# I didn't know that song was a cover **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163 "2010-03-20T19:33:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/21 "2010-03-21T15:43:37Z")
I’m running into this all the time, having teenaged kids. The younger one was a Gwen Stefani fan, and played me _Rich Girl_, which she claimed was “a great song”. I went on Youtube and found _If I Were A Rich Man_ from “Fiddler On the Roof”. Her face literally fell! She had to admit that FOTR was a pretty lame place to rip off music from. BTW, you’ll note that I started off saying that the younger one _was_ a Gwen Stefani fan… ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/22 "2010-03-21T15:56:05Z")
I was surprised to find out recently that Harry Nilsson’s “Without You” was a cover of a Badfinger song. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/23 "2010-03-21T17:27:19Z")
And IIIIII will always love YYYOOOOOUUUU was NOT written for The Bodyguard and did NOT originate with Whitney Houston. It was written and recorded by Dolly Parton in _1962_ dammit. I m amazed at how many people do not believe this. My ex-Boss once askd me to get lyrics for the Whitney Houston song and chewed me out for getting the Dolly Parton song. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/24 "2010-03-21T17:36:22Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > And IIIIII will always love YYYOOOOOUUUU was NOT written for The Bodyguard and did NOT originate with Whitney Houston. It was written and recorded by Dolly Parton in _1962_ dammit. Nitpick: 1973. Other trivia – it was dedicated to her mentor Porter Wagoner, with whom she was having a business falling out. Elvis asked if he could cover it, but she turned him down because he/Col. Tom had a standard practice of demanding half the publishing royalties whenever he covered a song – pretty cheeky. I think it was best done by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/11911u4DYSE/hqdefault.jpg "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU DOLLY PARTON") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11911u4DYSE) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D090T2MSxKY/hqdefault.jpg ""I Will Always Love You" Linda Ronstadt") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D090T2MSxKY) ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/25 "2010-03-21T17:42:04Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I m amazed at how many people do not believe this. My ex-Boss once askd me to get lyrics for the Whitney Houston song and chewed me out for getting the Dolly Parton song. What a jerk he must have been. What kind of job do you have where you are searching out song lyrics for the boss? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/26 "2010-03-21T17:48:33Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > What a jerk he must have been. What kind of job do you have where you are searching out song lyrics for the boss? She, and I was the secretary for a bunch of idiots who could not or would not Google. ETA: It was 1973. My fingers were on the wrong keys–the hazards of one handed typing while wearing a cast. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/27 "2010-03-21T17:50:03Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > She, and I was the secretary for a bunch of idiots who could not or would not Google. Perhaps before you left, you could have submitted the lyrics to _Take This Job and Shove It_. 😃 I hope you’re in a better place now. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/28 "2010-03-21T20:55:00Z")
A lot of people are still surprised to hear that “Black Magic Woman” isn’t a Santana original. It was a cover of the Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac original. A few people are still surprised to hear that Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” was a cover of the Otis Redding original. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/29 "2010-03-21T21:08:07Z")
ELO’s _Do Ya_ (1976) is a cover of The Move’s version (1972). Jeff Lynne of ELO was with The Move at the time, wrote the song, and sings on both versions. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/30 "2010-03-21T21:22:07Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > A lot of people are still surprised to hear that “Black Magic Woman” isn’t a Santana original. Neither is “Evil Ways.” Or “Oye Como Va.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/31 "2010-03-21T21:22:40Z")
I was surprised that many of CCR’s early hits were covers. I Put a Spell on You, Suzie Q, Midnight Special, Good Golly Miss Molly, Night Time Is the Right Time, Cotton Fields, are all covers. John Fogerty did write some great stuff too. Fortunate Son is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/32 "2010-03-21T23:45:39Z")
I’ve got a version of Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” performed by Bing Crosby in the early '30s - but Bing’s was a cover as well. And David Lee Roth’s “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” wasn’t the first time those songs were mashed up - in fact it’s a note-for-note of Louis Prima’s version from the '50s, including an identical scat. Another one that’s usually mentioned in these discussions is that Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” is a note-for-note parroting of Betty Hutton’s “Blow a Fuse” from the '40s (and which is, in turn, a cover). Or that the Muppets didn’t originate “Mahna Mahna”, which was a Piero Umilami song from a Swedish mondo film in the '60s. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/33 "2010-03-21T23:58:53Z")
> [@BigNik](#): > > Or that the Muppets didn’t originate “Mahna Mahna”, which was a Piero Umilami song from a Swedish mondo film in the '60s. [Johnny Carson]I did not know that.[/Johnny] ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/34 "2010-03-22T00:10:45Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > [Johnny Carson]I did not know that.[/Johnny] It was also covered as a French version (with lyrics!) called “Mais Non, Mais Non”, if memory serves. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/35 "2010-03-22T02:10:40Z")
My mother was always shocked to learn that her favorite Andy Williams songs were previously recorded by someone else…just about every one of them. One exception was “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”, which was written for Williams to perform. I remember being surprised to find a cover of this on on an album by The (English) Beat that was originally released in the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Endymion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3da27b/32.png) [@Endymion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Endymion)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/36 "2010-03-22T02:56:20Z")
Once upon a time, I was in my friend’s jeep and the Bruce Springsteen version of “Blinded by the Light” came on the radio. I said to my friend, “I didn’t know Springsteen covered this song.” “This isn’t a cover” he responded. So it turns that the version by Manfried Mann’s Earth Band is the cover version. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/37 "2010-03-22T03:04:50Z")
I didn’t know “Don’t Take Her (She’s All I Got)” by Tracy Byrd was a cover of Johnny Paycheck for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/38 "2010-03-22T03:41:27Z")
“Down on Me,” by Big Brother and the Holding Company. I heard the original (a 1930s recording) on the radio last year, but I can’t remember what album it was on. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/39 "2010-03-22T10:02:14Z")
I had no idea that The Wallflower’s “Heroes”, from the Godzilla soundtrack, was a cover - and a cover by an act I personally have never cared for (David Bowie). After listening to the original, I think the Wallflowers’ version is infinitely better. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163/40 "2010-03-22T13:55:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Lots of TMBG fans don’t realize that"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" was a cover. Yah - this song is way older than that. Hell, I’ve got it on a Victrola record! But the TMBG version is definitive; sorry Four Lads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-that-song-was-a-cover/533163.md?page=3)