# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/41 "2013-03-03T15:01:20Z")
**The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down** - originally recorded by the Band in '69, but turned into a top ten hit by Joan Baez in '71. **Diamonds and Rust** - originally recorded by Joan Baez, then became a staple song and widely assoicated with Judas Priest (!!) What **Both Sides Now**? I know it was originally a hit for Judy Collins, but was that before or after Joni Mitchell recorded her own version of (her) song? Oh one more - **There Goes My Baby** - a hit for the Drifters in '58. But most people think this song was a Cat Stevens original (I guess because the Cat Stevens version was ressurected in the movie _Rushmore_.) ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/42 "2013-03-03T15:18:34Z")
**Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain** was written by Fred Rose & recorded by Roy Acuff, Hank Williams, & Gene Vincent before Willie Nelson nailed that sucker down. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/43 "2013-03-03T15:40:48Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Van Halen did a lot of this, esp early on. _Pretty Woman_ might be the best example :dubious: I was around when Van Halen recorded “Pretty Woman”. I’ve been alive and listening to the radio since before it happened. To this day, I’ve heard VH’s recording of it less than 10 times (that I consciously remember…it may have gotten a lot of radio play when it was released, but I didn’t even remember they recorded the thing until I heard it a couple of months ago on an AccuRadio 80s mix), whereas just about every time I do hear the song, it’s the Roy Orbison version, in movies, tv shows, on the radio, etc. I can’t believe that a majority of people even know (or remember) VH ever covered the song. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/44 "2013-03-03T16:00:22Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > “Torn” by Ednaswap, made famous by Natalie Imbruglia. Thing is, though I like Ednaswap, Imbruglia’s version is better, imo. I disagree. For those of you who haven’t heard the Ednaswap version or dislike the song based on Imbruglia’s version, I recommend giving the Ednaswap version a listen. Slower, more raw and a bit bluesier. Love it! Also, maybe it’s my age, but re I Think We’re Alone Now the Tommy James version is the more popular one in my mind. Great thread, I love stuff like this. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/45 "2013-03-03T16:01:28Z")
A whole thread could be dedicated to famous Blues tunes covered by white bands, while most of the original artists faded into obscurity. But how about Otis Redding’s “Satisfaction”? I heard some British kids did a cover of it. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/46 "2013-03-03T16:07:52Z")
The Leaves had a hit with the song Hey Joe. The Jimi Hendrix version is considered the standard for that song now. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/47 "2013-03-03T16:13:31Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Todd Rundgren and Utopia had a song that [should have been a huge hit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPDQUp_audU). It was, [for someone else.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QZjJU-mtFU). > [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Linda Ronstadt’s version of Warren Zevon’s “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” is much better known than the original. Hmm. In both cases, I know and love the original version but wasn’t even aware of the supposedly much better known cover. ---
**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, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/48 "2013-03-03T16:16:08Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I can’t believe that a majority of people even know (or remember) VH ever covered the song. That’s probably true in the strictest sense, but Van Halen’s version isn’t exactly obscure. I hear it often enough on the radio and at bars. Still, Roy Orbison’s version has got to be more well known. > [@](#): > > This is the first recorded version, “Brandr” Oops, I made a typo there. That should be “Brandt.” ---
**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, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/49 "2013-03-03T16:16:25Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > But how about Otis Redding’s “Satisfaction”? I heard some British kids did a cover of it. Wait, I though Devo was an American band! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/50 "2013-03-03T16:17:55Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > A whole thread could be dedicated to famous Blues tunes covered by white bands, while most of the original artists faded into obscurity. > > But how about Otis Redding’s “Satisfaction”? I heard some British kids did a cover of it. Jagger and Richards wrote (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. If that’s what you’re referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/51 "2013-03-03T16:30:54Z")
I doubt the Kink’s “Stop Your Sobbing” got any radio play at all before The Pretenders covered it 15 years later. ---
**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, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/52 "2013-03-03T16:32:16Z")
“Money” and “Twist and Shout” are more usually associated with the Beatles than their originators. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is best known by the Tokens, but was first recorded in 1939; the better known version changes the lyrics to English. “Walk Right In” was a hit for the Rooftop Singers in 1963, but was first recorded in 1929. Jimmy Soul’s “If You Want to be Happy” is a remake of “[Ugly Woman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZnNwZyaGf8)” by Roaring Lion from 1934. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/53 "2013-03-03T16:45:23Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Here’s the original version of [I Think We’re Alone Now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkMFLUXTEwM). > [@Bob Ducca](#): > > “Mony Mony” was originally recorded by Tommy James & the Shondells in 1969 but most people only know the Billy Idol cover. Anyone with even a single grey hair knows that these were both huge hits for Tommy James & the Shondells. ETA: (and therefore do not fit the premise of the OP) mmm ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/54 "2013-03-03T16:47:29Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Not hugely popular, I’m sure there are a few other They Might Be Giants fans Constantinople. TMBG’s version of _New York City_ was a cover; the [original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKThNh5Vqk) was by a cuddlecore punk trio from Vancouver called Cub. If you are talking They Might Be Giants, you HAVE to mention that their best known song, “Istanbul Not Constantinople” was a cover of a 1953 song by the Four Lads. Also Quiet Riot covered Slade twice; outdoing the original versions of “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “Mama Weer All Krazee Now”. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/55 "2013-03-03T16:50:00Z")
About half the hits we heard in American during the British Invasion were covers of obscure American songs. We kids listening to the radio for the first time didn’t know, because there was no music press and at the time, nobody talked about them being covers either. The whole concept of covers is a modern invention. In the 1950s, songwriters wrote songs and people sang them. You could have five versions of a song make the charts. And, as mentioned, black artists were rarely played on white radio so their songs were redone. Pat Boone made an entire career out of cleaned-up black songs. But let’s stick to the British Invasion. Top 40 American singles only. **Herman’s Hermit’s** “I’m Into Something Good” “Silhouettes” “Wonderful World” **Manfred Mann** “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” “Sha-la-la” **Dave Clark Five** “I Like It Like That” **Animals** “The House of the Rising Sun” “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” “Bring It On Home to Me” “See See Rider” **Peter and Gordon** “True Love Ways” “To Know You Is to Love You” **Chad and Jeremy** “Willow Weep for Me” **Yardbirds** “I’m a Man” **The Searchers** “Love Potion No. 9” “Needles and Pins” “Don’t Throw Your Love Away” **The Swinging Blue Jeans** “Hippy Hippy Shake” **Rolling Stones** “It’s All Over Now” “Time Is on My Side” I’m leaving out bunches, I’m sure. There are dozens more if you start looking for minor singles. One big name is missing, and that’s correct. The Beatles put lots of their favorite songs on their albums, but never issued one as a single, and certainly none made the charts here. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/56 "2013-03-03T17:54:30Z")
I don’t know if this quite fits, but…I heard Yo-Yo Ma’s version of Ennio Marconne’s music from The Mission, and love, love love it. Then I heard the music itself, from the album and not the film, and couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. Ma’s slight changes and little additions really elevate the music even higher than it was, which is saying something. ---
**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, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/57 "2013-03-03T18:46:00Z")
The 1972 recording of “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen is probably the most famous recording of that song, which was originally released in 1955 by Charlie Ryan. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/58 "2013-03-03T18:52:05Z")
The 1986 Banarama cover of “Venus” is better known than the 1969 Shocking Blue original (although the original did reach #1 on the charts). ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/59 "2013-03-03T19:06:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The 1986 Banarama cover of “Venus” is better known than the 1969 Shocking Blue original (although the original did reach #1 on the charts). That’s what I came in to mention. Nirvana also covered the Shocking Blue with Love Buzz, though I hardly thing that qualifies for the thread. ---
**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, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895/60 "2013-03-03T19:11:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The 1986 Banarama cover of “Venus” is better known than the 1969 Shocking Blue original (although the original did reach #1 on the charts). I’m a little surprised. I hear the Shocking Blue version much more often. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-well-known-version-of-a-song-is-a-cover/651895.md?page=4)