# Songs you didn't realize were covers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 7, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496 "2020-12-07T18:28:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/201 "2026-01-08T00:10:09Z")
I don’t think I ever heard any other versions besides Three Dog Night’s version. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/202 "2026-01-08T08:41:06Z")
I think any time I’ve ever heard the song, it’s Toploader’s cover. A few years ago I would have posted on this thread, if it existed, that I was surprised it was a cover. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/203 "2026-01-08T11:06:36Z")
Did you mean **King Harvest** , or did **Three Dog Night** cover it as well? ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/204 "2026-01-08T11:32:30Z")
I always loved the BEatles version of “Mr Postman” AS a kid hearing my big sister’s LP ( Mono!) I did not know that they had to list the actual songwriter on the record. I assumed that L & M wrote it. Same for “twist and shout” but I had already heard the original version of that song. Growing up in Northern Wisconsin the local stations rarely played any R & B or motown music in the lily-white great white north ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/205 "2026-01-08T17:59:49Z")
I meant King Harvest’s version of “Dancing In The Moonlight.” I think that happened because I was simultaneously trying to post a Three Dog Night song in a thread in ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/206 "2026-01-08T19:40:27Z")
I think all, or most, of Three Dog Night’s songs were covers. I wouldn’t have known that until I was older. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/207 "2026-01-08T20:54:16Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > I think all, or most, of Three Dog Night’s songs were covers. Wow, you weren’t exaggerating. Looking at their discography, they definitely had good taste in songwriters. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/208 "2026-01-08T21:04:39Z")
Yes. One of my favorite bands when I was eight and beyond. I got to see them once, way later (90s), at a smallish bar with a stage and pool tables. They were great! Tickets were cheap, and it’s not like they were super old. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/209 "2026-01-09T18:36:34Z")
And they’re still touring! At least some of them. Lead singer Danny Hutton (83) was born a few months before Joe Biden, and the band has 30 dates between now and summer. Bonkers. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/210 "2026-01-10T01:18:11Z")
The stage was about three feet tall at that bar. I was right there. I actually saw them twice. The second time was at a casino for free in 2008. I happen to find an envelope with some of the ticket stubs from a few of the concerts I saw there. I got to see all the concerts I wanted for free. I could also get as many tickets as I wanted for friends and family. I was winning all the time out there on the progressive draw poker machines, including many, many royal flushes. BlankSlate - Still touring. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/211 "2026-04-20T02:08:02Z")
Not me, but my little sister. First couple of times she heard “Yellow Submarine” on the radio, she wondered why the Beatles were doing a cover of a Sesame Street song. [Classic Sesame Street - Yellow Submarine (take 1) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzoSGRZ6f94) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/212 "2026-07-29T03:18:31Z")
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…Biloxi, I remember hearing this original song. It’s a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat. I think I had forgotten the original song by the time the new wave bubblegum cover came out in 1982. That video version played heavily on the music channels, if I remember correctly. Here is the original “I Want Candy” by The Strangeloves (1965). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/w4LQYNZdY9U/maxresdefault.jpg "I Want Candy Strangeloves RESTORED VIDEO TRUE 1965 STEREO HiQ Hybrid JARichardsFilm") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4LQYNZdY9U) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/213 "2026-07-29T03:21:18Z")
Here is the 1982 cover version by Bow Wow Wow. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JoXVYSV4Xcs/maxresdefault.jpg "Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoXVYSV4Xcs) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/214 "2026-07-29T03:25:00Z")
Sorry Treppenwitz. I didn’t mean to reply to your post and I don’t know how to edit it. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/215 "2026-10-03T00:55:40Z")
George Harrison didn’t do many covers. I didn’t know this was a cover until way later. Here is the original by James Ray. “Got My Mind Set On You” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A1E6xvM7PeA/hqdefault.jpg "James Ray - Got My Mind Set On You") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1E6xvM7PeA) ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/216 "2026-10-08T02:56:39Z")
Interestingly enough, David Bowie was first hired to write English lyrics for the song. That was rejected, but in his frustration, it inspired Is There Life on Mars?, which was dedicated to Sinatra. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/217 "2026-10-08T04:11:45Z")
Today I learned… 🤯 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/218 "2026-10-08T04:20:21Z")
Santana’s Black Magic Woman was originally by Fleetwood Mac: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9wT1s96JIb0/maxresdefault.jpg "Santana - Black Magic Woman (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wT1s96JIb0) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7eANGHVQS9Q/hqdefault.jpg "Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman, Stereo 1968-73 CBS 45 record.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eANGHVQS9Q) Also, Santana’s Oye Como Va was originally by Tito Puente: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J7ATTjg7tpE/maxresdefault.jpg "Santana - Oye Como Va (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ATTjg7tpE) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BpAXzTpANNw/maxresdefault.jpg "Tito Puente - Oye Como Va (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpAXzTpANNw) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/219 "2026-10-08T12:10:45Z")
While I thought I knew that Dave Edmund’s version of “I Hear You Knocking” was a cover of a Fats Domino’s recording, only recently did I learn that Gale Storm recorded and released the song in 1955, long before the Fats Domino version was released in 1961. The song was actually written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King and originally recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1955 as well. The Smiley Lewis recording did well on the R&B charts. Gale Storm’s version also did well, hitting #2 on Billboard, I think. The Fats Domino cover did not do nearly as well in 1961, though that is the one I always think of as “the original.” The Dave Edmunds cover did exceptionally well in the UK in 1970, hitting #1 in some charts. It did almost as well in the US, Canada, and other countries. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/220 "2026-10-08T14:06:23Z")
Harrison loved that song. On the Beatles first U.S tour, one of the first things he did was hit a record shop to buy the album. He couldn’t find it in the UK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=12)