# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/141 "2023-05-27T22:32:12Z")
“Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” is not a They Might Be Giants original; it was first a hit in 1954. When I was a kid in the 1970s, we thought the “Shaving Cream” song was hilarious and didn’t understand why our parents were unhappy about us singing it. Yeah, they had heard it before, and got it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/142 "2023-05-28T01:26:19Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “Queen of Hearts” was written by Hank DeVito (pedal steel guitarist for Emmylou Harris), and first recorded by Welsh singer/guitarist Dave Edmunds in 1979. It was a top 20 hit in the UK and Ireland, but didn’t chart in America. I had that album and loved his version of the song. When Juice Newton’s version came out, it just seemed a little limp. My second favorite song on the album was _Crawling from the Wreckage._ I used to love singing along at the top of my lungs. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/143 "2023-05-28T01:44:22Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > When I was a kid in the 1970s, we thought the “Shaving Cream” song was hilarious Dr. Demento? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2023, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/144 "2023-05-28T11:31:11Z")
We saw a local reggae band that we really like last night at a brewery. They do a cover of the song _Superstar_ made famous by The Carpenters. (Long ago, and, oh, so far away I fell in love with you before the second show) They do a brilliant cover. Soulful, reggaefied just a bit. Really beautiful. A woman near us told me that the lead singer wrote the song. I had to find it online to show her it was written by Bonnie Lynn Bramlett , Delaney Bramlett, and Leon Russell. She was astounded. (She was in her twenties) ---
**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:** [May 28, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/145 "2023-05-28T16:32:12Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > “Queen of Hearts” was written by Hank DeVito (pedal steel guitarist for Emmylou Harris), and first recorded by Welsh singer/guitarist Dave Edmunds in 1979. It was a top 20 hit in the UK and Ireland, but didn’t chart in America. > > I had that album and loved his version of the song. When Juice Newton’s version came out, it just seemed a little limp. > > My second favorite song on the album was _Crawling from the Wreckage._ I used to love singing along at the top of my lungs. And if I remember correctly, _Crawling from the Wreckage_ was a cover of a Graham Parker song. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/146 "2023-06-01T15:55:58Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I never knew that Higher Ground was a cover of a Stevie Wonder song. My sister’s ex-husband, a lifelong music and RHCP fan, talked really disparagingly about the “elevator music of Stevie Wonder, creator of the terrible I Just Called To Say I Love You”. I had to educate him, and put Innervisions, side two on the platter. With Higher Ground blasting out, he was left dumbfounded and educated. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/147 "2023-06-05T00:45:59Z")
I didn’t see it upthread so if it was already mentioned, sorry. Bruce wrote and recorded Blinded by the Light for 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band covered it and it reached #1 in the U.S. in 1977. This version was Springsteen’s only #1 song as song writer. (Dancing in the Dark made it to #2) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/148 "2023-06-05T13:59:54Z")
Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” is a remake of a French song performed by Claude Francoise “Comme d’Habitude” On reflection, I’m not sure if this counts, because although the melody is the same, the lyrics are different. (The French song is about a couple that have fallen out of love but continue with their lives together out of habit.) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/149 "2023-06-05T15:25:48Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > Manfred Mann’s Earth Band Not “Cecil’s Terrestrial Music Organization”? > **[In “Blinded by the Light,” what exactly is the lyric following the title phrase?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342274/in-blinded-by-the-light-what-exactly-is-the-lyric-following-the-title-phrase)** ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/150 "2023-06-05T15:58:43Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Because It’s Only Six Words Long? I see what you did there. Eventually. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” is not a They Might Be Giants original; it was first a hit in 1954. Similarly, “New York City” is not original to TMBG. I didn’t know that until I saw them in concert and the opening act was a trio from Vancouver called Cub. Someone in the audience called out for “New York City” and they didn’t know if they should, if the headline act was going to play the same song in their set. One of the Johns must have given his approval from offstage, because they did play it. Cub broke up a few months later; I’m glad I got to see them live. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lRL9C5cttcI/hqdefault.jpg "Cub - New York City") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRL9C5cttcI) ---
**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:** [June 12, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/151 "2023-06-12T20:17:50Z")
Today I learned that a song I have heard tons of times, _Pills_, is not a New York Dolls original. I guess I didn’t look too closely at the song credits on that album. > **[Bo Diddley - Pills - 1961](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdX1PikvePY%2F)** > > One Of My Favorites By Bo! ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/152 "2023-06-28T05:17:50Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/12dh4XL9RkI/maxresdefault.jpg "Dazed and Confused (Remaster)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12dh4XL9RkI) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/153 "2023-06-28T05:19:18Z")
^“Dazed and Confused” - Led Zeppelin I never realized that song was a cover. Sorry about my workaround here. It’s late and I’m tired. I’ll try to better next time. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/154 "2023-06-28T05:20:19Z")
Another cover by The Yardbirds. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W_SturUfdOI/hqdefault.jpg "The Yardbirds Dazed And Confused 1968") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_SturUfdOI) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/155 "2023-06-28T05:21:44Z")
The original folk-rock “Dazed and Confused” by Jake Holmes… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_-F8XGQ46c0/maxresdefault.jpg "Dazed and Confused") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-F8XGQ46c0) ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/156 "2023-06-28T07:56:42Z")
Wow, I’d never heard of him. Great version too. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/157 "2023-06-28T20:00:37Z")
It’s amazing as long as that song has been around, and as long as the internet has, that it took so long to learn it was a cover. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/158 "2023-06-28T20:17:32Z")
All of you late 70s early 80s era hard rockers probably had Nazareth’s Hair Of The Dog in your record collection. I’m aware that Nazareth loved covers (Love Hurts, This Flight Tonight), but was unaware that Beggar’s Day was a cover. As a longtime Neil Young and Crazy Horse fan, let me tell you that I was surprised to learn just this past weekend that Beggar’s Day was a song penned by Nils Lofgren during his membership in Crazy Horse. It’s on the record Crazy Horse released by themselves with no Neil. > **[Beggars Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-xERWBgLO8%2F)** > > Provided to YouTube by Warner RecordsBeggars Day · Crazy HorseCrazy Horse℗ 1971 Warner Records Inc.Bass: Billy TalbotBackground Vocals: Billy TalbotEngineer... ---
**Author:** ![MeepersC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meepersc/32/12088_2.png) [@MeepersC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeepersC)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/159 "2023-06-28T21:33:23Z")
“Barbara Ann”, often considered to be a staple song by The Beach Boys, was actually a cover song originally recorded by The Regents. It was only when The Beach Boys were recording their Party! album that Barbara Ann was recorded, and only then at the request of Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean (who sang lead on the single version). ---
**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:** [June 28, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/160 "2023-06-28T21:52:52Z")
The Byrd’s “Turn, Turn, Turn” is a cover of Pete Seeger’s version, which in turn was a cover of the song by the Limeliters, which was written by Pete Seeger… And Pete Seeger’s song was a cover of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8… (-: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=9)