# Remake done by origionial artist outdoing their origional song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783 "2003-12-13T15:48:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/1 "2003-12-13T15:48:39Z")
Can you think of any examples of an artist redoing a song, and having the remake be more popular than their origional version? An easy listening example would be Neil Diamond, who first did **You Don’t Bring Me Flowers** by himself, but then made the song a hit when he sang it with Barbra Streisand. A rock example would be, even though both versions were popular, I that Aerosmith’s **Walk This Way** was a little more popular when they performed it with Run DMC. Any more examples? I’m sure that there has to be. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/2 "2003-12-13T18:06:56Z")
Elton John’s **Candle in the Wind**. Was #6 in 1987 (14 years after it was originally recorded, BTW) and rereleased (with different lyrics, of course) in 1997, when it went to #1. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/3 "2003-12-13T18:24:32Z")
U2 - The Sweetest Thing. Awful originally, awesome the second time around. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/4 "2003-12-13T18:27:59Z")
_Layla_. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/5 "2003-12-13T18:28:41Z")
The Psychedelic Furs re-recorded _Pretty In Pink_ for the soundtrack of the John Hughes 1986 movie of the same name. The original version of the song was from their 1981 album, _Talk Talk Talk_. The song was a bigger hit the second time around. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/6 "2003-12-13T18:28:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gadfly \* > \*\*U2 - The Sweetest Thing. Awful originally, awesome the second time around. \*\* Oh, I didn’t realize they made the song twice. Do you remember which album the first version was off of? ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/7 "2003-12-13T18:31:18Z")
Neil Sedaka - _Breaking Up Is Hard To Do_. Did it in the 60s as an uptempo doo-wop style, and in the 70s as a slow, romantic ballad. Started his comeback in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/8 "2003-12-13T18:31:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Troy McClure SF \* > \*\*_Layla_. \*\* You must be talking about Eric Clapton’s 1990’s live remake which was a lot slower and more mellow. Although I like both versions I liked the remake because I could finally understand some of the lyrics that I wasn’t able to get before. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/9 "2003-12-13T18:36:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, I didn’t realize they made the song twice. Do you remember which album the first version was off of? It was released as a B-side, I think. It was from Bono to his wife, after he’d missed an occaision that was important to her due to work. Originally, Bono did all the backup singing, and the vocals were gravelly. The production was pretty awful, too. Due to the wonders of file-sharing, the original is quite easy to find. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/10 "2003-12-13T18:38:36Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/11 "2003-12-13T19:01:17Z")
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails. I prefer the version that’s on the Further Down the Spiral V1 (hurt, quiet). V2 has a live version which I also think is much better than the original, but I don’t consider live versions to be remakes. Although I think it’s a live recording, the version of St. Lawrence River on David Usher’s new CD is better than the original, mainly because the original was made on a cheap budget and this version just sounds so much richer. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/12 "2003-12-13T19:04:34Z")
On his greatest hits album, Eddie Money had a live version of his song **Where’s the Party?**. This version is **wayyyy** better than the orional studio version. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/13 "2003-12-13T19:49:02Z")
I would have rather put my own eyes out than suggest this a coupla decades ago, but it is my sincere belief that dozens of early Bob Dylan songs come off _much_ better in their later, electrified iterations. Oh yeah. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/14 "2003-12-13T21:52:49Z")
If live remakes count, there’s Peter Frampton, who had monster hits with his live versions of “Do You Feel Like We Do” and “Show Me the Way,” after the originals never charted. John Lennon first recorded “Across the Universe” as part of a project to raise money for some cause or another. He redid it for “Let It Be.” Neither was released as a single, but the second one obviously sold better. If you’re into one hit wonders, you may remember Gunhill Road and their minor hit single “Back When My Hair Was Short.” The single version was a rewriting of the song on their original album, changing the lyrics from references to the 60s to more commercial (at the time) references to the 50s. ---
**Author:** ![twit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/15 "2003-12-14T02:05:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, I didn’t realize they made the song twice. Do you remember which album the first version was off of? Joel, “Sweetest Thing” actually appeared originally as one of the B-sides to “Where the Streets Have No Name” along with “Silver and Gold.” I know because I still have the 45 single! There was also a cassette maxi-single that included all three of the aforementioned songs along with another called “Race Against Time.” That I only have the original cardboard longbox for. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/16 "2003-12-14T03:23:41Z")
Ahh, a B-side. I have most of their albums so that’s why I was puzzled as to why I didn’t see the origional before. ---
**Author:** ![Snite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Snite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snite)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/17 "2003-12-14T16:07:21Z")
In 1995, on _The Riddlebox_ ICP released a re-mix of their song "Chicken Huntin’ " off the _The Ringmaster_. The original was slow and had just a beat, but for the “Slaughter House Remix” version they added electric guitars and bells and shit and not just the music, but also the vocals were faster-paced. The remix was so popular that at an ICP seminar, at the mere mention of the album the entire crowd began singing the chorus to the song at the top of their lungs. FYI: ‘chicken’ is slang for rednecks. They ain’t talkin’ about actual chickens. That’d be stupid. Psychopachik Vampire ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/18 "2003-12-14T16:46:20Z")
Gordon Lightfoot rerecorded many, if not most, of his songs on his two “best of” albums. In almost every case, I prefer the new version to the original. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/19 "2003-12-14T16:59:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Troy McClure SF \* > \*\*_Layla_. \*\* I can’t stand the newer “Layla,” nor can I abide the slowed-down “After Midnight” Clapton did. I like the first “After Midnight,” all peppy with the back-up singers and the horn section. But both remakes are pretty popular so, eh, to each their own. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783/20 "2003-12-14T17:34:47Z")
The Police _Don’t Stand So Close To Me_. I like the slower, newer version but love the older, faster one. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remake-done-by-origionial-artist-outdoing-their-origional-song/218783.md?page=2)