Different versions of the same song

Cafe Society
1

It seemed to me I had tons of duplicate songs on my iPod. Not identical songs, but the same song by different artists, or different versions by the same artists. When I find identical copies, I delete one. So I copied the list into a spreadsheet and ran subtotals on the titles.

I have just over 4200 songs. I have 148 songs with two versions. About half are by different artists, about half are “live” versus “studio” versions, and just a couple are remixes from the same artist. I have 20 songs with 3 versions. I have 2 songs with 4 versions – Stardust and Baby Please Don’t Go.

I don’t recall ever deliberately any second versions of any songs. I think they just kind of showed up among anthologies I picked up. And I have purchased some “in concert” albums that have probably provided most of my “live” versions.

What songs do you have the most versions of?

2

I have 4, 6, and 8 minute versions of Moskau by Dschinghis in German. Also a 4 minute English version, also by Dschinghis Khan. Then a German cover by another band.

3

The record in my collection goes to the 17 different versions of Yoko Ono’s ‘Walking On Thin Ice’, Madonna’s ‘Erotica’ is runner-up with 14.

I love remixes so I have a lot of songs in my iTunes that have 10+ different versions.

4

Though there are a lot of them, I only have two versions of most of the songs with duplicates, mostly remixes since I’m not a huge fan of live tracks. The biggest difference is the regular and “mellow” versions of Anyway by Dynamite Hack…in the second version, which is apparently a hidden track, a girl on a piano does the song :slight_smile:

5

I must have over a dozen versions of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and six or eight versions of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren.

6

And the Band Played “Waltzing Matilda”
Clancy Brothers
Dubliners
Eric Bogle
Joan Baez
John McDermott
Johnny Logan & Friends
Pogues
Redgum
Slim Dusty
Tom Waits
and I’m still missing a bunch more. :frowning:

CMC fnord!

7

In my iTunes, I have 78 versions of Louie, Louie, the greatest rock & roll song ever written.

I think I own about 140 renditions of this tune.

8

Statesboro Blues – Blind Willie McTell, Taj Mahal, Allman Brothers, Alice Stuart, and Danny Brooks
Rhapsody in Blue – six versions.

9

I have many cover songs and originals on my mp3 player. I probably have more Rush songs with different versions, as several of their songs appear on more than one live album.

10

I have both “The Mechanix”, by Megadeth, and “The Four Horsemen”, by Metallica.

11

I love musicals. I have many, many, many different versions of the same song. If my “Memory” serves me right, I have the most famous song from CATS in Hebrew, several German, Dutch, and Japanese versions, French, Hungarian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Italian.

12

Looks like my top number is Tiger Rag, with 12 versions, followed by Maple Leaf Rag with 10 versions. I have 7 each of Alexander’s Ragtime Band and Embraceable You; 6 of Someone to Watch Over Me, and I Got Rhythm; 5 of Charleston, Fascinating Rhythm, Cheek to Cheek, High Society, and High Society; 4 of Castle House Rag, Creole Belles, Jambalaya, Magnetic Rag, The Man I Love, Ol’ Man River, On the Sunny Side of the Street, Shake It and Break It, 'S Wonderful, Smile, Somebody Loves Me, St. Louis Blues, Stars and Stripes Forever, and Swanee; and 3 of Ain’t Misbehavin’, As Time Goes By, At a Georgia Camp Meeting, Barnum & Bailey’s Favorite, Careless Love, Carnival of Venice, China Boy, Clap Yo’ Hands, Darktown Strutters Ball, Deep Purple, The Entertainer, Eugenia, The Favorite, Frankie & Johnny, Georgia on My Mind, Indiana, Isn’t It Romantic?, It’s Only a Paper Moon, It Had to Be You, King Porter Stomp, Lazy River, Makin’ Whoopee, Maybe, Once in a While, Royal Garden Blues, Shine, Some of These Days, St. Louis Tickle, These Foolish Things, Three Little Words, Wabash Blues, and *What Is This Thing Called Love. *

13

Largest number of different versions by the same artist: I’ve got 8 different versions of No Spill Blood by Oingo Boingo. Studio, 2 different live albums, 5 bootlegs.

Largest number of versions, period, including covers: I have 9 different versions of White Rabbit - the original, and 8 covers.

Largest number of official versions by the original artist: 4 versions of Lollipop Candy BAD Girl by Tommy heavenly6 - Full version, no vocal version, 6 minute long short version from the single, 5 minute long short version from the Heavy Starry Heavenly album.

14

Same song, different artists - Has to be “Summertime” from Porgy & Bess. I think I have over 17 different versions of that song, by artists ranging from Ray Charles & Cleo Laine to Janis Joplin to Paul Horn to Ten Years After.

Same song, same artist - Something by Springsteen, surely. I’m at work and can’t check, but between all the live performances, bootlegs and the like in my collection, it has to be him.

15

I have a few EP albums that are just remixes of the same song. I think the one with the most tracks is “Are we human or are we dancers?”

When bored, I made a point of downloading as many covers that I could stand to listen to of “Across the Universe”, “Karma Police”, and “Creep”… although in general I try to find covers of songs I like.