# 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:** 9
**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 29, 2023, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/161 "2023-06-29T10:14:29Z")
Yeah, I had no idea. The good news is, I love both. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/162 "2023-06-29T13:59:51Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > 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. Huh. I’m exactly the opposite. TIL that TMBG covered Cub. To be fair, I don’t think I listened to their work beyond Flood, so I would have missed it. I’m jealous you got to see Cub! I didn’t really learn about them until after they had already broken up. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/163 "2024-01-26T19:11:12Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8AT_Pbtyid0/hqdefault.jpg "Arrows, I Love Rock N Roll, Alan Merrill") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AT_Pbtyid0) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/164 "2025-12-07T22:31:55Z")
I thought I already posted this one, but I searched and didn’t find it. Did anyone else have this album? I did. I also had the 8-Track. Actually, I “have” the album and the 8-Track. Remember this song? “Love Hurts” by Nazareth [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qn-z5pIe5PQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Nazareth - Love Hurts (HQ)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-z5pIe5PQ) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/165 "2025-12-07T22:33:24Z")
Here is the original. “Love Hurts” by The Everly Brothers [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hFE2SnliiV0/hqdefault.jpg "Everly Brothers - Love Hurts") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFE2SnliiV0) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/166 "2025-12-07T22:37:29Z")
I had labored for decades under the misconception that the original recording was by Roy Orbison, having first learned that the Nazareth version was a cover sometime in the 1980s, when I heard Orbison’s version. But, you’re right: the Everly Brothers were apparently the first to record it, in 1960 (though they never released it as a single); Orbison recorded it in 1961, and released it as the B-side to “Running Scared.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/167 "2025-12-07T22:37:40Z")
That falls into the “Holyfuck!” file. Wow! ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/168 "2025-12-07T22:49:24Z")
Wild huh? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/169 "2025-12-07T22:49:40Z")
Written by Boudleaux Bryant, one of the Everlys’ most frequent songwriters. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/170 "2025-12-07T22:59:11Z")
Interesting. I’m going to see what other songs him and his wife Felice Bryant wrote. kenobi-Roy Orbison had the first hit version. ---
**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 7, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/171 "2025-12-07T23:28:48Z")
I first heard “Love Hurts” in the Nazareth version, but now my favorite cover is by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LUr9X3mic_U/maxresdefault.jpg "Love Hurts - Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUr9X3mic_U) I also like The Everlys’ original very much. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/172 "2025-12-07T23:32:08Z")
Shop Around Captain & Tennille I think it was their breakout hit that lead to a tv show. I discovered Motown many years later and learned it is a cover. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4hN9MXPCvNg/maxresdefault.jpg "Shop Around") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hN9MXPCvNg) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/173 "2025-12-07T23:35:01Z")
btw, I still have Shop Around on my phone. It’s the only Captain and Tennille hit that I still enjoy. I also have the original in my Motown Hits compilation. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/174 "2025-12-09T00:19:33Z")
Until the recent death of singer/songwriter Sonny Curtis, I never knew that the Bobby Fuller Four version of **“I Fought the Law”** wasn’t the original. The original version by Sonny Curtis (and the Crickets) is pretty good too, but the BF4 version still rocks me after all these years. Bobby Fuller’s version could more accurately be called “I Fought the Mob,” considering his mysterious death. ---
**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 9, 2025, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/175 "2025-12-09T00:40:16Z")
I never knew this! Like many people my age I learned the song from the Clash, but soon knew that it was a cover of the Bobby Fuller Four. But I didn’t know that it even went farther back. I just listened to the Sonny Curtis version, and it’s an interesting take. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/176 "2025-12-09T01:21:50Z")
> **[I Fought the Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Fought_the_Law)** > > "I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets and popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, becoming a top-ten hit for the band in 1966. Their version of the song was ranked No. 175 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, and the same year was named one of the 500 "Songs that Shaped Rock" by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. > There are several notable covers of the song. A version by Sam Neely charted in 1975. The song was also recor... I also thought the Bobby Fuller Four version, released in 1965, was the original. The version the Crickets released in 1960, when Sonny Curtis took Buddy Holly’s place, was more like the Bobby Fuller Four version. The Crickets released it on an album and later a B-side on one of their singles. I wonder why the song received very little airplay. Great song. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/177 "2025-12-09T01:24:40Z")
> **[i fought the law and the law sonny curtis and the crickets - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=i%2Bfought%2Bthe%2Blaw%2Band%2Bthe%2Blaw%2Bsonny%2Bcurtis%2Band%2Bthe%2Bcrickets&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=18d9c7964e3ef0d6&biw=1504&bih=850&ei=unU3aYW6K5jYkPIPrr-5yAw&ved=0ahUKEwiF_6CBqK-RAxUYLEQIHa5fDskQ4dUDCBM&uact=5&oq=i%2Bfought%2Bthe%2Blaw%2Band%2Bthe%2Blaw%2Bsonny%2Bcurtis%2Band%2Bthe%2Bcrickets&gs_lp=EhZnd3Mtd2l6LW1vZGVsZXNzLXZpZGVvIjppIGZvdWdodCB0aGUgbGF3IGFuZCB0aGUgbGF3IHNvbm55IGN1cnRpcyBhbmQgdGhlIGNyaWNrZXRzMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKsCSP19UPQmWJRycAF4AZABAJgB_QKgAcIfqgEJMTEuMTQuMy4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIeoALXI8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAgYQABgWGB7CAgsQABiABBiGAxiKBcICCBAAGIAEGKIEwgIFEAAY7wWYAwCIBgGQBgiSBwo0LjIxLjMuMS4xoAfTrgGyBwozLjIxLjMuMS4xuAfDI8IHCDItNS4yMS40yAfzAoAIAA&sclient=gws-wiz-modeless-video&tbm=vid)** ---
**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, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/178 "2025-12-11T20:56:11Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Written by Boudleaux Bryant, one of the Everlys’ most frequent songwriters. I knew this for a specific reason. The lyric to one of the versions I first knew features the agonizing line: > Love is like a stove, burns you when it’s hot Clunk or what? (Some versions wisely change that to “Flame”) So I tracked down the original, only to find that has “Stove” too - and therefore, I must presume that’s how the sainted Boudleaux wrote it. It’s a strange planet. And yeah, I’m with @EinsteinsHund re favorite version (But, goddamn, they use “Stove” too!) j ---
**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 11, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/179 "2025-12-11T21:04:48Z")
I’m with you, I also always cringe at the “stove” line in an otherwise almost perfect song with so many good versions. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496/180 "2025-12-12T00:33:46Z")
agreed: you could easily replace the “stove” with something more romantical … (a burnt down candle in a smelly outhouse) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/927496.md?page=10)