# Where the well known version of a song is a cover **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2013, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895 "2013-03-03T05:18:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/21 "2013-03-03T07:35:01Z")
One of the biggest would be [I Love Rock and Roll](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AT_Pbtyid0) by the Arrows. A lot of people think Joan Jett wrote it. Nope, cover version. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/22 "2013-03-03T07:47:29Z")
“Torn” by Ednaswap, made famous by Natalie Imbruglia. Thing is, though I like Ednaswap, Imbruglia’s version is better, imo. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/23 "2013-03-03T07:55:44Z")
REM’s “Superman” is a cover of a song recorded in 1969 by The Clique. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/24 "2013-03-03T09:27:46Z")
To be sure, “Tainted Love” has a 60’s pop melody and structure written all over it, even if Soft Cell’s instrumentation and vocal style haven’t. A good example of the OP is [Love Don’t Live Here Anymore](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5gFAiPJhvI), a smash 1985 hit for Jimmy Nail, and one of the quintessential 80’s songs. Blows my mind, actually, that the R’nB / Disco band that gave us “Carwash” wrote both. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/25 "2013-03-03T10:05:52Z")
“Wind Beneath My Wings” was recorded by many artists–including Sheena Easton, Lou Rawls, Gladys Knight, and Gary Morris (whose country version in 1983 was very popular)–before Bette Midler had a hit with it in 89/90 on the \*Beaches \*soundtrack. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2013, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/26 "2013-03-03T10:32:36Z")
[Girls Just Want to Have Fun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Just_Want_to_Have_Fun) was first recorded by it’s writer Robert Hazard in 1979, from a male point of view. Although Willie Nelson wrote [Crazy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_%28Willie_Nelson_song%29) the Patsy Cline version is the original. Nelson at the time had not recorded it and was far better known as a songwriter than a performer. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/27 "2013-03-03T10:43:59Z")
A good many people think that Try A Little Tenderness was originally recorded by Otis Redding in 1966. It was actually first recorded by the Ray Noble Orchestra in 1932. It has been covered by many other artists before Redding, most notably by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, and Aretha Franklin. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/28 "2013-03-03T11:05:51Z")
> [@MentalGuy](#): > > Well, besides [Patsy Cline’s _Crazy_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OVtpnpCOKM), which I think is fairly well known as a cover of [Willie Nelson’s original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwS6FL_WgoI). > [@Simplicio](#): > > **Nothing Compares 2 U** everyone seems to know this is oringinally Prince song, but the O’Connor cover is so popular that I don’t think I’ve ever heard the original Prince version. Doesn’t appear to be on Youtube. > [@Oakminster](#): > > Likewise, _Me and Bobby McGee_ was written and performed by Kris Kristopherson. These aren’t cover versions, they are songs where the original release is by someone other than the songwriter. In the case of the Willie Nelson and Prince songs, their versions that we’ve heard are publishing demos. In the case of _Me And Bobby McGee_, Kristofferson recorded for his debut album some years after the original hit by Roger Miller - but the most famous version is a cover of _that_ version. ETA **don’t ask** has made this point about _Crazy_, for some reason this post didn’t show up first time. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/29 "2013-03-03T11:16:26Z")
My favorite version of this is Hard to Handle [Otis Redding’s original](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZxN9iQM7OY) [The Black Crowes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft-J72YnMFI) Redding’s version is a lot more minimalist and straightforward while the Crowe’s version is an aggressive take. Still, they’re clearly the same song and done in a very similar way. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/30 "2013-03-03T11:26:56Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > These aren’t cover versions, they are songs where the original release is by someone other than the songwriter. In the case of the Willie Nelson and Prince songs, their versions that we’ve heard are publishing demos. Wikipedia says **Nothing Compares** was written by Prince for the band “The Family” which recorded the song for their one and only album. So the O’Conner version is a cover, albeit not of a Prince song. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/31 "2013-03-03T11:36:19Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > My brain has never connected this as the same song used by Benny Hill and by The Muppets, although I certainly get it now. Weird. What’s weird is that the “primary silent comedy sketch scene music for The Benny Hill Show” was actually [_Yackety Sax_.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNBL5OMeuno) I can’t say definitively that, in his decades of making TV comedy, Benny Hill never used Mah Nà Mah Nà, but it’s not the tune that’s generally associated with his silent comedy sketches. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/32 "2013-03-03T11:44:14Z")
Passed, in coolness, by a version called… [Yakety Axe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8kQghy30Cg) by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler ---
**Author:** ![MentalGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MentalGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MentalGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/33 "2013-03-03T13:33:12Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > [Girls Just Want to Have Fun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Just_Want_to_Have_Fun) was first recorded by it’s writer Robert Hazard in 1979, from a male point of view. > > Although Willie Nelson wrote [Crazy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_%28Willie_Nelson_song%29) the Patsy Cline version is the original. Nelson at the time had not recorded it and was far better known as a songwriter than a performer. I stand corrected. While I knew the Nelson version was not well known until after the Patsy Cline version, I did think it had been released. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/34 "2013-03-03T14:00:27Z")
People think “Love in Vain” is a Rolling Stones song, but it’s by [Robert Johnson](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BkPm8JIJJQ). ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/35 "2013-03-03T14:06:51Z")
Elvis Costello’s 1978 hit _(What’s So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding?_ was written by Nick Lowe and recorded in 1974 by Lowe’s band Brinsley Schwartz. Lowe was the producer on Costello’s take. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/36 "2013-03-03T14:21:46Z")
“Mony Mony” was originally recorded by Tommy James & the Shondells in 1969 but most people only know the Billy Idol cover. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/37 "2013-03-03T14:38:40Z")
_Back Door Man_ by the Doors was a cover of [Willie Dixon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_Door_Man) _Last Kiss_ by Pearl Jam was a cover of [Wayne Cochran](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Kiss) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/38 "2013-03-03T14:43:52Z")
Van Halen did a lot of this, esp early on. _Pretty Woman_ might be the best example ---
**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:** [March 3, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/39 "2013-03-03T14:54:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Here’s the original version of [I Think We’re Alone Now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkMFLUXTEwM). Is Tiffany’s version really the more well known one? I don’t think I’ve heard that version since the early 90s, but I still hear the Tommy James version regularly. Dammit, and somebody beat me to “Torn.” [Here is Ednaswap](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1SH1YdITDI)’s version. They wrote the song. However, the interesting thing is that it’s not the first recorded version of the song. [This is the first recorded version, “Brandr”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWwqOOtOEg), performed by Lis Sørensen, and the direct inspiration for Natalie Imbruglia’s version. This one came out in 1993, two years before Ednaswap released their version. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/40 "2013-03-03T15:00:28Z")
Oh, and this may be a bit more obscure, but the song got major airplay in the Chicago market. [Kim the Waitress](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS5oa5IPSX0) by Material Issue was originally [Kim the Waitress](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGAQJI-BBs0) by Green Pajamas. The Material Issue version was played incessantly in Chicago on Q101 in 1993-4. (I want to say early 1994). Never heard the Green Pajamas version out here. Somewhat interestingly, [Sister Psychic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C3iQlh9MkM) released a version almost exactly at the same time as Material Issue, and that version was my first exposure to the song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895.md?page=3)