David Bowie wrote a song for Bob Dylan, saying his voice was “like sand and glue”. The song itself is a rather meta reference to a Dylan tribute song to Woody Guthrie. If you squint (with your, um, ears), his rough vocals could be an homage.
(OK, fine, I just wanted to shoe-horn a Bowie one in here . . .)
Spyder Turner covered Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” in 1966 in which he not only did an impression of King, but also Jackie Wilson, David Ruffin, Billy Stewart, Smokey Robinson and Chuck Jackson!
I did not know that. I like Mr. Criss’s version but know I’d really like to hear Rod do it.
Much of what Tom Petty sings sounds like Dylan to me, but I don’t think it’s intentional.
This is a real stretch, but from the late '70s (early '80s?) April Wine’s “I Like to Rock” closes the song with the “Satisfaction” riff played over the “Day Tripper” riff. Seemed cool at the time, but my ears have gotten old.
(The riff[s] start at 3:58)
And there’s another homage on that same album. Like so many of us, I listened to a lot of Bowie lately, also to my favorite Bowie album, Hunky Dory. I have always thought that Queen Bitchis the best song Lou Reed never recorded, but tonight I studied the liner notes for the first time in eons and noticed a side note next to the song’s track listing in parentheses reading “Some V.U., White Light Returned With Thanks”. I had never noticed that or else forgot about it, but it shows that he appreciated the influence and that it was an intentional tribute. And it’s a great song, one of Bowie’s best rockers, I love it.
I’m surprised you’ve heard of April Wine, frankly. Lot’s of airplay in Canada, but I assumed they were unheard of elsewhere.
Junior Brown does the same thing. Live, anyway. There’s probably something on Youtube.
As for vocalists, John Pizzarelli does impressions of a bunch of singers when performing “I Like Jersey Best.” James Taylor, Lou Rawls, Billie Holiday, Harry Chapin, Lou Reed, the Beach Boys, Dean Martin, and I guess whoever else pops into his head at a given performance. The Bee Gees. He does it with guitarists, too. Here
Are you kidding? Just Between You And Me was huge in the US, and MTV played a lot of their videos frequently, especially from “Nature of the Beast”.
I’m glad to hear that. I thought they were merely a Canuck band.
Ever heard of Trooper?
“Jukebox Saturday Night”, a 1942 hit by Glenn Miller’s orchestra, name-drops Benny Goodman, Kay Kyser and Miller himself, in addition to featuring imitations of Harry James and the Ink Spots.
I’m not sure if it was an intentional imitation or not, but "Baby Jane (Mo-Mo Jane)"by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels sure sounds like the Velvet Underground to me. (And completely unlike Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.)
The song was written by Randy Newman, but actually their version would make my personal list of cover versions that sound the least like the originals.
A very clever use of this was the novelty song More Money for You and Me by The Four Preps, from back in 1960. Probably little known these days. Basically, the song mimics the styles of several popular groups and songs of the day, and riffs on them by changing the lyrics.
The songs and groups parodied are The Fleetwoods (Mr. Blue), The Hollywood Argyles (Alley Oop), The Platters (Smoke gets in Your Eyes), The Four Freshmen (In This Whole Wide World), The Kingston Trio (Tom Dooley) and Dion and the Belmonts (A Teenager in Love).
They do quite a good job with the mimicking and obviously have a lot of fun poking riffs at the other groups.
More Money for You and Me
example:
At about 2:45 into it, Neil Young’s Long May You Run includes the line “Maybe The Beach Boys have got you now, with those waves singing ‘Caroline,’” followed by a Beach Boys-esque harmonization by the backup singers of the line “Caroline, No.” It’s the only time the backups sing outside of the title line and the chorus, and it’s beautiful.
It may fall at the “Quotation rather than Impression” fence belatedly added to this thread but in ‘Spirit of the Radio’ Rush clearly change musical style to deliver the line “For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall, Concert halls” which is a clear reference to Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Sound of Silence’ and “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls. And tenement halls”
TCMF-2L
In 1987 Steve Elson was the singer in a **Rolling Stones **tribute band when he wrote an original song called “Coming On Strong.”
Feeling the song was just too good to ignore he put together a band of capable session musicians, called themselves Broken English and released the song. The song was a reasonable hit although the band never went any further. However Elson sung in his usual Mick Jagger style and, at the time, many people were CONVINCED it was a secret Rolling Stones recording.
For a non-band back in 1987 the promotional video is surprisingly professional. Plus - for no special reason - it is clearly a Ghostbusters tribute.
Beaten to it.
David Allan Coe also apes Jimmy Buffett on “Divers Do It Deeper.”
When it comes to impressions of Elvis, I don’t think anyone has this 16 y/o beat:
And for impressions of Freddie Mercury, Marc Martel takes the cake (can’t believe Queen passed him up):