This was originally recorded by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1964. Mommas and Pappas covered it later.
I also like Heart’s version.
Didn’t they also cover Pictures Of Matchstick Men (Status Quo)?
Damn right.
Thought of a few more favorites:
Scratch My Back – Fabulous Thunderbirds (Slim Harpo)
Viva Las Vegas – ZZ Top, Dead Kennedys (Elvis Presley)
I Just Want To Make Love To You – Foghat (Willie Dixon)
Oh Well – Rockets (Fleetwood Mac)
Nice Boys – Guns n’ Roses (Rose Tatoo)
Wild Thing – Sam Kinison (Troggs)
Yes, this is actually true of several of my entries. I just used the name of the artist who was “most” well known for the song.
Give that man a cigar! I thought that might be a cover, but I couldn’t figure out who did it first. I only have a bootleg copy with no credits. A simple web search confirms your assertion.
I did not know that… you learn something new every day…
Also, Libertarian writes,
I wouldn’t count that as a cover. I don’t think TAFKAP ever recorded “Nothing compares 2 U”. There are actually a number of hits that he wrote and let other artist record. Quite a few semi-famous artists have him to thank for hit songs… The Bangles, Sheila E, Paula Abdul, Sheena Easton, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Ray Charles (Uh Huh), George Clinton, Kenny Rogers, Joe Cocker, Miles Davis, El Debarge, Celine Dion, Earth, Wind & Fire, to name a few…
Has anyone mentioned the dozens of covers Eric Clapton has made of blues standards, such as “Crossroad Blues”, “Before you Accuse Me”, “Malted Milk”, etc?
It’s hard to say they are better than the original (how can you say anyone’s rendition of Crossroad Blues is better than Robert Johnson’s original?), but they are uniformly excellent.
No, I’ve heard his version of it, which is pretty much the same as Sinead’s. He might have done it after she recorded it, though, I don’t know.
BTW, whoever said that the Mamas and the Papas’ version of “Dancin’ in the Street” is better known…well, not to me. I’ve never heard them sing it, and I’ve heard Martha and the Vandellas sing it a thousand times. It’s all subjective.
~Harborina
“This is my sandbox. I’m not allowed to go in the deep end. That’s where I saw the leprechauns.”
Same here. I’ve yet to hear the Mamas and Papas’ cover, but a few acquaintances also thought that was the original version. And I’ve yet to hear a remake that matches the original (Black Oak Arkansas also covered it). Martha Reeves had a great voice.
The Stones and Rod Stewart also covered I Just Want To Make Love To You. Stewart’s live version was on the 8-track release of Foolish Behaviour, but not on vinyl. Does anyone know if it’s on the CD? Stewart pretty much stayed true to the original: Foghat made the song their own.
Someone mentioned Led Zeppelin’s version of You Shook Me. That’s also a Willie Dixon tune. He’s everywhere, isn’t he? And yes, add that to my favorites.
As for the “Axl can’t sing” argument: neither can James Hetfield, Joey Ramone, or Johnny Rotten. But their bands would be the same without any of them.
More favorites:
Nutbush City Limits – Bob Seger (Ike & Tina Turner)
Where Did Our Love Go? (live) – J. Geils Band (Supremes)
Saturdaynight – Blackfoot (Herman Bood & His Wild Romance)
Soul Shake – Delanie & Bonnie (Scott & Benson)
(I Know) I’m Losing You – Rare Earth (Temptations)
Standing On Shaky Ground – Delbert McClinton (Temptations)
Hot Rod Lincoln – Commander Cody (? – old country tune)
The Last Time – Buchanan Brothers (Rolling Stones)
“If you’re so pro-life, do me a favor: don’t block medical clinics, lock arms and block cemetaries.” – Bill Hicks
In the Bad category, the really really Bad Category:
Bruce Willis murdering Under the Boardwalk
All Saints missing the point of Under the Bridge.
Also, somebody recently did shocking things to Big Yellow Taxi, and Spankboy, you’re so right about Puff Daddy, even if Jimmy Page connived with Kashmir. He musta been drugged, or having trouble paying his rent.
Cool. The only people I know who’ve ever heard this are the friends I’ve managed to tie down and force them to listen. “Confessions” is one of my favorite albums. Did you, per chance, catch his guitar work on the “Purple Haze” cover on the first Winger album? Awesome! I haven’t heard it, but I understand that he covered “Smoke On The Water” with Pat Boone… I’d love to hear that!!!
Kyla writes:
It’s not subjective at all… It’s a simple case of retardation on my part. While the Mommas and the Papas did record “Dancin’ In The Street”, it is not their version that is the best known - it’s the version by Martha and the Vandellas that reached #2 on the Billboard charts… Sorry about the misinformation; it was a “Momentary Lapse Of Reason” on my part. ack… ack…
There’s a live version of Prince and Rosie Gaines (sp?) singing “Nothing Compares 2 U” on his Greatest Hits, vol 2. It’s pretty good, actually. That Rosie can belt out a tune.
The Bangles version of “September Gurl”(original by Big Star)
“House of the Rising Sun” The Animals (Trad)
“Brand New Cadillac” The Clash (V. Taylor???)
“Summertime” Billy Stewart( Manny peoples)
“Stoned Faces Don’t Lie” Sir Douglas Quintet (trad)
As mentioned elsewhere “Clean Cut Kid” Textones (Bob Dylan)
“I’m Only Sleeping” Roseanne Cash (The Beatles)
Speaking of Blackfoot, was their song ‘Train, Train’ a cover? Also, wasn’t ‘Call Me the Breeze’, by Lynyrd Skynyrd a cover of a J.J. Cale song (as was ‘Cocaine’ IIRC).
Trivia nugget-‘Rattlesnake’ Rick Medlocke of Blackfoot was on Skynyrd’s first album as their drummer…
-southern fried spankboy
They say the Lord loves drunks, fools and little children.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
‘Call Me the Breeze’ was indeed J.J. Cale. But Skynyrd’s version is better. Skynyrd did a few more covers, including ‘Crossroad Blues’ which is pretty good.
In the “God, I can’t believe I like it” category - The Beatles tribute album put out by George Martin has some surprisingly effective covers by people like Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Celine Dion, and Goldie Hawn.
I particularly liked Celine Dion’s cover of “Here, There and Everywhere”, and I never thought I’d say that about anything sung by Celine Dion, let alone a beatles cover.
Jim Carrey does a great “I Am The Walrus.” At the end he screams, “There! I did it! I desecrated a timeless piece of art! For my next trick, I’m going to paint a clown face on the Mona Lisa, using the Shroud of Turin as a drop cloth”
