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.)
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.
: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.
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.
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.
Oops, I made a typo there. That should be “Brandt.”
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”.
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.
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.
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.
