# Songs that "sound" like covers of another band or group, but aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 17, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982 "2020-04-17T15:11:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/1 "2020-04-17T15:11:35Z")
On the way to work this morning, I was listening to Queen and the song “You’re My Best Friend” came on. Now I know it is an original song written by John Deacon, who wrote it about his wife. But to me, it sounds like a cover of a Partridge Family song. Anyone else have songs that fit this category to them? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/2 "2020-04-17T15:51:15Z")
Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway always sounded like some sort of Irish drinking song to me. Whenever she gets to the chorus I just picture a tavern full of people swaying back and forth with their beer steins. Pink’s What About Us sounds like a number from the Phantom of the Opera to me. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/3 "2020-04-17T16:02:49Z")
[Good Times](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXWewX0YqVY) by Eric Burden and The Animals - aside from being a rather annoying earworm - just sounds out of place in their oeuvre. Its almost as if the band had all gone out one evening to watch a musical and then decided they were going to record one of the numbers they had heard. j ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/4 "2020-04-17T17:09:13Z")
Great observation about _You’re My Best Friend_. I can totally hear it!Laurie playing the opening notes on the keyboard, Shirley and the gang singing the backup “you’re making me live now honey”. Keith hamming it up. I’ll never hear that song again without thinking about that:p I bet if we think about it, a lot of Queen songs sound like they could be covers, because they have such a diverse catalog. _Crazy Little Thing Called Love_ is pretty much Elvis, though I’m sure that’s deliberate. _Good Old Fashioned Loverboy_ sounds like it came right out of Vaudeville or something. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/5 "2020-04-17T23:02:21Z")
America doing Neil Young with Horsy No Name. Edward Sheerhan doing a TLC song with I Love Your Body ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/6 "2020-04-17T23:18:09Z")
I thought that the Mamas and the Papas sang “I Dig Rock and Roll Music” until a few years ago. In fact it was Peter, Paul, and Mary who sang it. The Wikipedia entry for the song says that the first verse of the song is supposed to sound like the Mamas and the Papas, the second verse is supposed to sound like Donovan, and the third verse is supposed to sound like the Beatles: > **[I Dig Rock and Roll Music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dig_Rock_and_Roll_Music)** > > "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" is a 1967 song by the American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, written by Paul Stookey, James Mason and Dave Dixon. > Credited to Stookey-Mason-Dixon, the song's lyrics reference contemporary rock artists including the Mamas & the Papas, Donovan, and the Beatles. The song parodies and satirizes the vocal style of the Mamas & the Papas in the first verse, Donovan in the second verse and the Beatles in the third verse. Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic commented that the son... ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/7 "2020-04-17T23:24:07Z")
When I first heard\* Surrender\* by Cheap Trick, I was sure it was a new Who song. But then the vocals kicked in…Robin Zander has a good voice, but he ain’t Roger Daltrey. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/8 "2020-04-17T23:39:28Z")
To echo what’s been said above, very good call, OP, about “You’re My Best Friend” and the Partridge Family. Nobody has ever called out the etymological derivation of the word _partridge_ in connection with that show… which could be done for the irony, as it would change the avian connotation from euphony to cacophony. I forget where I read someone’s comment that the song “_ **it** _”, finale to _The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway_ by Genesis, sounds like theme music to some 1970s action-adventure TV show. I think that’s very accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/9 "2020-04-17T23:50:46Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > To echo what’s been said above, very good call, OP, about “You’re My Best Friend” and the Partridge Family. Nobody has ever called out the etymological derivation of the word _partridge_ in connection with that show… which could be done for the irony, as it would change the avian connotation from euphony to cacophony. [That etymology](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/partridge): > [@](#): > > From Middle English partrich, partriche, pertriche, perdriz, from Old French perdriz, partriz, from Latin perdīx (“partridge”), from Ancient Greek πέρδιξ (pérdix, “partridge”), probably from πέρδομαι (pérdomai, “to fart”). ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/10 "2020-04-17T23:51:18Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > To echo what’s been said above, very good call, OP, about “You’re My Best Friend” and the Partridge Family. Nobody has ever called out the etymological derivation of the word _partridge_ in connection with that show… which could be done for the irony, as it would change the avian connotation from euphony to cacophony. > > I forget where I read someone’s comment that the song “_ **it** _”, finale to _The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway_ by Genesis, sounds like theme music to some 1970s action-adventure TV show. I think that’s very accurate. Nice call. In the same vein, [The Rick and Morty Theme Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh10k2LPZiI) has always sounded like some late 70’s NBC Sci-Fi show that lasted only 11 episodes. Like [Fantastic Voyage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCqwQJWALks) or something ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/11 "2020-04-17T23:55:43Z")
“All Mixed Up”, the last song on the first **Cars** album, sounds to me like it could be a Styx song. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/12 "2020-04-18T00:01:54Z")
Here’s a link to “_ **it** _” by Genesis: [It (2007 Stereo Mix) - YouTube](https://youtu.be/vt2k6RkCWf8) (typography copied from the original album cover) You can’t just search for “_ **it** _” without "_ **it** _"s getting lost in the noise, given Google’s search predilections. it’s scrambled eggs ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/13 "2020-04-18T00:07:24Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Nice call. > > In the same vein, [The Rick and Morty Theme Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh10k2LPZiI) has always sounded like some late 70’s NBC Sci-Fi show that lasted only 11 episodes. > > Like [Fantastic Voyage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCqwQJWALks) or something Definitely got to agree with that. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/14 "2020-04-18T00:14:34Z")
This was done to death in 1992, but _Plush_ by Stone Temple Pilots sounded like it was sung by Pearl Jam. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/15 "2020-04-18T00:18:52Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Nice call. > > In the same vein, [The Rick and Morty Theme Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh10k2LPZiI) has always sounded like some late 70’s NBC Sci-Fi show that lasted only 11 episodes. > > Like [Fantastic Voyage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCqwQJWALks) or something It’s weird that you’d say that. Fastball’s “The Way” always reminded me of some NBC Saturday morning live-action show, dimly remembered, about some kids and one adult who traveled the highways and byways of America in a Winnebago RV helping strangers, kind of like _SHAZAM_ but minus the superhero. I thought “Come On Eileen” was by Queen the first time I heard it. The first time I saw KD Lang (on the _Tonight Show w. Johnny Carson,_ circa 1985), I thought she was comedian Kate Clinton doing some kind of send-up of Patsy Cline. By the time the song ended I realized she was dead serious. I’ve been a fan ever since. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/16 "2020-04-18T01:21:16Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I thought that the Mamas and the Papas sang “I Dig Rock and Roll Music” until a few years ago. In fact it was Peter, Paul, and Mary who sang it. The Wikipedia entry for the song says that the first verse of the song is supposed to sound like the Mamas and the Papas, the second verse is supposed to sound like Donovan, and the third verse is supposed to sound like the Beatles: 1st & 4th verses mention no bands. 2nd is tribute to Mamas & Papas. 3rd is Donovan and Beatles, a couplet each. BTW on the PP&M IN CONCERT album, Paul calls rock-n-roll “children’s music” but I DIG R&R was their biggest hit. Go figure. > [@Manwich](#): > > America doing Neil Young with Horsy No Name. You beat me to it. I’ll also point to Stealer’s Wheel STUCK IN THE MIDDLE, so Dylan-ish. And Terry Stafford’s SUSPICION, so Elvis-ish. And of course Bruce Johnson, in India with the Beatles et al, taught them how to sing like Beach Boys for BACK IN THE USSR. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/17 "2020-04-18T04:35:30Z")
Blue Öyster Cult’s [“You’re Not the One (I Was Looking For)”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTZ6fWKLgtM) is a deliberate imitation of The Cars. The story goes that the band was doing the song as a joke in rehearsal, and the producer, who wasn’t familiar with The Cars, encouraged them to record it for real. Danko Jones’ [“You Are My Woman”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrnlTCkfgJA) - the lead singer said he was tired of comparisons to Thin Lizzy just because he was a person of color fronting a hard rock band, so with this song he was just like, “HERE’S your Thin Lizzy.” ---
**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:** [April 18, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/18 "2020-04-18T04:40:15Z")
When I first heard “[Romeo and Juliet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojU2T_U7Bk)” at first I thought it was an obscure Dylan song. (“Wait… that’s Knopfler’s guitar… this is Dire Straits?”) (oh, [here’s the version I heard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4-AIzKkQMY); more dylan-ness) But when I learned that Mark Knopfler had played lead guitar on Dylan’s \*Slow Train Coming \*album, I figured that the two musicians had rubbed off on each other during that time. (Whole album not on YouTube, but [here’s an out-take](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngXC2rAjFKA)) ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/19 "2020-04-18T10:20:26Z")
Ghostbusters / I Want a New Drug is the exception that proves that rule, at least legally. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/20 "2020-04-18T13:11:42Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > Edward Sheerhan doing a TLC song with I Love Your Body Ed Sheeran does such great “sound-alike” songs by other artists that by my count he’s been sued at least 4 times for plagiarism. Why this guy remains popular baffles me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982.md?page=2)