# Shortest time between original song and first cover version? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402 "2003-12-11T18:20:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [December 12, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/21 "2003-12-12T05:02:24Z")
\>\>… Johnny Rivers. Blue-eyed soul my ass. Gotta jump in here. Listen to live Johnny Rivers (from anywhere, but esp. the Hungry i) – just a kid from Loosiana rockin’ the house. If you can ignore the “hits” with their sappy strings and listen to the early stuff, yes, he did have soul. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/22 "2003-12-12T06:20:22Z")
[Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes](http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=2988&cf=2511) both recorded versions of “How Do I Live” and released them both in May of 1997 (yr?), a few sources saying they were in fact released on the same day. They both climbed the country charts, and Rimes’ also climbed the Top 40 as an (oh, the odious word!) “cross-over” hit. Both versions were nominated for the same Grammy, too. For whatever that’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![doctordoowop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/23 "2003-12-12T06:54:00Z")
How about 8 hours? LaVerne Baker cut “Tweedle Dee” for Atlantic in the morning in 1954/55 or so. In the afternoon Georgia Gibbs(female version of PBoone) had the same background group, the Cues, I believe the same engineer ,Tom Dowd, same musical arrangement, & AFAIK the same band. It was released on Mercury. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/24 "2003-12-12T11:08:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > **For instance, the most successful is probably “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” which was a #2 hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1967 and a #1 hit for Marvin Gaye in 1968. And neither one was the original.** Just to clarify the rules of the OP- we’re looking for the shortest time between chart debut of original song, and chart debut of first cover version. Not shortest time between consecutive cover versions (as above), and not shortest time between recordings, as in **doctordoowop’s** example above. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/25 "2003-12-12T13:33:54Z")
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes Covered several times within a couple months of release. [http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BlueSuedeShoes.html](http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BlueSuedeShoes.html) ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/26 "2003-12-12T13:41:35Z")
Hendrix did a cover of “Sgt. Peppers lonely hearts club band” live the day (or the day after) the album was released. unclviny ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/27 "2003-12-12T13:51:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > \*\*Many of these were white covers of black originals, which may or may not have made the regular top 100 charts. Here’s a famous one: “Long Tall Sally.” Little Richard’s version hit the charts on April 7, 1956 and stayed there for 12 weeks. Pat Boone had his on the charts by April 28, 1956 for a run of nine weeks. Amazingly, for the day, Little Richard hit a high of #6 and Boone’s never got over #8. \*\* I think if you go back into that mid-50s era of Motown, that’s where a lot of covers outpaced the originals. There’s probably several covers that were released BEFORE the originals (Is that possible? Would they really be called “covers” in that case?). ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/28 "2003-12-12T14:04:50Z")
Perhaps the “best achieving” covers were issued in 1957. Sonny James’ _Young Love_ was released and covered later in the year by Tab Hunter. Charlie Gracie released _Butterfly_ and Andy Williams covered it that year. All four releases topped the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/29 "2003-12-12T16:39:25Z")
And there’s the sort-of-famous example of Louie Louie, which was written and recorded in the 1950s, but then laid around until the Kingsmen and Paul Revere and the Raiders both decided to record it at the same studio, within two days (or nine, memories differ) of each other. Both versions then bounced around record companies for the same length of time, and were released virtually simultaneously, only to have the Kingsmen’s version win out. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/30 "2003-12-13T00:44:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*I’m glad you brought up Pat Boone. He’s going to be the champ in this category. Boone did this kind of thing constantly. \*\* IIRC, There was a band that my friends and I referred to as “All For John Michael Montgomery” (actually “All For One”), who had a habit of covering JMM songs a few months after he released them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/31 "2003-12-13T02:45:12Z")
Not quite as close as some of the examples already given, but Robin Lee’s cover of “Black Velvet” (#15) was released only a few weeks after Alannah Myles’ original (#1). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/32 "2003-12-13T04:40:18Z")
**Linda Ronstadt** released _Hasten Down the Wind_ in 1976, the same year that **Warren Zevon** released the same song. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402/33 "2003-12-13T04:58:20Z")
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned _I’m Into Something Good_ by Earl-Jean (6/27/64) and Herman’s Hermits (8/20/64). Source: [Mindbenders day to day musical history](http://www.odyssey.on.ca/~mindbenders/day2day/index.html). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-time-between-original-song-and-first-cover-version/218402.md?page=1)