Cover Songs.

[Caitlyn]

Love them or loathe them there have been some interesting covers made of classic songs so here we are looking at posting the new version against the old version... Which is best?

[Mulletino]

Re: Cover Songs.

Use me, by Bill Withers. Classic song and great cover by Raw Stylus, love them both for their own merits.

(the one video limit means i couldn't post both as vids)

[Caitlyn]

Re: Cover Songs.

Use me, by Bill Withers. Classic song and great cover by Raw Stylus, love them both for their own merits.

(the one video limit means i couldn't post both as vids)

Yep same here couldn't post Personal Jesus by Jonny Cash and the cover by Depeche mode... Two great songs but very different.

[Clare]

Re: Cover Songs.

Yep same here couldn't post Personal Jesus by Jonny Cash and the cover by Depeche mode... Two great songs but very different.

I believe Johnny Cash's is the cover, and Depeche Mode's the original.

[zabadak]

Re: Cover Songs.

Wow, such a big topic! Most acts - Beatles, Sinatra, Sex Pistols, Nirvana, Glenn Miller, Adele, you name them - have done cover versions in their time!

[Clare]

Re: Cover Songs.

It's also interesting to discover that songs you thought were originals are actually covers.

[George 1978]

Re: Cover Songs.

I always thought that doing a cover version is sometimes better than doing an original because of the risks that artistes take when singing a hit that no one else has done before. I don't think that a cover version is a rip-off of the original as such - on the contrary - it can be a tribute to the original performer, and it can save on getting songwriters in. One cannot imagine songwriters such as McCartney or Elton John themselves doing cover versions - why should they when they can write new material themselves?

A lot of Shakin' Stevens' hits were cover versions of 1950s songs, and he helped to bring those hits up to date for the 1980s and made them fashionable again - could one imagine teenagers of the 1980s bopping around to Frankie Vaughan or Rosemary Clooney hits at the school disco? I think not. I was listening to a radio programme that played 1950s rock and roll songs about a year or so back and there were at least three songs on there that were original versions of songs that Shaky covered nearly 30 years later.

There can also be cover versions that have a slightly different title to the original - a change of gender meant that a cover version of Madness' My Girl became Tracey Ullman's My Guy, which of course was a different song to Mary Wells' hit.

My motto towards cover versions is "better the devil you know".

[tex]

Re: Cover Songs.

I always thought that doing a cover version is sometimes better than doing an original because of the risks that artistes take when singing a hit that no one else has done before. I don't think that a cover version is a rip-off of the original as such - on the contrary - it can be a tribute to the original performer, and it can save on getting songwriters in. One cannot imagine songwriters such as McCartney or Elton John themselves doing cover versions - why should they when they can write new material themselves?

A lot of Shakin' Stevens' hits were cover versions of 1950s songs, and he helped to bring those hits up to date for the 1980s and made them fashionable again - could one imagine teenagers of the 1980s bopping around to Frankie Vaughan or Rosemary Clooney hits at the school disco? I think not. I was listening to a radio programme that played 1950s rock and roll songs about a year or so back and there were at least three songs on there that were original versions of songs that Shaky covered nearly 30 years later.

There can also be cover versions that have a slightly different title to the original - a change of gender meant that a cover version of Madness' My Girl became Tracey Ullman's My Guy, which of course was a different song to Mary Wells' hit.

My motto towards cover versions is "better the devil you know".

The beatles did a lorry load of covers?

[tex]

Re: Cover Songs.

The beatles did a lorry load of covers?

Sorry this is a statement NOT a question

[Richard1978]

Re: Cover Songs.

One of my favourite covers is Al Green's version of The Bee Gees How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?

[George 1978]

Re: Cover Songs.

The beatles did a lorry load of covers?

I have always thought of the Beatles as being original, but providing songs for others to cover such as the Overlanders' Michelle.

[George 1978]

Re: Cover Songs.

One of my favourite covers is Al Green's version of The Bee Gees How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?

Speaking of the Bee Gees, I have always preferred their version of "More Than a Woman" rather than Tavares' version even though their version is played on the radio a lot more often. I know it's a chicken and egg thing, but did Tavares' version come first - I know that radio stations favour original versions so I assume that would be the case.

Also, I preferred the La Belle Epoque's 1977 disco version of "Black is Black" with the sub-5000 Volts' I'm On Fire-alike tune introducing it rather than Los Bravos' version from 1966 with the Gene Pitney-alike singer. It only seems to be heard on Pick of the Pops-alike programmes these days.

[Mulletino]

Re: Cover Songs.

It's also interesting to discover that songs you thought were originals are actually covers.

The Wonder of you, I thought Elvis Presley sang the original, only found out it was a cover (that had also been covered before his release a few times) earlier this year!

[tex]

Re: Cover Songs.

I have always thought of the Beatles as being original, but providing songs for others to cover such as the Overlanders' Michelle.

Nah far from it ...see below

The Beatles
Song Year Beatles album Original artist Ref.
"Anna (Go to Him)" 1963 Please Please Me Arthur Alexander
"Chains" 1963 Please Please Me The Cookies
"Boys" 1963 Please Please Me The Shirelles
"Baby It's You" 1963 Please Please Me The Shirelles
"A Taste of Honey" 1963 Please Please Me Bobby Scott/Lenny Welch
"Twist and Shout" 1963 Please Please Me The Top Notes (as hit The Isley Brothers)
"Till There Was You" 1963 With the Beatles Barbara Cook
"Please Mr. Postman" 1963 With the Beatles The Marvelettes
"Roll Over Beethoven" 1963 With the Beatles Chuck Berry
"You Really Got a Hold on Me" 1963 With the Beatles The Miracles
"Devil in Her Heart" 1963 With the Beatles The Donays
"Money (That's What I Want)" 1963 With the Beatles Barrett Strong
"Long Tall Sally" 1964 Long Tall Sally (EP) Little Richard
"Slow Down" 1964 Long Tall Sally (EP) Larry Williams
"Matchbox" 1964 Long Tall Sally (EP) Carl Perkins
"Rock and Roll Music" 1964 Beatles for Sale Chuck Berry
"Mr. Moonlight" 1964 Beatles for Sale Dr. Feelgood
"Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" 1964 Beatles for Sale Little Willie Littlefield/Little Richard
"Words of Love" 1964 Beatles for Sale Buddy Holly
"Honey Don't" 1964 Beatles for Sale Carl Perkins
"Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" 1964 Beatles for Sale Carl Perkins
"Bad Boy" 1965 Beatles VI Larry Williams
"Act Naturally" 1965 Help! Johnny Russell
"Dizzy Miss Lizzy" 1965 Help! Larry Williams
"Maggie Mae" 1970 Let It Be The Vipers Skiffle Group (traditional)
"I Got a Woman" 1994 Live at the BBC Ray Charles
"Too Much Monkey Business" 1994 Live at the BBC Chuck Berry
"Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" 1994 Live at the BBC Little Eva
"Young Blood" 1994 Live at the BBC The Coasters
"A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" 1994 Live at the BBC Arthur Alexander
"Sure to Fall (In Love with You)" 1994 Live at the BBC Carl Perkins
"Some Other Guy" 1994 Live at the BBC Richie Barrett
"That's All Right, Mama" 1994 Live at the BBC Elvis Presley
"Carol" 1994 Live at the BBC Chuck Berry
"Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)" 1994 Live at the BBC Arthur Alexander
"Clarabella" 1994 Live at the BBC The Jodimars
"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)" 1994 Live at the BBC Elvis Presley
"Crying, Waiting, Hoping" 1994 Live at the BBC Buddy Holly
"To Know Her Is to Love Her" 1994 Live at the BBC The Teddy Bears
"The Honeymoon Song” 1994 Live at the BBC Marino Marini
"Johnny B. Goode" 1994 Live at the BBC Chuck Berry
"Memphis, Tennessee" 1994 Live at the BBC Chuck Berry
"Lucille" 1994 Live at the BBC Little Richard
"Sweet Little Sixteen" 1994 Live at the BBC Chuck Berry
"Lonesome Tears in My Eyes" 1994 Live at the BBC Johnny Burnette and His Rock 'n' Roll Trio
"Nothin' Shakin'" 1994 Live at the BBC Eddie Fontaine
"The Hippy Hippy Shake" 1994 Live at the BBC Chan Romero
"Glad All Over" 1994 Live at the BBC Carl Perkins
"I Just Don’t Understand" 1994 Live at the BBC Ann-Margret
"So How Come (No One Loves Me)" 1994 Live at the BBC The Everly Brothers
"I Forgot To Remember To Forget" 1994 Live at the BBC Elvis Presley
"I Got to Find My Baby" 1994 Live at the BBC Chuck Berry
"Ooh! My Soul" 1994 Live at the BBC Little Richard
"Don't Ever Change" 1994 Live at the BBC The Crickets
"That'll Be the Day" 1995 Anthology 1 The Crickets
"Hallelujah I Love Her So" 1995 Anthology 1 Ray Charles
"Ain't She Sweet" 1995 Anthology 1/Anthology 3 Milton Ager/Jack Yellen
"Searchin'" 1995 Anthology 1 The Coasters
"Three Cool Cats" 1995 Anthology 1 The Coasters
"The Sheik of Araby" 1995 Anthology 1 Harry B. Smith/Francis Wheeler/Ted Snyder
"Bésame Mucho" 1995 Anthology 1 Consuelo Velázquez
"Lend Me Your Comb" 1995 Anthology 1 Carl Perkins
"Shout" 1995 Anthology 1 The Isley Brothers
"Leave My Kitten Alone" 1995 Anthology 1 Little Willie John
"I'm Talking About You" 2013 On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 Chuck Berry
"Beautiful Dreamer" 2013 On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 Tony Orlando (based on the Stephen Foster song)
Solo

[George 1978]

Re: Cover Songs.

Very impressive list Tex, but I always think of the Beatles as being "original", which I am sure that most others do.

Elvis Presley also had a few hits covered by others as well - seeing Carl Perkins on the list made me think of Blue Suede Shoes.