decade (but again, the better parts of the 80s, not the oversized glasses and bad bad haircuts), and all the now soccer moms started blaring Bon Jovi and Journey around their kids.
5. Now we are into the 90s, but with smartphones.
Yes, things, like music have a limbo period of about 20 years at max where no one wants to touch it after it spent it's days in the charts. Take anything from 2010, no one wants to admit that stuff even existed now, but were all over it in 2010.
"MacArthur Park" written by Jimmy Weeb and performed by Richard Harris ended #2 in 1968 on Biilboard and was eclipsed by the disco cover made by Donna Summer and the parody known as Jurassic Park by Weird Al Yankovic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwYQgk05DY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24jAy_T1U2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4zvQfDhi0
One more version of MacArthur Park, from SCTV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8JlQNIvIfI
Quote from: michravera on July 14, 2020, 01:25:39 PM
You get into a grey area when the voice of a dead person is tracked into a later duet with a latter day star. I've got several karaoke hits of this kind. But, still, I would think of these as "karoke covers".
Like Natalie Cole's "duets" with her father?
Quote from: roadman65 on July 14, 2020, 11:58:22 AM
Now the Toto song Africa cover that is been out for a while is being played more than original back in the 80's.
Yeah, I'm not a fan of the Weezer cover that I continue to hear on radio stations
Quote from: US71 on September 04, 2020, 07:27:07 PM
Quote from: michravera on July 14, 2020, 01:25:39 PM
You get into a grey area when the voice of a dead person is tracked into a later duet with a latter day star. I've got several karaoke hits of this kind. But, still, I would think of these as "karaoke covers".
Like Natalie Cole's "duets" with her father?
Absolutely!
Cranking up the wayback machine for this one (perhaps into SFW territory):
Andy Williams' cover of John Barry and Don Black's Born Free, released a few months after the original soundtrack, has over the years gotten almost infinitely more air play than the Matt Monro version on the soundtrack itself (and played at the end of the film). The two singers' vocalizations were markedly similar (although Williams' orchestration was a lot more "lush" and string-filled), so a lot of folks mistakenly assumed Williams had been the original artist. Of course, Barry & Black won an Oscar for the song, and the sales of the album containing Williams' version reportedly shot up to the roof, while the soundtrack album, though it got a bit of a resultant boost, sold about as well as other Barry scores (except for the Bond films, soundtrack sales of which dwarfed most others in the mid/late '60's).
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on July 09, 2020, 01:37:52 PM
Pat made her career off covers.
So did Captain and Tenille. "Love Will Keep Us Together", for instance, was written and originally sung by Neil Sedaka. The lyrics make more sense from a male perspective.
'Tom's Diner' by suzanne vega, never really got famous until a (british, i think) DJ remixed it into the version you usually hear with the drums and such. You rarely hear the original which iirc has no instruments whatsoever.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 17, 2020, 01:26:28 PM
3. The 90s gave us "That 70s Show" and you had George Michael covering "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", Stone Temple Piolots covering Led Zeplin, and Nirvana with "The Man Who Sold the World" cover. There was a short 60s fascination in the mid 90s when Forrest Gump came out and reintroduced a lot of 60s music, but also Lynard Skynard songs got more airplay in the 90s
You mentioned That 70s Show and didn't mention Cheap Trick's cover of In the Street as the show's theme song was originally from Big Star.
Quote from: Henry on July 14, 2020, 10:13:22 AM
Another technicality exists with Drift Away, which the late Dobie Gray made a hit in the 1970s.
Another Dobie Gray hit that had a bigger cover was The In Crowd, a decent hit for Gray but a monster instrumental hit for Ramsey Lewis.
As someone who just discovered this thread, I will have to say the opinions of what is the most well-known version of a song has been interesting. I remember a David Bowie with Nine Inch Nails concert and fans not realizing Bowie's version of The Man Who Sold The World was the original and not a Nirvana cover. It was fun telling them that Bowie wrote it.
Maneskin has a big hit with "Beggin'" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PBcnAaYwA&ab_channel=GaTTiniDiVERtEnti); but, Madcon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFI2gJSuwA&ab_channel=oficialmadcon), a Norwegian rap duo, did it much better if you ask me. Not nearly as popular in the U.S.
"Valerie" by Amy Winehouse has become one of her more well-known songs in the decade-plus since she died, but the original was done by the Zutons.
I bet most people know Michael Bolton's version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is more well-known than Laura Branigan's version.
Quote from: golden eagle on March 23, 2022, 01:08:44 PM
I bet most people know Michael Bolton's version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is more well-known than Laura Branigan's version.
Michael who? Laura who?
Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2014, 12:46:36 PM
Quote from: Henry on October 06, 2014, 12:36:01 PM
And speaking of 1982, Dolly Parton had a hit song called I Will Always Love You. Of course, the Whitney Houston version from 1992 is by far the better-known one.
The song is older than 1982 (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). Parton originally penned it in 1973, releasing it in 1974. It is, far, far better than Houston's screeching that permeates the cover.
"far better than Houston's screeching"? :hmmm: el o el.
Whitney Houston also recording two songs from her debut album that are more famous than the originals: Saving All My Love was originally by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in 1978. The Greatest Love of All was was recorded by George Benson in 1977.
Quote from: US71 on March 24, 2022, 07:15:42 PM
Quote from: golden eagle on March 23, 2022, 01:08:44 PM
I bet most people know Michael Bolton's version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is more well-known than Laura Branigan's version.
Michael who? Laura who?
Branigan had a brief posthumous resurgence in popularity when the St. Louis Blues adopted her song "Gloria" on their way to their Stanley Cup title in 2019. Apparently some element connected to the Blues had even inquired about having her perform, not knowing she had been dead for 15 years.
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 09, 2020, 02:04:55 AM
Quote from: D-Dey65 on July 09, 2020, 01:33:32 AM
This thread hasn't been active in 2 1/2 years, but since I just found out about it, I have to throw a couple of songs in.
"Take Me To the River," by The Talking Heads was originally by Al Green. The original rarely get any airplay on the radio.
"Police On My Back," by The Clash is far more well known than when it was originally sung by The Equals. In fact I remember some kid introducing me to the song, and I knew it was a cover tune, but I forgot who did it. He insisted it was a brand new song. I had no proof until I saw a liner note on a CD Box set specifically crediting the Equals for the song. Since then I listen to the original more than The Clash's version, and everybody else does the opposite.
Did you know that Foghat also did a cover of that Al Green song?
Even Lynda Carter covered that song. Hell, that cover was played on an episode of Young Sheldon.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 10, 2020, 04:55:13 PM
Bob Dylan: (first the song, then the famous cover)
"Knocking on Heaven's Door" Guns n Roses
Before Guns n Roses, another heavy metal band named "Heaven" covered it. Am I really the only person who knows about this one?
Quote from: D-Dey65 on April 01, 2022, 08:31:17 AM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 09, 2020, 02:04:55 AM
Quote from: D-Dey65 on July 09, 2020, 01:33:32 AM
This thread hasn't been active in 2 1/2 years, but since I just found out about it, I have to throw a couple of songs in.
"Take Me To the River," by The Talking Heads was originally by Al Green. The original rarely get any airplay on the radio.
"Police On My Back," by The Clash is far more well known than when it was originally sung by The Equals. In fact I remember some kid introducing me to the song, and I knew it was a cover tune, but I forgot who did it. He insisted it was a brand new song. I had no proof until I saw a liner note on a CD Box set specifically crediting the Equals for the song. Since then I listen to the original more than The Clash's version, and everybody else does the opposite.
Did you know that Foghat also did a cover of that Al Green song?
Even Lynda Carter covered that song. Hell, that cover was played on an episode of Young Sheldon.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 10, 2020, 04:55:13 PM
Bob Dylan: (first the song, then the famous cover)
"Knocking on Heaven's Door" Guns n Roses
Before Guns n Roses, another heavy metal band named "Heaven" covered it. Am I really the only person who knows about this one?
Huh. Not sure about Al Green not getting radio play, though. More of a generational divide, I'd think.
Here's the Lynda Carter version on Young Sheldon. I was going to add this to my previous post, but I got a reply too quickly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QKs9aJ80GQ
Quote from: kenarmy on March 28, 2022, 12:01:21 AM
Quote from: Brandon on October 06, 2014, 12:46:36 PM
Quote from: Henry on October 06, 2014, 12:36:01 PM
And speaking of 1982, Dolly Parton had a hit song called I Will Always Love You. Of course, the Whitney Houston version from 1992 is by far the better-known one.
The song is older than 1982 (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). Parton originally penned it in 1973, releasing it in 1974. It is, far, far better than Houston's screeching that permeates the cover.
"far better than Houston's screeching"? :hmmm: el o el.
She wrote it about leaving Porter Wagner's show so yeah, it is way older than 1982. She was trying to get out of a contract a year earlier and break their business partnership, so she wrote that song to express her desire to leave the show, and as a way to get him to let her break her contract. She said he was so moved he said "okay, you can leave the show, but I have to produce that song."
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on March 28, 2022, 02:34:48 PM
Quote from: US71 on March 24, 2022, 07:15:42 PM
Quote from: golden eagle on March 23, 2022, 01:08:44 PM
I bet most people know Michael Bolton's version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is more well-known than Laura Branigan's version.
Michael who? Laura who?
Branigan had a brief posthumous resurgence in popularity when the St. Louis Blues adopted her song "Gloria" on their way to their Stanley Cup title in 2019. Apparently some element connected to the Blues had even inquired about having her perform, not knowing she had been dead for 15 years.
I have seen a [a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItKtL3aTeWE"]clip[/a] from an Italian TV show in which Branigan does a bilingual duet of "Ti Amo" with its writer and original Humberto Tozzi, who also wrote and performed "Gloria". She does an English version of Gloria mostly alone later in the same clip.
I can think of a couple:
Elton John version of Pinball Wizard is better known than the version that was recorded by the Who for their album Tommy.
After The Fire had a version of Falco's Der Kommasar that is better known because its lyrics are in english. Falco's version was recorded in German.
Bob Dylan All Along the Watchtower is better known by 2 versions, one done by Jimmy Hendrix in the late 60s, and the other as part of the soundtrack to 2003 version of Battlestar Galactica .
Quote from: cwf1701 on April 01, 2022, 04:32:50 PM
Elton John version of Pinball Wizard is better known than the version that was recorded by the Who for their album Tommy.
I don't think this is true at all. I didn't even know Elton John had covered it until just now–I've only ever heard the Who's version.
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 01, 2022, 04:54:27 PM
Quote from: cwf1701 on April 01, 2022, 04:32:50 PM
Elton John version of Pinball Wizard is better known than the version that was recorded by the Who for their album Tommy.
I don't think this is true at all. I didn't even know Elton John had covered it until just now–I've only ever heard the Who's version.
I agree that The Who's version is much more famous.
Also disagree with Falco being less popular...
Quote from: Rothman on April 01, 2022, 05:00:40 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 01, 2022, 04:54:27 PM
Quote from: cwf1701 on April 01, 2022, 04:32:50 PM
Elton John version of Pinball Wizard is better known than the version that was recorded by the Who for their album Tommy.
I don't think this is true at all. I didn't even know Elton John had covered it until just now–I've only ever heard the Who's version.
I agree that The Who's version is much more famous.
It's no more true now than it was the first time he asserted this.
Quote from: cwf1701 on July 09, 2020, 02:53:33 PM
Elton John's version of "Pinball Wizard" is better known than the version done by The Who. Elton John version was done for the movie based on the Who's rock opera Tommy.
Aerosmith's cover of Come Together isn't better known, but regardless still gets about 30-40% of the plays of that song. I wish it wouldn't.
Quote from: Rothman on April 01, 2022, 08:35:18 AM
Huh. Not sure about Al Green not getting radio play, though. More of a generational divide, I'd think.
I hear his original version of "Let's Stay Together," which was covered by Tina Turner more than "Take Me to the River."
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on September 03, 2020, 03:09:46 PM
"MacArthur Park" written by Jimmy Weeb and performed by Richard Harris ended #2 in 1968 on Biilboard and was eclipsed by the disco cover made by Donna Summer and the parody known as Jurassic Park by Weird Al Yankovic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwYQgk05DY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24jAy_T1U2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4zvQfDhi0
It was also covered by The Queers, and even
they can't make that song good.
:thumbdown:
And no, I'm not going to add a link to it.
I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but IMHO, the Blues Brothers' version of 'Rawhide' was far better (and more famous?) than the original theme song from the TV series.
Mike
Quote from: D-Dey65 on April 27, 2022, 01:15:54 AM
Quote from: Rothman on April 01, 2022, 08:35:18 AM
Huh. Not sure about Al Green not getting radio play, though. More of a generational divide, I'd think.
I hear his original version of "Let's Stay Together," which was covered by Tina Turner more than "Take Me to the River."
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on September 03, 2020, 03:09:46 PM
"MacArthur Park" written by Jimmy Weeb and performed by Richard Harris ended #2 in 1968 on Biilboard and was eclipsed by the disco cover made by Donna Summer and the parody known as Jurassic Park by Weird Al Yankovic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwYQgk05DY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24jAy_T1U2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4zvQfDhi0
It was also covered by The Queers, and even they can't make that song good.
:thumbdown:
And no, I'm not going to add a link to it.
Damn! I guess I'll never have that recipe again!!
Somebody left a cake out in the rain!
OH NO!
I was gonna eat that cake, but now it's all wet and I don't think I want any!