# I Just Heard The Worst Cover Version... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972 "2008-01-25T16:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/21 "2008-01-25T17:29:03Z")
Johnny Rivers. Covering anything. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/22 "2008-01-25T17:31:01Z")
Crispin, [shit or get off the pot](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkTEoc-pqGg). ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/23 "2008-01-25T17:36:31Z")
Fucking amateurs. For a really bad cover, you need a song that was originally nightmarishly bad, covered by someone nightmarishly bad. I heard the following on the radio once back in the 90s: [Alvin and the Chipmunks singing ‘Achy Breaky Heart.’](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5tbjLVsIhw) ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/24 "2008-01-25T17:38:29Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] _Both Sides Now_ by Judy Collins. I took the record off the player and frisbeed it into a wall. (I’m a big Joni Mitchell fan, and was outraged.) [/QUOTE] Oddly, I listened to the 45 of the Judy Collins version just last night- I think it rocks! My choice is Britney Spears covering Satisfaction, just for sheer chutzpah- some songs you just don’t cover, you know? This and 19 others can be found on the [Cracked](http://www.cracked.com/article_15117_20-worst-cover-songs-in-pop-music-history.html) list, which is pretty solid and features the videos for each. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/25 "2008-01-25T17:51:23Z")
[Nikki French’s fast, dance-beat version of Total Eclipse of the Heart.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djgn-rB_484) Totally loses the poignancy and power of Bonnie Tyler’s original. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/26 "2008-01-25T17:54:44Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] Although this raises the interesting question as to what is worse - amateurs with zero talent singing a lousy song or a good singer butchering a great tune that is just not appropriate to her style. And trying to look all cool during the attempt. Personally I vote for the latter. [/QUOTE] In that case, stay away from Frank Sinatra’s cover of “Mrs. Robinson.” ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/27 "2008-01-25T17:56:01Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI7ZCCJHGaw) Not a cover, but Bette doing Wind Beneath My Wings on American Idol last year. I’m hoping she was just having a really off day, because otherwise…my how the mighty have fallen. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/28 "2008-01-25T18:01:05Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] My choice is Britney Spears covering Satisfaction, just for sheer chutzpah- some songs you just don’t cover, you know? [/QUOTE] Unless you’re Devo! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/29 "2008-01-25T18:02:56Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] I gotta go with LOUNE. What she’s doing in your link is bad, but it’s not painful (to these ears), because, blessedly, she tries to emulate the original rather than recustomizing it to her own speed. The Carpenters’ [Beatles cover](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgj4xcxXyA) (shudder) is, IMHO, much much worse because you can only find mere remnants of the original remaining, so badly do they butcher it. [/QUOTE] Not that I like that Carpenters version, but (IMHO) there’s no point to a cover unless you’re going to bring something new to the table. Or, I should say, there’s no point in recording and releasing a cover unless you reinterpret it in some way. I _hate_ covers that sound like the original. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/30 "2008-01-25T18:18:04Z")
There’s always [Mrs. Miller](http://www.franklarosa.com/vinyl/Exhibit.jsp?AlbumID=77)[Video can be found here.](http://www.mrsmillersworld.com/sights_bin/SSmain.html) Since she put out a record and had a near-top-40 hit, she’s not just an amateur. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/31 "2008-01-25T18:18:11Z")
I think Pearl Jam screwed up [last kiss](http://youtube.com/watch?v=u0B-hJ_gotc) pretty badly. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/32 "2008-01-25T18:20:39Z")
You know…when it comes to this topic…nobody really _wins_. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/33 "2008-01-25T18:22:41Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] You know…when it comes to this topic…nobody really _wins_. [/QUOTE] Yeah, you could rename the thread to “post youtube links that’ll piss people off.” I get angry listening to Britney Spears and Celine Dion cover great rock songs, I’m sure people could respond to this in the “emotions you don’t get” thread though. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/34 "2008-01-25T18:25:07Z")
And to [prove](http://retrocrush.buzznet.com/archive2007/badcovers/index.html) how much we don’t win… ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/35 "2008-01-25T18:28:43Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the Ultimate Song Destroyer - William Shatner :mad: And in a related story, I remember in the fun days of Napster, I discovered some real gems of which I was completely unaware. It was from an album called “Celebrities Butchering Songs” although now it seems that Rhino Records has released it as “Golden Throats 1”. (there are 3 more albums in that genre :eek: ) Here’s a Wikipedia link: > **[Golden Throats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Throats)** > > Golden Throats is Rhino Records' series of humorous compilations of critically lambasted cover versions of songs, performed mostly either by celebrities known for something other than musical talent or musicians not known for the genre from which the song they are covering comes. > For example, William Shatner sings (or, more precisely, does a dramatic reading of the lyrics to) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," Leonard Nimoy sings "If I Had a Hammer," and Muhammad Ali sings "Stand by Me." Other e... Anyway, I remember hearing Sebastian Cabot recite “It Ain’t Me Babe” and possibly the strangest rendition of any cover song - “ **White Room** ” by … **Joel Grey**?!?!?! That song must be heard to be believed. (Don’t expect that wild Clapton distortion driven wah wah pedal in the Joel Grey version, but then again, did I even have to state that?) ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/36 "2008-01-25T18:30:03Z")
My god…I need those CDs. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/37 "2008-01-25T18:32:44Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] I think Pearl Jam screwed up [last kiss](http://youtube.com/watch?v=u0B-hJ_gotc) pretty badly. [/QUOTE] From what I understand, that was recorded as a joke and released to fans as a promo. The band hated the song and intentionally butchered it. I don’t think they were thrilled when DJs latched on to it and gave it airplay. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/38 "2008-01-25T18:32:48Z")
I know I’m probably in the minority here, but I detest Hall and Oates’s version of [You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzh1IMhdMOo). Gah, that patented syncopated beat . . . I hate it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/39 "2008-01-25T18:39:19Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Oddly, I listened to the 45 of the Judy Collins version just last night- I think it rocks! [/QUOTE] But can we give her honorable mention for the butchering of _Who Knows Where the Time Goes_? (Then again, I’ve only heard that on a recent live Collins album, so I’d have the same opinion if that was my only exposure to _Both Sides Now_.) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/40 "2008-01-25T18:45:07Z")
[QUOTE=wolf\_meister] …and possibly the strangest rendition of any cover song - “ **White Room** ” by … **Joel Grey**?!?!?! That song must be heard to be believed. (Don’t expect that wild Clapton distortion driven wah wah pedal in the Joel Grey version, but then again, did I even have to state that?) [/QUOTE] On the other hand, The Bobs do a cover of that song, distortion and all, and they’re an _a cappella_ group. The recorded version is good, but it really kicked ass live! I think they still perform that song, but it hasn’t been the same since Janie Bob left the group. Her lead vocal on this one could blow the roof off a joint. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972.md?page=3)