# Post the original versions
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [February 4, 2022, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879 "2022-02-04T03:55:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/21 "2022-02-05T14:41:24Z")
The original version of “When the Levee Breaks” was much less heavy on the drums:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swhEa8vuP6U)
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/22 "2022-02-05T15:22:48Z")
Hoyt wrote a couple that Three Dog Night recorded. His lyrics were that he was born in Oklahoma…born in a coma.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj905cRMgHo)
Also:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tcd63I28S4)
While we’re talking about Three Dog Night, [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Show_Must_Go_On_(Leo_Sayer_song)) says:
> In Sayer’s version, the last line of the chorus is “I won’t let the show go on”. [Three Dog Night](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Dog_Night) sang it as “I must let the show go on”, which Sayer was reportedly not happy about.[_[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)_ ]
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6gEkfwozhE)
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/23 "2022-02-05T15:34:51Z")
Bobby Darin had a big hit with “Mack the Knife.” I find Lotte Lenya’s original (in German) far better.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPG9GcykPIY)
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/24 "2022-02-05T17:27:10Z")
Another Three Dog Night:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYzY7-V5vxY)
5th Dimension:
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XvKzCspqGgQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Laura Nyro "Wedding Bell Blues"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvKzCspqGgQ)
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/25 "2022-02-05T18:01:16Z")
I was reminded of this one, as I just used it in a Thread Games post.
The acappella group Pentatonix recorded “White Winter Hymnal” for a 2014 Christmas album, which gets a lot of airplay on holiday playlists. The original version was recorded, six years earlier, by Fleet Foxes.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE)
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/26 "2022-02-05T18:04:30Z")
More Three Dog Night…
A google reveals that the Animals released “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” which was written by Randy Newman, years before.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH47sJIFK0U)
And BW Stevenson released Shambala first.
[Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambala_(song))
> One week before Three Dog Night’s version appeared on the charts, [Texan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas) singer-songwriter [B. W. Stevenson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._W._Stevenson)’s minute-shorter version bowed at No. 96 and later peaked at No. 66 the week of June 9.[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambala_(song)#cite_note-8)[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambala_(song)#cite_note-9) It also reached No. 31 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart.[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambala_(song)#cite_note-10) This lesser-known version is often regarded as [country pop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_pop) or [country rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_rock) and appears on collections of such.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKijjWpim8)
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/27 "2022-02-05T18:53:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> Robert Hazard never got to commercially release his own recording of **Girls Just Want To Have Fun** , but the demo has an amazing New Wave sound and a bridge that got left out of Cyndi Lauper’s version altogether.
Thank you for that - I hadn’t realized that it was available. An intriguing listen.
j
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/28 "2022-02-05T20:14:15Z")
Bonnie Raitt had a huge hit with “Thing Called Love.” But I like the raucous, throw-caution-to-the-wind energy in the song when it’s performed by John Hiatt, the songwriter.
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/29 "2022-02-05T21:03:53Z")
This one is slightly unusual - also I don’t know how well known it is.
The original version of Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus) by Serge Gainsbourg and…Brigitte Bardot. I guess this is arguably NSFW, therefore the link is spoilered:
[BRIGITTE BARDOT & SERGE GAINSBOURG - JE T'AIME - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Zw4LeSt2w)
IIRC Gainsbourg was unhappy because this recording was “Too hot”, something corrected with the (relative) coolness of the Jane Birkin version.
j
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/30 "2022-02-05T21:09:11Z")
“Killing Me Softly with His Song” was a hit for Roberta Flack, but Lori Lieberman did it first. And better.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsS_U9JYrDc)
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/31 "2022-02-05T21:14:33Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#):
>
> IIRC Gainsbourg was unhappy because this recording was “Too hot”, something corrected with the (relative) coolness of the Jane Birkin version.
There is something that fucking Serge Gainsbourg found “too hot”? Doesn’t compute. 😆
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### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/32 "2022-02-05T21:22:49Z")
Here’s the original Bulldoze Blues, later to show up as Goin Up The Country. Man, rock bands covering/stealing old blues songs could be its own thread.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1yhaBsD8Vw)
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### Author:  [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/33 "2022-02-05T21:39:30Z")
“Love Song” by Lesley Duncan. Covered by Elton John, Olivia Newton-John and many more.
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5iSYS8C3wY)
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### Author:  [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/34 "2022-02-05T22:20:37Z")
Another Cyndi Lauper cover is my personal favorite song on her debut album, “Money Changes Everything” by The Brains.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW2lzk5_JWM)
Songweiter Tom Gray passed away a few years ago, but before he did, he had a country/roots combo called Delta Moon, and he cut another stellar interpretation of the song:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svuy51ZrJVg)
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/35 "2022-02-05T23:05:08Z")
“Torn” had an odd history.
Ednaswap wrote it in 1993. They performed it live, but did not release a recording.
In 1993, Lis Sorensen recorded and released a Danish translation, titled “Brændt” (Danish for “Burned”). It charted in Europe.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyuGaU4rXjA)
In 1995, Ednaswap released a recording of the English-language version.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OoEdfB7l18)
In 1997, Natalie Imbruglia’s cover charted in the U.S.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV1XWJN3nJo)
So, which version counts as the “original”?
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/36 "2022-02-06T02:17:18Z")
You may be familiar with The Clash’s version of this song
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH0Guwo_ky0)
Or this one
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwMNgbEl3io)
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/37 "2022-02-06T20:53:35Z")
This one is more complex than I realized. Working backwards, the well known version of Rum And Coca Cola is by The Andrews Sisters. Great record, by the way.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiayZdPESno)
I knew that this had been essentially an uncredited copy of an original:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-CE4xYIyng)
With the writer of the original left unpaid etc etc etc (but in this case able to sue with at least partial success). But what I hadn’t realized was that you can take this a further step back. The real original, at least of the melody - _L’année Passée_ - was based on a folk song (which is fair game, I guess). Here’s a version of the song, which I think may be the original, but it comes with precious little information.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePUy3dh03AI)
j
ETA: story of the song here:
> **[Rum and Coca-Cola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_and_Coca-Cola)**
>
> "Rum and Coca-Cola" is a popular calypso song composed by Lionel Belasco with lyrics by Lord Invader. The song was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and was a hit in 1945 for the Andrews Sisters.
> The song was published in the United States with Amsterdam listed as lyricist and Jeri Sullivan and Paul Baron as composers. The melody had been previously published as the work of Venezuelan calypso composer Lionel Belasco on a song titled "L'Année Passée," which was in t...
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/38 "2022-02-06T21:13:28Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#):
>
> This one is more complex than I realized. Working backwards, the well known version of Rum And Coca Cola is by The Andrews Sisters. Great record, by the way.
This reminded me of the other big Andrews Sisters’ song, “Bei Mir Bistu Shein” (alias Bei Mir Biste Scheen, Bei Mir Bist Du Schön, etc.), which history I just heard about the other day on the radio and which has a similarly fascinating and convoluted history as “Rum And Coca-Cola”. It first started as a song in a Yiddish operetta before becoming the first big hit for the Sisters in the English version.
> **[Bei Mir Bistu Shein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bei_Mir_Bistu_Shein)**
>
> "Bei Mir Bistu Shein" (Yiddish: בײַ מיר ביסטו שעהן, or Yiddish: בײַ מיר ביסטו שיין, \[ˌbaj ˈmir ˌbistu ˈʃejn\], "To Me You're Beautiful") is a popular Yiddish song written by lyricist Jacob Jacobs and composer Sholom Secunda for a 1932 Yiddish language comedy musical, I Would If I Could (in Yiddish, Men Ken Lebn Nor Men Lost Nisht, "You could live, but they don't let you"), which closed after one season at the Parkway Theatre in Brooklyn, New York City. The score for the song transcribed the Yiddi...
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/39 "2022-02-06T21:34:22Z")
That’s a hell of a story. I’m still grappling with the concept of
> a Nazi-sponsored German propaganda swing ensemble
That, surely, is niche music.
j
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-the-original-versions/958879/40 "2022-02-06T21:48:39Z")
You are probably familiar with Jimmy Soul’s [If You Wanna Be Happy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxUY-99TPRY).
If you surf around YouTube, you may have run across Robert Mitchum’s version. [(No, I’m not kidding.)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEy4izjNsUQ)
There is also a version by “The Charmer”, who later joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Louis Farrakhan. [(No, I’m not kidding.)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUPxElXRTtQ)
The original was [Ugly Woman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZnNwZyaGf8), by a Trinidadian named Roaring Lion.
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