# 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:** 4
**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:** [December 11, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/61 "2020-12-11T16:53:14Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > “The First Cut Is the Deepest” was written by Cat Stevens and released on his debut album. This was something I was unaware of for decades. But that’s probably because, round these parts, PP Arnold _owned_ it. And, so far as I know, the PP Arnold version was the original, at least in terms of release. > Stevens made a demo recording of “The First Cut Is the Deepest” in 1965, while hoping to become a songwriter. He wrote the song earlier to promote his songs to other artists, but did not record it as his own performance until early October 1967 with guitarist Big Jim Sullivan, and it did not appear until his second album, _New Masters_, was released in December 1967. He sold the song for £30 to P. P. Arnold, and it became a huge hit for her. [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Cut_Is_the_Deepest). Treat: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y1-g5VG2pWg/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDHtNNeV7OoalcAlkzeh8gyiTI-iQ "P.P. Arnold: The first cut is the deepest") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1-g5VG2pWg) j ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/62 "2020-12-12T20:56:05Z")
“Bette Davis Eyes” - huge hit for Kim Carnes in 1981 was co-written by Jackie DeShannon and recorded by her in 1974. I must say the original’s production was totally ill-suited for the song. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/duDU8V01-Mo/hqdefault.jpg "Jackie DeShannon - Bette Davis Eyes - 1975 1st recorded hit") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duDU8V01-Mo) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/63 "2020-12-12T23:50:11Z")
Bonnie Bramlett: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qpZ7BOSmO64/hqdefault.jpg "Delaney & Bonnie - Groupie (Superstar)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpZ7BOSmO64) Carpenters: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SJmmaIGiGBg/maxresdefault.jpg "Carpenters - Superstar") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJmmaIGiGBg) Badfinger: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PPco24LS31A/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgVCg9MA8=&rs=AOn4CLDXVhcNQk2pQ5BkxEm_oZ_GzpSb3g "Badfinger - Without You - Television 1972") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPco24LS31A) Nilsson: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zdhcIEGj9S8/hqdefault.jpg "Harry Nilsson -Without You") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdhcIEGj9S8) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/64 "2020-12-14T07:07:42Z")
You forgot the definitive version [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqVVv97pKGk) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/65 "2020-12-14T07:19:20Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > “Puttin’ On the Ritz” by Taco (1982) was written by Irving Berlin in 1927. The Taco version also has snippets of other Irving Berlin oldies. Here’s a 1930 version: And of course, the definitive version of the song, from 1974: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ab7NyKw0VYQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Young frankenstein Putting On The Ritz") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab7NyKw0VYQ&t=40s) ---
**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 14, 2020, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/66 "2020-12-14T08:15:44Z")
Surely, now the this thread has degenerated to the level of showing, in succession, Peter Boyle, Valentina Hasan and Harry Nilsson all “singing”, it has outlived its purpose. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/67 "2020-12-14T17:11:11Z")
I just learned in the Charley Pride RIP thread that “Is Anybody Going To San Antone” was his original. I’ve always thought it was Doug Sahm’s song, because (as he states in the intro) it’s about Sahm’s hometown of San Antonio. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XzHHvxNh4PY/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC6AKKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDAzn5UEXUETGcrKrwrLelwWSVRqw "Charlie Pride - Is Anybody Going To San Antone?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzHHvxNh4PY) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/COEFaWZhSjg/hqdefault.jpg "Doug Sahm Band ~ Is anybody going to San Antone.wmv") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COEFaWZhSjg) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/68 "2020-12-22T01:49:15Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I only found out a couple of years ago that Joe Cocker’s remarkable “Little Help From My Friends” was originally a Beatles song. My younger sister was surprised when she first heard the Beatles cover version of the Sesame Street song “Yellow Submarine” … ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/69 "2020-12-22T06:16:51Z")
Wow. That Nilsson ‘video’ is awful. And Goddamn, Pete Ham had a huge head! ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/70 "2020-12-22T06:51:22Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > “The First Cut Is the Deepest” was written by Cat Stevens and released on his debut album. Huh. I didn’t know that it had been covered by anyone else. The cover version probably never charted in Aus. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/71 "2020-12-22T07:21:20Z")
The Tommy James video clip reminds me that studio versions have often been very different than what the band played live. In that clip, you can see that what the band is doing is not what you are hearing – although the lip sync is dead on, nothing else matches. It makes me wonder what they sounded like live. A kind of ‘cover version’ right there. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/72 "2020-12-22T07:42:00Z")
> [@gnarator](#): > > Believe it or not, that was an updating of "[The Beggar’s Opera,"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beggar%27s_Opera) from 1728 England…200 years later. The Wikipedia article answers a question I’ve always had: why haven’t I ever heard the original score? Because, apart from the overture, it’s completely lost. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/73 "2020-12-22T07:54:11Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > > [@Uniqueorn](#): > > > > Didn’t know until recently that “My Way” is a cover of this French song from 1967: > > Well if you’re going to consider My Way as a cover of that song, how about this? > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKd5dAdEosc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKd5dAdEosc) > j Which became this: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uqeH76RLpO8/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAcMhRt2HuS9lvDYcP-FZyfG-IWtQ "David Bowie - Life on Mars? (Lyrics)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqeH76RLpO8) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/74 "2020-12-22T16:13:55Z")
I just found out today that one of my favorite songs is actually a cover. _Dancing In the Moonlight_ - King Harvest [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMc8naeeSS8) Here’s the Boffalongo original. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r6dFjDQx_BQ/hqdefault.jpg "Boffalongo - Dancing in the Moonlight") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6dFjDQx_BQ) ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/75 "2020-12-22T20:51:04Z")
“Make You Feel My Love” - I knew it first as what I thought was a country song done by Jo Harlow, Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks. Then Adele’s version. Finally learned to my surprise that is was Bob Dylan song with quite a history. [Make You Feel My Love - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_You_Feel_My_Love) ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/76 "2020-12-23T23:57:48Z")
One of my mother’s favorite albums when I was growing up was Barbra Streisand’s _Butterfly_. She used to play it on the hi-fi in the living room, penny on the tone arm, smell of warm tubes in the air. Didn’t realize it at the time, but it had several covers on it, including “Grandma’s Hands,” and “Life on Mars”. I gave her a copy on CD for her birthday a couple of years ago: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qHVOTPD15uc/maxresdefault.jpg "Life On Mars") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHVOTPD15uc) Yeech ---
**Author:** ![TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TiberiusNeroClaudius)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/77 "2020-12-24T01:34:58Z")
I always thought “Try a Little Tenderness” was an Otis Redding original (or a songwriter associated with his label) and subsequently covered by that noted jazz fan Jack Webb of “Dragnet” fame. Actually Webb’s version is from the 1950s and the song itself is from 1932. > **[Try a Little Tenderness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Try_a_Little_Tenderness)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > "Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. > It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorded in 1932, was made by Charlie Palloy & his Orchestra. Ted Lewis (Columbia 2748 D) and Ruth Etting (Melotone 12625) had hits with it in 1933. Bing Crosby also recorded it on January 9, 1933, for Brunswick Records. A version ... ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/78 "2020-12-24T02:29:52Z")
Huh, i thought that was by Paul Giamatti. 🙃 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWMKXezAaPY) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/79 "2020-12-24T04:36:42Z")
I knew the Beatles were covering the Isleys, but I never realized the Isleys were covering someone else. The original _Twist and Shout_ by The Top Notes. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PCi5GIUSzFY/hqdefault.jpg "1st RECORDING OF: Twist And Shout - Top Notes (1961)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCi5GIUSzFY) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/80 "2020-12-24T15:32:06Z")
Growing up, from time to time I would hear Jimmy Soul’s “If You Wanna Be Happy”, from 1963. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fxUY-99TPRY/maxresdefault.jpg "If You Wanna Be Happy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxUY-99TPRY) A couple of years ago, I was surfing on YouTube, and I ran across this, from 1957: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3N2OYpEAnCQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Robert Mitchum : From a logical point of view ( 1957)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N2OYpEAnCQ) 😲 “From a Logical Point of View”; by ROBERT MITCHUM??? It turns out, this is the original: “Ugly Woman” by [Roaring Lion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Lion) from 1934. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3DCL3zGxbnc/hqdefault.jpg "Ugly Woman - Roaring Lion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DCL3zGxbnc) . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=5)