JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Originals that transcend the (hit) cover

A twist on Bob's post:

What original songs were better than the subsequent covers? The catch: the cover had to be a bigger hit than the original version. It follows then that this is a matter of personal taste.....

I'm hoping to learn something here...

My votes:

(1) "Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me" by Warren Zevon (compared to the hit by Linda Ronstadt).

(2) "Blinded by the Light" by Bruce Springsteen (compared to the hit by Manfred Mann).

(3) "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band (compared to the hit by Joan Baez).

Scott

1) "Locomotion" by Little Eva (compared to the #1 hit by Grand Funk Railroad)
Who would have thunk it????

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Steve West
Steve's Website

Well... all the songs mentioned on Bob's thread for a start!

You've Got A Friend by Carole King (compared to hit by James Taylor) Sue

Stevie - that's kinda wild you said that - you know what is really cool about the downloading age??? I am catching up on some really old stuff I used to listen to, and one was "Shinin' On" by Grand Funk, that includes "Locomotion".

Did you also know that, while they are really easy to make fun of - KISS is actually a great rock band - all of their old stuff stands up really well...

So many…where to begin?

Originals that were better than the covers: (IMO)

Dylan’s knockin on Heaven’s Door VS Gun’s & Roses version.
McCartney’s Live and Let Die VS ..Yeap Gun’s & Roses version
Beatles Come Together VS Aerosmith’s version
Doors Light My Fire VS that Light my fire Light my fire dude
Ric James Super Freak VS sampled MC Hammer Can’t Touch this
McCartney VS ? with Mary Had a Little Lamb (what was he smoking?)
Slade’s Cum on Feel the Noize VS Quite Riot’s version
Tommy James VS Billy Idols’s “Mony Mony”
Vanilla Fudge’s Keep me Hangin On VS The Supremes version
The Stone’s Satisfaction VS Devos version

And any song covered by William Shatner an/or Pat Boone.

Covers that were better than the original? (IMO)

Jimi Hendirix’s Star Spangled Banner VS anyone
Ozzy’s version of the Bee Gee’s Stayin Alive
Sheryl Crow’s “First Cut is The Deepest” VS Bryan Adams
Slade’s “Move Over” VS Janis Jopplin’s
G-L-O-R-I-A VS Van Morrison’s version
Hendrix’s “Hey Joe” VS whoever they were
ELO’s version of “Roll Over Beethovan VS Chuck Berry
Beatle’s version of Roll Over Beethovan VS Chuck Berry
Monkees’s version of I’m a Believer VS Neil Diamond
Rare Earth’s Get Ready VS The Temptations (close)
Slade’s “Born to be Wild VS Steppenwolf
Slade’s “Darling Be Home Soon” VS John Sabastian
Elvis’s “You were Always on My Mind” VS Willie Nelson
Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” VS Trent Reznor

Humm,
This is a tough row to hoe. If the Cover was a bigger hit than the original it kinda makes your question rather moot.

One song that I can think of is BLUE EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN, as far as I know last covered by Wille Nelson. Was it a big hit?

Written by Fred Rose sometime around 1943 and recorded by Elton Britt, The Sons of The Pioneers, Slim Whitman, Ferlin Husky, among others. Maybe Wille did the best recording but the others also were pretty good. In fact I think the song may have finally put Willie on the map.

Anything from the Tommy album VS anything from the movie soundtrack...Ditto Sgt. Pepper.

Wimoweh by The Weavers VS The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens


Midnite

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Satchel was right...Something is gaining on me....
www.jackcouldntmakeit.com

Good thread, folks.

Originals better than covers:

Joni Mitchell's "Clouds (Both Sides Now)" vs. Judy Collins' cover
Bob Dylan's "Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man" vs. The Byrds' cover
Joni Mitchell's "Paradise (Big Yellow Taxi)" vs. the idiots currently recording it
Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" vs.Whitney Houston's cover

Covers better than originals:

Jimi Hendrix' version of "All Along the Watchtower" by Dylan (I agree about Hendrix' "Star Spangled Banner," too)
The Byrds' version of "Turn, Turn, Turn" by Pete Seeger and God
The Lone Arranger's version of "Hank's Song" by me (had to throw that in)

Joe
www.soundclick.com/bands/7/joewrabek_music.htm

I agree, Ray. It IS tough - because of the catch. But not necessarily moot. For instance, Linda Ronstadt had a pretty big hit with "Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me". But when I heard Warren Zevon's original it just knocked my socks off - it has an entirely different meaning that doesn't come through at all in the Ronstadt version.

I admit my reason for starting this thread is purely selfish - I'm hoping to find some hidden gems that have escaped my attention. This first happened when I was a kid and was reading books about some guy named Dylan that wrote the original version of one of my favorite (Byrd version) songs, "Mr. Tambourine Man". I bought some Dylan albums out of curiosity and was led off on a tangent that continues to this day.

Some of the posts here, such as Sue's and Joe's, have served as reminders - that I happen to agree with. Others, such as Stevie's, Midnite's and some of Iggy's, have given me some things to look into (the Vanilla Fudge?)

By the way, there is a fascinating history on the web of the song, "Lion Sleeps Tonight". It covers the efforts of Pete Seeger and others to give credit to the original writer. Don't remember the link but a google search would probably find it pretty easily....

Thanks, All, for your input!

Scott


[This message has been edited by scott59 (edited 08-15-2006).]

This past spring there was an article about the African man who wrote "The Lion Sleeps" or "Wimohway". He has passed , unfortunately, but there is a concerted effort to get royalties for his surviving family. He never got proper compensation for his contribution. I'll bet somebody did.

I liked your list Iggy! I have a few thoughts on some of them.



Don't forget The Stones 'Sympathy for the Devil' versus GnR's version!!




The Supremes version is the original version written for them by Holland/Dozier/Holland! I think it's better than Fudge's.




Doesn't matter who does it really. It's still a terrible song!




Cat Stevens wrote this great song and he sang the original version of it. I think Rod Stewart's version is far and away the best one of this. So does Sheryl Crow!




No way!



[This message has been edited by mani (edited 08-15-2006).]

Anything by Michael Bolton. His covers are feculent. His version of "To Love Somebody" charted higher than the Bee Gee's original, and --unbelievably--his cover of "When a Man Loves a Woman" went to #1.

Eva Cassidy's versions of Sting's Fields of Gold and Fleetwood Mac's Songbird, not to mention just about any other cover she did.

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JavaMusiK

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Woops - just noticed Sue's post in the other thread. Didn't mean to trample. But Eva's definitely worth a double mention.

OKAY, Truman, you just made this English major have to go look up "feculent."
Darn you, makin' my brain work on a TUESDAY afternoon!

I was about to storm off in a huff until the definition popped up.

Now I'm just a'howlin' with laughter.
I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!!
Amen, brother, and a high-five headed your way.

thanks for the mini-vocab lesson--
Linda

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Linda Adams
http://www.alyssastory.com

Mani,

I pulled several muscles in my body from laughing way too loud & long when I read your response...

Thanks

Midnite





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Satchel was right...Something is gaining on me....
www.jackcouldntmakeit.com

Hey Scott,

Mani & I are two huge encouragers of the fact that EVERYONE should read "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" article...The 'link' was Posted here many months ago...A must read!

Sorry that I can't find the Post now, but if people want to Google, then "Soloman Lindy" is the easiest place to start....P.S..Mr. Lindy wrote the song,,,"Wimoweh" is what it was called when The Weavers recorded it,,, & "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is what it was called by the time The Tokens recorded it, which is what most people know it as...

Thanks, Scott, for giving me another chance to give Mr. Lindy his Props!!!

Midnite

[QUOTE]Originally posted by scott59:

By the way, there is a fascinating history on the web of the song, "Lion Sleeps Tonight". It covers the efforts of Pete Seeger and others to give credit to the original writer. Don't remember the link but a google search would probably find it

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Satchel was right...Something is gaining on me....
www.jackcouldntmakeit.com

[This message has been edited by Midnite Bob (edited 08-15-2006).]

Oops, I think I got confused on which post this was. Bob's or Scott's. LOL

But, while I'm here.... Liszt:
I'm also a fan of Grand Funk Railrod. My band played a number of their songs back in the day and when I figured out how to convert my LPs to mp3s, their LPs were some of thr first I did. Hey, please don't tell the "MP3 Police". Thanks.

[This message has been edited by Steviewest (edited 08-15-2006).]

[This message has been edited by Steviewest (edited 08-15-2006).]

No probs Bob. Glad to be of service!

"Love Hurts" Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris duet is much better than that metal band who made it a hit.

"Without You" by Badfinger vs Harry Nillson's cover. The story behind the song is heart wrenching.

I like Jackson Browne's version of "Take it Easy" over the Eagles

"Amie" by Pure Prairie League over Rascal Flatt's version.

Easily the best cover ever:
Sly & The Family Stone - "Que Sera Sera"
yeah, THAT song done by THAT band.
SO much better than Doris Day!

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Hop On Pop, the band

[This message has been edited by PopTodd (edited 08-16-2006).]

Neither are nearly as good as the original recording by the Everly Brothers.

The link for the Wimoweh/Lion Sleeps Tonight story is:

http://www.3rdearmusic.com/forum/mbube2.html

Loved "feculent" but didn't need to look it up. (Buffs his nails on his shirt.)

checkerboardkid -- the band who made "Love Hurts" a hit was "Nazareth" only I'm not so sure I'd call them a "metal band". I believe that the first recording of the song was by the Everly Brothers but I could be wrong on that. There are tons of covers, including such diverse artists as Cher and Roy Orbison.

Edit: Ooops! I see that Truman beat me to it with the Everly Bros.
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Howlin' Hobbit
Got Uke?
Howlin' Hobbit's home site
Howlin' Hobbit on MySpace

[This message has been edited by HowlinHobbit (edited 08-16-2006).]

[This message has been edited by HowlinHobbit (edited 08-16-2006).]

Thanks for the Link HH.....And shame on anyone who doesn't take the time to read it...Seriously, it will take an hour or two to read through the whole thing,,,,so please, Folks, find some time when you can settle in with a pot of coffee, or an evening when you can turn off the TV & enjoy the beverage of your choice....

Midnite

I'll take Richard Harris's Macarthur's Park over Donna Summer any day

[This message has been edited by ben willis (edited 08-16-2006).]

Since when did Hobbits buff anything?

Midnite

[QUOTE]Originally posted by HowlinHobbit:

(Buffs his nails on his shirt.)

And I'll take the original of "Summertime Blues" (by somebody I don't remember) over the remake (by somebody I don't particularly *want* to remember).

Bet nobody's used "feculent" in a country-music song yet.

Joe
www.soundclick.com/bands/7/joewrabek_music.htm

Eddie Cochran did the original. It's been covered by Blue Cheer, the Who, and Alan Jackson that I know of.

Thanks, Truman. It was Eddie Cochran's original I was thinking of (and Alan Jackson's remake I didn't want to think of).

Joe
www.soundclick.com/bands/7/joewrabek_music.htm

Don't forget Rush's version too! Truly appalling!

Yeah--being a LoTR fan I know this--
Hobbits need some use for those hairy bare feet of theirs.

Linda






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Linda Adams
http://www.alyssastory.com

This whole thread is just IMO's. How can you compare Chuck Berry's Roll over Beethoven with the Beatles. Both work- it's testiment to the strength of the song. Carol King and James Taylor singing You've got a friend? It's a toss up- there isn't a clear winner. The only song mentioned in this thread that I thought was clearly superior as a cover was the Bands version of " Drove old Dixie down"

I also like Wilson Picket's "hey jude" with Duane Allman on guitar as well as the Beatles. Same song different genre.

I like Too Little Time's version of "Hey Jude" best. it really makes me wanna just jam along when I hear it.

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Tom Tracy
http://www.soundclick.com/tomtracy

Scott,

I think that the Band's version might have surpassed Joan's version as the one most people think of these days. May be wrong, but I had to really think hard to remember her version at all. The Zevon song is about a tie these days. Linda's known more for You're No Good (which JPF member and award winner Andrew Gold played all the instruments on by the way.. a little factoid for you) and some other songs than that one I think. As for Blinded By the Light, I still prefer the Manfred Mann version. = )

Brian

Good point, Brian. I remember the Joan Baez version got a lot of airplay when it came out. At the time, I *think* it was a bigger hit than the Band version. But you're right - I haven't heard it in ages but I hear the Band's version now and then.

Maybe time for a new category: cover songs that were bigger hits than the original but were later surpassed by the original

Scott

UP ON THE ROOF
The Drifters hit was okay
James Taylor--don't know if if was a "hit" but it got radio play, and I liked it a lot better

A few other Carole King/Gerry Goffin tunes spring to mind:

WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW?
The Shirelles
I like Carole King's own version better (think it was recorded later though)

(YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE) A NATURAL WOMAN
Aretha Franklin--I loved it!
Carole King's version--I liked it more, it wasn't better, just more acoustic and plain like the lyrics

(Did you know Carole King co-wrote "The Loco-Motion," that Grand Funk Railroad had as a hit? Heh heh.)

--Jean

The Band's recording of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was not a cover. It is the original. Joan's cover sounds nice enough, I guess, but I can't forgive her for the careless and senseless mistaken lyrics. I also think her arrangement missed the song completely. She does it as an uptempo lilt. The original really evokes the pain of the "lost cause." It is a great American anthem, in my opinion, and one of the best songs I've ever heard. I cannot imagine anyone on earth singing it as effectively as Levon Helm. He is Virgil Caine.

Norman Blake plays the opening guitar part on Joan's version. I only listen to it to hear Norman. I've been a fan of his for years. If I remember right I think the Band's version was the B side of "Up on cripple creek". I had the 45 as a teenager.

Truman,

I am pretty sure everyone acknowledged that the Band's version is the original. My point was that I think it's still better known than Joan's version which may have charted higher.

Brian

Among musical people, I would think the Band's original is the better known, and certainly more respected. For casual listeners, Joan's version may be better known due to it's being a hit single.