# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/41 "2008-01-25T18:49:58Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] [I win](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkMWdI2IKiw) . [/QUOTE] Do you post at Fark under the name Toshiro Mifune’s Letter Opener? Posting this link is a running gag at Fark. This version of an already cheesy song is pretty amateurish but at least it’s better than being RickRolled. ---
**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, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/42 "2008-01-25T18:58:47Z")
[QUOTE=wolf\_meister] 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 ex... 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?) [/QUOTE] Oh, crap; I totally forgot about that album (which, incidentally, I own). I wish I could link to a version of Shatner’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”, but I can’t find one. I played that at a party once and almost had people wetting their pants laughing. It is truly priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/43 "2008-01-25T19:00:31Z")
[QUOTE=wolf\_meister] I’m surprised no one has mentioned the Ultimate Song Destroyer - William Shatner :mad: [/QUOTE] Take a deep breath, hold onto your seat, perhaps shove a thick cloth into your mouth to stifle the blood-curdling scream you’re about to emit…and click on [this link](http://youtube.com/watch?v=NN3MGN899yE). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/44 "2008-01-25T19:09:27Z")
For my money (literally – I bought them) the worst covers are collected on the **Golden Throats** albums: [http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Great-Celebrity-Sing/dp/B0000032C1/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287695&sr=1-1](http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Great-Celebrity-Sing/dp/B0000032C1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287695&sr=1-1) [http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Celebrity-Oddities-Various/dp/B0000032U4/ref=sr\_1\_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287749&sr=1-2](http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Celebrity-Oddities-Various/dp/B0000032U4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287749&sr=1-2) [http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Hearts-Various-Artists/dp/B0000033GJ/ref=sr\_1\_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287768&sr=1-4](http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Hearts-Various-Artists/dp/B0000033GJ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287768&sr=1-4) [http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Celebrities-Butcher-Beatles/dp/B0000033XB/ref=sr\_1\_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287785&sr=1-3](http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Throats-Celebrities-Butcher-Beatles/dp/B0000033XB/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1201287785&sr=1-3) You might think this is like shooting fish in the proverbial barrel (and regardless of what Mythbusters did with that. I’m imagining a barrel filled with fish), but I have to admit that I actually LIKE some of these offerings. Muhammed Ali does a pretty decent job of singing “Stand by Me”, and some of the others are pretty good. But one entry on the first Golden Throats record stands out as an EXTREMELY Bad Cover. Possibly the worst ever. It’s Andy Griffith covering **House of the Rising Sun**. It’s hard enough for me to wrap my head around the idea of clean-cut Sheriff Andy singing a song about a New Orleans whorehouse in the first place. They got around this by changing the lyrics (which had already been substantially altered by the time it got to him) so that it’s now about — well, I’m not sure wht it’s about. There’s a line about a really long freight train that’s not in any other version. Maybe its Freudian, and they’re just being clever-cute. But I think they’re just being dumb. And Andy really can sing, which makes it even worse. it lacks the comedy value of Sebastian Cabot enunciating Bob Dylan, or Jack Webb reciting the lines of “Try a Little Tenderness” in his “Just the facts, Ma’am” voice. Or Mae West trying to sing and sound “Hip”. Knowing that he probably could make this decent if he really tried just makes it worse. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/45 "2008-01-25T19:44:19Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Oddly, I listened to the 45 of the Judy Collins version just last night- I think it rocks! [/QUOTE] But… but… [del]it’s shit[/del] I respect your opinion I guess. But do you know the original? Even if you still like it, can you see how Ms Collins turned a wistful, broken-chorded, innovative song, into a piece of sappy bouncy hippie glurge? ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/46 "2008-01-25T19:48:33Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Take a deep breath, hold onto your seat, perhaps shove a thick cloth into your mouth to stifle the blood-curdling scream you’re about to emit…and click on [this link](http://youtube.com/watch?v=NN3MGN899yE). [/QUOTE] And for screen/keyboard’s sake, swallow your soda. If you click this link and think “Oh yes, I heard Shatner doing bizarro covers at parties in college. No need to watch.” watch anyway, at least until about 2:05… I typically like cross-genre covers but for some reason a hard rock version of “My Favorite Things” is vastly more successful than Rat Pack crooner types trying to be “hip”. Frank Sinatra singing “Yesterday” for example. It smacks of some producer somewhere (or likely conference room full of marketing executives) saying “Well, married people over 40 LOVE you…but we need to boost sales in the 18-25 range. These Beatle fellows are certainly popular. Why not…” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/47 "2008-01-25T19:49:14Z")
I would nominate the Beach Boys’ cover of “Rock and Roll Music” – except they did a cover of “Louie, Louie” that was 10 times worse. ---
**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, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/48 "2008-01-25T19:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Do you post at Fark under the name Toshiro Mifune’s Letter Opener? Posting this link is a running gag at Fark. This version of an already cheesy song is pretty amateurish but at least it’s better than being RickRolled. [/QUOTE] I’ve visited Fark before. I didn’t even know they had a message board. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Thing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Thing)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/49 "2008-01-25T19:58:19Z")
Fergie singing [Live and Let Die](http://youtube.com/watch?v=re3mpCKUfQU). Her timing if awful, I’m not totally sure she’s singing the right lyrics (It sounds like she might be saying “In this ever changing world in which we live in”) and the instrumental break is her vamping around the stage like a moron. Plus the stupid “Ya know ya did”? Just unnecessary on so many levels. Shoot me, please. ---
**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, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/50 "2008-01-25T19:58:45Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] But can we give her honorable mention for the butchering of _Who Knows Where the Time Goes_? [/QUOTE] Sure, and for Amazing Gace and Send in the Clowns- all are wretched. And I guess I’m in the minority but the only Pearl Jam song I like even a little is Last Kiss- now Wednesday’s [1974](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPWglODFbpU) cover of the song is not a personal fav, to be sure- death songs shouldn’t be peppy. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/51 "2008-01-25T20:06:24Z")
Wow…we made it to Page 2 with no mention of [Sondra Prill](http://youtube.com/watch?v=LxUf3oxLi1Y)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Thing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Thing)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/52 "2008-01-25T20:10:23Z")
[QUOTE=JSexton] 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. [/QUOTE] I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan, but Last Kiss is not one of my favorites because I just don’t like the song. As I recall, Eddie Vedder found the single at a garage sale and the band recorded it for the Ten Club single that year. I doubt they intentionally butchered it, since the Christmas single is something that the fans look forward to all year. It started getting airplay and the band donated the profits from the single to Kosovo relief, and it ended up making quite a bit of money. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/53 "2008-01-25T20:11:53Z")
[QUOTE=Fear the Turtle] Unless you’re Devo! [/QUOTE] Make that Cat Power ---
**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:** [January 25, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/54 "2008-01-25T20:18:57Z")
[QUOTE=mr. jp] Make that Cat Power [/QUOTE] Or the Residents. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/55 "2008-01-25T20:39:13Z")
I’m not sure this counts since it was intentionally bad, but I really enjoy the [“Bad News” version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMmCrg2RyzI) of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” I keep that one on my iPod just to give me an unexpected laugh every so often. On a more serious note, there’s a cover of “Heart-Shaped Box” on Guitar Hero II where the lead singer comes within a hair of turning it into a country song. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/56 "2008-01-25T20:59:08Z")
I’ve never really recovered from Van Morrison’s unholy butchering of _Comfortably Numb_ from [The Wall: Live in Berlin](http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Live-Berlin-1990/dp/B000001FYU) I can only assume that by the time Roger heard Van in rehearsal, it was too late to retract the invitation. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/57 "2008-01-25T21:00:09Z")
You gotta hear this. [Hayseed Dixie a tribute band to AC/DC.](http://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Tribute-AC-DC/dp/B00005CCB0) Listen to the samples! Hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![JustThinkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@JustThinkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustThinkin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/58 "2008-01-25T21:59:23Z")
Speaking of Joni Mitchell, some alt-rock group\* did a cover of Free Man in Paris that I wouldn’t have recognized if I didn’t know the lyrics. Interpretation I can accept, but there was no melody left at all. Pretty bad. \*I heard it on a station that should have know better, and didn’t pay attention to the name of the band. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/59 "2008-01-25T23:09:38Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] I’ve visited Fark before. I didn’t even know they had a message board. [/QUOTE] They have Farker comments to the linked stories at the web-site. To read them, you click on the number on that’s to the right of the headline. (The number indicates the number of comments that have been made about the linked story.) > [@](#): > > I typically like cross-genre covers but for some reason a hard rock version of “My Favorite Things” is vastly more successful than Rat Pack crooner types trying to be “hip”. Frank Sinatra singing “Yesterday” for example. It smacks of some producer somewhere (or likely conference room full of marketing executives) saying “Well, married people over 40 LOVE you…but we need to boost sales in the 18-25 range. These Beatle fellows are certainly popular. Why not…” I think the difference in why the first example is more than successful than the Sinatra-covers-the Beatles is that the former’s meant to be taken ironically. Also, despite its sugary “Sound of Music” pedigree, “My Favorite Things” is surprisingly adaptable to different genres (e.g, John Coltrane’s cover). ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972/60 "2008-01-25T23:21:05Z")
I think for it to be a really bad cover, you need to be an otherwise bona-fide singer; if CNN’s Anderson Cooper does a song, it’s not a bad conver in this sense. I can’t remember hte name or the year, but it was a well-known singer and he did “We are the World” alone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-the-worst-cover-version/434972.md?page=4)