# Most Useless Cover Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 27, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174 "2023-08-27T11:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/21 "2023-08-28T10:03:32Z")
> [@solost](#): > > When I first heard the Ataris’ version of ‘Boys of Summer’ I wondered what was the point of covering it. That’s exactly what I had come here to say. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Does this apply to classical music too? How many more covers do we need of Beethoven’s symphonies? Unfortunately, Beethoven’s original recordings have been lost. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/22 "2023-08-28T12:23:26Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > I used to have some covers albums (LPs) which were along the lines of top 40 hits from 1974, sung by bands that did a passable job at producing reasonably exact copies of the originals. At the same time you could also buy 1974 Top 40 compilations by the original artists. My mom used to buy those kinds of records for my brother and I when we were tweens in the Seventies. They were from K-Tel. I had a set of “Greatest 100 Hits of the Seventies” or something like that that introduced me to loads of early Seventies music…by some random cover band. The first version of “The Guitar Man” that I remember well was a cheap knockoff, not David Gates and Bread. The first version of “Killing Me Softly” I heard was a knockoff of Roberta Flack (though hers was a cover as well). There was even a cover of the theme from Shaft. This placed me in the odd situation of some times hearing the original after the knock-off and having the same “it’s not the same!” response to the original that we traditionally have when we hear imitations. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/23 "2023-08-28T12:36:51Z")
Definitely “Cum On Feel the Noize.” As I understand it, Quiet Riot recorded their version as somewhat of a joke, not expecting much to come of it. Of course, it was wildly popular for at least a short time. I have their cover and Slade’s version on my playlist. I definitely prefer the original, but there’s so little difference that I can’t say it’s a strong preference. Quiet Riot made a lot of money off the cover and I guess that’s justification enough for its existence. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/24 "2023-08-28T12:41:58Z")
Meg Myers’ version of “Running Up That Hill” is pretty useless. I heard it somewhat frequently on the radio a few years ago, but it didn’t seem to get much traction. Then “Stranger Things” made effective use of the original version by Kate Bush, and it rocketed up the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/25 "2023-08-28T12:49:01Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > My mom used to buy those kinds of records for my brother and I when we were tweens in the Seventies. They were from K-Tel. Are you sure that was K-Tel? The only K-Tel albums I’ve seen (admittedly, a small sample) were compilations of the original recordings. And [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-tel#Music_business) confirms: > [@](#): > > The company built the business of releasing compilation albums that combined material from a number of popular artists onto a single theme album using the tag line “20 Original Hits! 20 Original Stars!”.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-tel#cite_note-aboutktel-6) The company negotiated directly with artists and labels for the rights to reproduce their original recordings ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/26 "2023-08-28T12:54:42Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > 311- Love Song > Weezer- Africa Yes. > [@solost](#): > > When I first heard the Ataris’ version of ‘Boys of Summer’ I wondered what was the point of covering it. Also yes. Also, Turn the Beat Around by Gloria Estefan. She even copied Vicky Sue Robinson’s vocal flourishes. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/27 "2023-08-28T14:04:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@minor7flat5](#): > > > > My mom used to buy those kinds of records for my brother and I when we were tweens in the Seventies. They were from K-Tel. > > Are you sure that was K-Tel? The only K-Tel albums I’ve seen (admittedly, a small sample) were compilations of the original recordings. And [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-tel#Music_business) confirms: > > > [@](#): > > > > The company built the business of releasing compilation albums that combined material from a number of popular artists onto a single theme album using the tag line “20 Original Hits! 20 Original Stars!”.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-tel#cite_note-aboutktel-6) The company negotiated directly with artists and labels for the rights to reproduce their original recordings Originals for the most part, but ISTR a few tracks (e.g., “Pinball Wizard”) by some group called The New Seekers. I’m assuming that’s when KTel couldn’t get the rights. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/28 "2023-08-28T14:19:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Are you sure that was K-Tel? The only K-Tel albums I’ve seen (admittedly, a small sample) were compilations of the original recordings. Pretty sure. They were definitely covers, and everything my mom bought came from K-Tel. With that said, it is amazing the things I forget every day! Example: several years back a co-worker brought in her copy of “Free to Be You And Me,” a children’s record full of not-so-subtle feminist themes that we all listened to in the 70s. I noticed that the whole album had voices of celebrities from the era (e.g. Alan Alda, Mel Brooks, Rosy Greer, and Marlo Thomas of course…even Dick Cavett was there, doing a short reading). I was baffled, as I didn’t remember hearing any of those iconic voices when I was a child. I called my mom and asked her what kind of cheap knockoff she had bought, and she assured me that we had heard the original with those same celebrity voices as children. The problem was, at 5 years old I didn’t know any of them, so the voices didn’t stand out as special! ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/29 "2023-08-28T14:22:16Z")
I make a distinction between covers a band plays live and covers they actually record. Live, it’s a shared moment with fans – “We love this song as much as you do!” – so hewing close to the original is cool. But if you record and release it, it’s pretty pointless if you don’t have a fresh take. Legit question: Do current stars sometimes record and release covers by older artists they admire as a way to throw some royalties their heroes’ way? ---
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/30 "2023-08-28T14:36:25Z")
Blink 182’s version of “Another Girl, Another Planet” is truly uncanny in that it appears to have destroyed the maximum artistic worth for the minimum musical change. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/31 "2023-08-28T14:43:11Z")
Sound alike covers aren’t just useless but their origin is in good old-fashioned American racism. Until the late 1950s, Black artists couldn’t get play on white radio stations so white singers would hire the instrumental musicians and producers who made records at the top of the R&B charts and cut a record that sounded almost exactly like the original but sell ten times as many records to white audiences. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/32 "2023-08-28T15:02:14Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Pearl Jam did a lackluster **Last Kiss** , a song I heard on the radio when it first came out, and thought would never go away. > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I remember that song. That song was really, really bad. True, it was bad, but it was quite different from the original and doesn’t really fit the spirit of the OP’s question. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/33 "2023-08-28T15:03:46Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Are you sure that was K-Tel? Found it! After I read this I thought long and hard and remembered seeing “King’s Road” on the set. Not K-Tel…it was Pickwick, and they had a cover band named King’s Road that did pretty good imitations. > **[King's Road - 48 Superhits Of The 70's](https://www.discogs.com/release/4560121-Kings-Road-48-Superhits-Of-The-70s)** > > View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1974 Vinyl release of "48 Superhits Of The 70's" on Discogs. Wow, reading that list brings back memories. I listened to the King’s Road version of Crocodile Rock so many times! It was years before I heard Sir Elton sing it. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/34 "2023-08-28T18:02:03Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Legit question: Do current stars sometimes record and release covers by older artists they admire as a way to throw some royalties their heroes’ way? Supposedly Cream made sure Skip James got the royalties he deserved from their cover of “I’m So Glad”. I’m not sure if that’s why they covered it in the first place, though. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/35 "2023-08-28T18:05:52Z")
Ahhh, Pickwick records, not K-Tel! The folks who gave Lou Reed his start. Nice that they used a 70s Tiesco Del Rey on the cover. So trashy and wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/36 "2023-08-28T18:35:52Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > > [@Akaj](#): > > > > Legit question: Do current stars sometimes record and release covers by older artists they admire as a way to throw some royalties their heroes’ way? > > Supposedly Cream made sure Skip James got the royalties he deserved from their cover of “I’m So Glad”. I’m not sure if that’s why they covered it in the first place, though. I also remember reading that David Bowie recorded his own version of “China Girl” and pushed to make and promote the video because he wanted to help co-writer Iggy Pop get paid. I wonder if current stars have the same mentality, e.g. Luke Combs giving Tracy Chapman a big boost recently. (Although his cover of “Fast Car” is anything but useless, so this might be a derailment.) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/37 "2023-08-28T20:57:09Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I make a distinction between covers a band plays live and covers they actually record. Live, it’s a shared moment with fans – “We love this song as much as you do!” I saw Todd Rundgren live, and he’d spin a wheel with dozens of songs (and other actions) on it, to decide what to do next. A lot of the options were names of his favorite 60s/70s/80s songs, so he did a lot of covers that night. Many of them silly and eye-rolling. Fun sing-along quality… NOT up to “Let’s release this as a single!” standards. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/38 "2023-08-28T21:26:46Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I wonder if current stars have the same mentality, e.g. Luke Combs giving Tracy Chapman a big boost recently. ( **Although his cover of “Fast Car” is anything but useless** , so this might be a derailment.) Perhaps there’s a back story that I’m not aware of, but on its face, it annoys me. I’ve only heard it twice but each time all I could think was “how dare some white dude sing this iconic song about the Black experience, and a female one at that”? Absolutely no offense, **Akaj**. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/39 "2023-08-28T21:40:18Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > “how dare some white dude sing this iconic song about the Black experience, and a female one at that”? That’s absolutely a valid way to look at it. I actually find it intriguing that a white country singer would sing something so strongly connected with a female perspective, even calling himself a “checkout girl.” And I never really connected the song with Black experience, even though Chapman is Black – I’d categorize it as “impoverished mother with useless drunk husband” experience, regardless of the protagonist’s race. But as a middle-class white dude I’ll grant there may be a more Black-oriented context that I’ve missed all these years. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174/40 "2023-08-28T21:41:23Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > Perhaps there’s a back story that I’m not aware of, but on its face, it annoys me. I’ve only heard it twice but each time all I could think was “how dare some white dude sing this iconic song about the Black experience, and a female one at that”? Chapman is very complimentary and supportive of Combs’ version. Combs calls the song “perfection” and refused to so much as change the gender in the lyrics. ETA: “Perfection” referring to Tracy’s composition, not his own version. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-cover-songs/989174.md?page=3)