We've all heard them, both good and bad, legitimate and illegitimate. The worst and most illegitimate are usually done for the most cynical of reasons: record label wants a hit and makes the band do a cover so there will be a single to promote the disc. Those are, surprise surprise, the ones we usually hear.

But there have been a history of great covers also, where somebody hears something in a song and makes it their own, equalling or surpassing the original.

The most obvious: probably Jimi Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower". But then again there could probably be a whole board of great Dylan covers. List your favorites, mine happens to be Fairport Convention's "Percy's Song" with those gorgeous harmonies from Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews, and Richard Thompson's dulcimer weaving through the background.

Here's one for Benn: Stone Poneys (Linda Ronstadt) doing Mike Nesmith's "Different Drum.

Johnny Cash songs seem to make excellent fodder:
"Ring of Fire" by Dwight Yoakam
"Get Rhythm" by NRBQ

Husker Du did an absolutely incendiary "Eight Miles High". Sugar did the same for "Armenia, City In the Sky".

Tom Waits must've written "I Don't Want To Grow Up" for the Ramones. Same thing about Van Morrison's "My Lonely Sad Eyes" for Maria McKee.

That should get the ball rolling.

If anybody wants to list a good "tribute" disc, that's OK too. Most of them seem to be verbatim regurgitations, though. Pity.

Some of my favorite cover songs:

1. Guns N' Roses' version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".

2. Winger's version of "Purple Haze". Nowhere near as good as the original, of course, but still a good song.

3. Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of "Voodoo Child", which they are using in a SUV commercial right now. Vaughan's version just has something in it that I can't describe that I think the Hendrix version was lacking.

4. After The Fire's version of Falco's "Der Kommisar". For one thing, its in English, so I can actually understand the lyrics. I prefer Falco's version, however. Its cheesier, whether you're just listening to it, or watching the video (which was one of the cheesiest ever made!).

Least favorite covers, in no particular order:

1. The Britney Spears version of the Rolling Stones classic, "Satisfaction". I haven't even heard it, but I hate Britney Spears (her singing sounds like a frog being strangled!), so.....

2. The Vanilla Ice version of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music". I hate to admit it, but I actually liked "Ice, Ice Baby" (the first five times I heard it, then I realized how s*tupid it is). This one I hated the first time I heard it!

3. The aforementioned Dwight Yoakam version of "Ring Of Fire". No one can do that song better than Johnny Cash, so why waste your time trying?

4. Any Rap version of a non-rap song, except the Run-DMC version of "Walk This Way".

Least favourite covers were "When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)" by Boyzone and "Uptown Girl" by Westlife (they're both boy bands, from Ireland, and Ronan Keating is the other common factor between them, until recently). Why did was it necessary to buy them, however? Because they were both released in aid of Comic Relief, a charity that helps people in Africa and the UK. It's insidious, I tell ya!

I'll list some covers (good and bad) later. I just want to point out that Linda Rondstadt's version of "Different Drum" is not a cover. Mike Nesmith did not record it first. He wrote it, but he did not record it until the Seventies, well after Stone Ponies had a hit with it.

So Mike Nesmith did a cover of his own song? Another new category perhaps?

I guess it's up to me to list this one:
"Iko Iko" by Dr. John

Regarding Johnny Cash:

I guess we'll just have to disagree, BF. I love both those songs listed. "Ring of Fire" certainly lives up to the spirit of the otiginal, thanks (mostly) to Pete Anderson for the guitar playing and the timeless arrangement. NRBQ's "Get Rhythm" actually supercedes the master, Al Anderson was born to sing it. Plus they both work well as an homage, not the other way around.

On the flipside, anybody hear Johnny do Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage"? Truly awe inspiring, talk about a perfect marriage of song and performer...

Please answer me this: Who did the cover of Neil Diamond's 1966 hit "Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon" for the movie "Pulp Fiction?"

UO, or Urge Overkill, a sadly underappreciated "retro" band.

Sociual Distortion and Dick Dale have both done creditable covers of "Ring of Fire", also.

Let's see, what are some covers I like?

"Roll Over Beethoven" by E.L.O.
"She" - The Monkees (Paul Revere and The Raiders did it first)
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - both CCR's and Marvin Gaye's version
"Born To Be Wild" - Blue Oyster Cult
"Roadhouse Blues" - Blue Oyster Cult
"King of the Road" - R.E.M. (actually this is horrible. The band is wasted. Mike Stipe keeps singing the same verse over and over - and never gets the lyrics right! But so damned funny!)
"Take This Job and Shove It" - The Dead Kennedys (Yeah, it really is a punk song, after all)
"Baby Blue" - Aimee Mann
"Superstar" - Sonic Youth (creepy)
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" - The Carpenters
"Do Ya" - Electric Light Orchestra (Not really a cover. Jeff Lynne wrote it. The Move recorded it, then The Move became E.L.O.)
That's all the good ones I can think of right now. There are others. Now for the bad and the ugly

"Foxy Lady" - The Cure (I like the Cure, but this is horrible. Robert Smith has no soul.)
"Tutti Frutti" - Trio (how can anyone •••• the life out of a Little Richard like this?)
"You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Burton Cummings (Cummings' revenge on his former bandmates.)
"Lady Marmalade" - Lil Kim, et al (Lifeless)

There are more, but I can't think of 'em right now.

Oh two more bad ones:
"Suicide Is Painless" - Marylin Manson (not how you'd expect him to tackle the song.)
"Tuesday's Gone" - Metallica (and they have to drag John Popper and Les Claypool down with them to prove that as a Southern rock band, Metallica once was a great metal band. And while I'm at it, someone should shoot Claypool the next time he has Primus cover Pink Floyd. "Have a Cigar" is embarrassing.)

"Have a Cigar" is embarrassing.

Yeah, but they more than made up for it by just having the guts to do the Residents' "Sinister Exaggerator" (and pulling it off BTW)

Yeah, Benn, but Metallica did one HELL of a version of "Whiskey In The Jar"!

R.E.M. did a cover of "King Of The Road"?! Thank God I've never even heard that before! I pray I never actually hear it! Dean Martin and Roger Williams are the only two people who should have ever been allowed to do that tune. I heard Sammy Davis do it once, and he was awful!

Yeah, Miko Iko, the Johnny Cash version of "Rusty Cage" is killer! Ever hear the song he did with U2? I can't recall the name of it, but it was awesome! (Not quite as "When Love Came To Town", which U2 did with B.B. King, but still great)

Anyone ever hear the BR549 version of Wild One"?

One more for the c-r-a-p-list:

Billy Idol's version of "LA Woman". Unforunately, its one of the last things by him that I've ever heard. Does he even record anymore?

Speaking of cover songs, Eddie Murphy and Smash Mouth have collaborated to ruin "I'm A Believer"! Its in the movie Shrek. The music video is funny, but that version of the song.....bleah!

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - both CCR's and Marvin Gaye's version
Don't forget Gladys Knight and the Pips' version, too. It ain't too bad, but I do prefer CCR's and Marvin's.

As I've said over on the Cleveland Rocks! Music from The Drew Carey Show about covers: ...it's very seldom that one person or group does as good or better a version of someone else's song. And it's true, as you're all obviously aware. You know what else is just as bad? When you buy an oldies disk or disk set, thinking you're getting the original versions of your favorite songs, and they're remakes from the original singer or group, or as sometimes happens, one original member of a group but with a whole new lineup. and in whichever case they always do a very bad job. I got suckered like that sometimes years ago when I used to buy tapes cuz the vast majority of the time the cassette case wouldn't have the decency to tell ya first. Some CD box sets do so I avoid them. I prefer the original versions, especially digitally remastered.

I was wondering who redid "I'm a Beliver". I found it'd been covered when I saw a commercial for Shrek.

"L.A. Woman" is not the worst cover Billy Idol ever recorded. That would his version of The Velvet Underground's classic, "Herion". Ugh! I'm not sure if Mr. William Broad still records or not. I know there's a new Billy Idol greatest hits out. I know that he's playing here, in Dallas, on July 7th. He's got guitarist Steve Stevens with him again. Stevens is the only really good guitarist Idol ever worked with.

And now, some more much despised covers:

"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" - Michael Bolton. No. Anything by Michael Bull(beep!). But this is particularly awful. (Not that Sammy Hagar did the song any favors.)

"Mercedes Benz" - Concrete Blonde. And I liked Johnette and her band!

"Because the Night" - 10,000 Maniacs. A song about sexual desires by someone I can't imagine having any. (Not that I'd turn Natalie Merchant down, mind you.)

Now for the good stuff:

You probably don't realize that this is a cover, but it is arguably the most important cover song in Rock-n-Roll:

"Rock Around the Clock" - Bill Haley and the Comets

More:

"4th of July" - X (or did Dave Alvin record it after X? I know he wrote it.)
"'Heroes'" - Blondie
"Sharp Dressed Man" - C.J. Chenier (Hey! It works as a zydeco song!)
"Tomorrow Never Knows" - Danielle Dax
"Midnight Cowboy" - Faith No More (That Mike Patton and the boys can do this song and keep the sad poignancy in it is a miracle.)
"Pictures of Match-Stick Men" - Camper Van Beethoven (It's better than what Ozzy and Type O Negative did with the tune.)
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" - Marylin Manson
"I Need a Lover" - Pat Benatar
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" - The Sex Pistols
"Higher Ground" - The Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Take Me to the River" - Talking Heads (Who knew David Byrne could be a soul man?)
"Summer Breeze" - Type O Negative (Though anyone who grew up with Seals and Crofts' original will hate it!)
"Dancing Barefoot" - U2 (Patti Smith did it just a little bit better, but U2 didn't embarrass themselves with it.)

By the way, BF, I believe the U2/Johnny Cash song was called, "The Wanderer". (Not relations to Dion.) Also, I agree, "Whiskey in the Jar" was great.

Okay, so I mis-spelled "Believer" in "I'm A Believer". So sue me. Ya won't get anything. (And don't even think about touching my CD collection. Blood will spill over that!)

Oh, btw, I thought Gladys Knight and the Pips were the ones who originated "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". If not them, then who did?

Good covers:

Ring of Fire--Wall of Voodoo
You Better Run--Pat Benatar
Hazy Shade of Winter--Bangles
Locomotion--Grand Funk (rather good sounding arena 70's rock sound)
Money (That's What I Want)--Flying Lizards-- considering the silliness of the lyrics it should've been a novelty song
Bette Davis Eyes--Kim Carnes
Everlasting Love--U2
Killing Me Softly--Roberta Flack
Nothing Compares 2 U-- Sinead O'Connor

Bad Covers:

Locomotion--Kylie Monique
I Saw Him Standing There--Tiffany (demonstrates a moment where the young girl did not really know how to sing )
Total Eclipse of the Heart--Nikki French
Killing Me Softly--Fugees (one of the most overrated covers, ever!)
Like a Virgin-- Lords of the New Church(but it was supposed to be bad! )

Artists That Seem To Do Nothing But Covers:

Linda Ronstadt
Juice Newton
Kim Carnes

I'm sure there are many others.

(If anyone already mentioned these, sorry. There's a lot of stuff in this subject to remember)

Good:
Lynyrd Skynyrd's version of "Mr. Breeze".

One of the DJs at 106.1 RDU told a funny story about how Skynyrd fans regularly call the station when they play Tom Petty's version of the same song and comment that "It's no Skynyrd!" and she has to inform them that it's not really Skynyrd even when it is!

The Monkees' "(Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
Boyce and Hart wrote that one for The Raiders as well.

The Monkees' "Words" Origionally writen for The Leaves.

The Youngblood's "Get Together" Several people did earlier versions.

Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe" Like I had to say it...

Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes "Ten Years Gone" OK, so maybe it's not much of a cover if Page is on it, but it still beats Zepplin's version.

The Bad:

"Bucket T" by The Who. Actually, I've never heard the origional, but even if it's not worse than that, this thing is still awful.

The Four Tops "Walk Away Renee" Ick...

The Leaves "Hey Joe" OK, this may not be fair, I may be comparing it to Jimi's (a fellow cover)

Ummm...Whoever did that blasphemous version of "A Hard Rain's A-gonna Fall" on hte "Remember The Titans" soundtrack. (sorry for the memory laps)

Other good covers:

"Step On" by the Happy Mondays
"Respect" by Aretha Franklin (I like the original Otis Redding version too)
"Easy" by Faith No More
"Lucy in ther Sky with Diamonds" by Elton John (I really liked this one, I must say)
"Strawberry Fields Forever" by Candy Flip (who? Exactly - we never heard from them again. But it was a good interpretation of a difficult somg.)

I also remember someone (but who?) doing a really dark and somewhat raunchy cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" - it was awesome.

More bad covers:
"The Boys Are Back In Town" by the Happy Mondays. (Sorry, I just didn't get this one...)
Both "Baker Street" and "Never Gonna Slip Away" by a band remarkably called Undercover.
"Under The Bridge" and "Lady Marmalade" by All Saints (amazingly, both were part of a double A-side single).
"American Pie" by Madonna (the dream has died, killed off by La Ciccone).
"School's Out" by Daphne and Celeste (aaaarrrrgggghhhh! Alice Cooper must be turning in his future grave!).

Sorry, but there seems to be more bad covers than good ones out there.

Camper Van Beethoven's version of "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" was pretty good. I forgot all about that one!

Regarding Benn's comments on 10,000 Maniacs: I've never liked Natalie Merchant. Solo or as the Maniacs' singer.

10,000 Maniacs did ONE good cover song after Natalie left. It was a cover of Roxy Music's "More Than This". Or was that a song Bryan Ferry did as a solo artist?

Oh, by the way, avoid the version of "Bang A Gong" by the Power Station at all costs! For those of you who don't know, the Power Station was Robert Palmer and John ad Andy Taylor of Duan Duran. Palmer refused to tour with them, and Michael Des Barres (of MacGyver fame) took over as the vocalist. My memory may be off about this somewhat.

Forgot to mention:

Ozzy Osborne and Coal Chamber did a cover version of Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey", which is my favorite Peter Gabriel song. Its good, but would have been better without Ozzy!

I'd like to hear Powerman 5000 or Static X do a cover of the Beatles' "Yesterday" or "Eight Days A Week"!

First of all, Skinhead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" is not a cover. Prince may have written it, but it did not appear on any of his albums until The Hits/The B-Sides, and then it's a live version of the song. Sinead had her hit with the track well before Prince released it.

"Mr. Breeze" is actually called "Call Me the Breeze", originally recorded by J.J. Cale. My favorite Skynyrd cover is "T For Texas". Wonder why?

Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" is a cover!? As I recall she wrote that about Don McLean!

I believe "More Than This" was Roxy Music.

I'd forgotten Power Station's version of "Bang a Gong". Gee, thanks for reminding me, he said darkly.

Oh, yeah I do remember Candy Flip's version of "Strawberry Fields Forever". I have it on a cassette single. I kinda liked it.

Another really bad cover is Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of "Taxman". Michael Jackson was going to do an animated film that would feature Beatles songs in it. He selected different artists to record Beatles tunes. Jacko is the one who picked what songs the artists would perform. That Jacko has the poor taste to give "Taxman" to Stevie Ray proves he's NOT the King of Pop.

Oh yeah, and if you wanna talk really bad covers, you should hear Keith Moon's version of "Don't Worry Baby" and "In MY Life". There's reason The Who wouldn't let him in the studio when they were laying down the vocal tracks. I just can't believe somebody was fool enough to let him record an entire album! At least his version of "The Kids Are Alright" isn't too bad. (It ain't great, either. Just not as bad as the other cuts.)

My apologies Norman. I just checked my sources and Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" is a cover. Lori Lieberman was the original artist.

Thought of another GOOD cover:

"Ooga-chucka
Ooga-chucka
Ooga ooga ooga chucka
Ooga chucka
Ooga chucka
Ooga ooga ooga chucka

I can't fight this feeling
Deep inside of me.
Girl you just realize
What you do to me.
When you hold me
In your arms so tight.
You let me know
Everything's alright.
I-i-i-i- I'm hooked on a feeling!"

Forget B.J. Thomas' wimpy version, Blue Swede's the one to listen to!

I always thought it was "ooga-chagga".

First of all, this board sorta grew out of a discussion on the Cleveland Rocks board so I'll just reiterate "Five O'Clock World" by Julian Cope, and send props out to MarkN for starting it all.

I have too many concurrences with previous posts to mention, but I'll single out a few:

"Take Me To the River"- Talking Heads. In my mind one of the great cover songs. It really helped redifine and expand what was then a burgeoning musical style.

"Hazy Shade of Winter"- The Bangles. I had a new respect for them after I heard that. BTW- who did "Going Down To Liverpool" first, them or Katrina and the Waves? I know Kimberly Rew (of the Waves)wrote it, don't know who got to it first.

10,000 Maniacs did another thoroughly unnecessary and uninspired cover with Cat Stevens' "Peace Train". I kinda liked The Wishing Chair, lost interest after that.

Nobody's mentioned any "tribute" discs yet. I tend to think of them as the curse of Hal Wilner, named for the producer who seems to have made it vogue in the 80's. The difference is that his are genuine artistic and creative successes, really exploring the possibilities of the subject at hand. I can't think of many others with the same approach.
Stay Awake, the Disney song tribute, was the most popular. Bonnie Raitt did a moving and soulful "Baby Mine" from Dumbo. The Replacements were...well, The Replacements, on "Cruella DeVille". Lots of great cuts including lots of dark and moody takes.
That's the Way I feel Now is the Thelonious Monk tribute, featuring as many rock artists as jazz ones. It really cooks. Dr John doing "Blue Monk" may seem obvious but it just had to be done and does not disappoint. The real surprise is Joe Jackson's INCREDIBLE arrangement for "'Round Midnight".
Lost in the Stars is the Kurt Weill tribute. Same balance of rock artists and jazz ones. It's probably the most serious one but there's also a palpable undercurrent of playfulness. Richard Butler does "Alabama Song" for crying out loud...and Sting gets to do "Mac the Knife". Tom Waits does a song from The Threepenny Opera, but the absolute best cut of all the Wilner discs is Lou Reed's "September Song", there's a real goofy charm that's irresistable.

Richard Butler brought to mind another sub-topic: bands who later re-do their own songs and thoroughly botch up the job:
"Pretty in Pink"- The Psychedelic Furs
"Don't Stand So Close To Me"- The Police

OK,OK...I just gotta add another (as I'm being dragged from the computer...)

For the "great" list: "Heartbreaker" by Dread Zeppelin. Don't laugh till you've heard it. It rocks, mon!

More good covers:

"Can't Help Falling In Love" by UB40
"I Got You Babe" by UB40 and Chrissie Hynde (a brilliant reinterpretation of a fine song)
"I'm Only Sleeping" by Suggs (upbeat and clever, and only one version of the song has a trombone solo)
"It Must Be Love" by Madness (is this a cover? I think it could be - I'm sure I heard another version, but whether it was released before or after this version I don't know. In any case, this is a good version of the song.)
"...Baby One More Time" by Travis (this was on the B-side on their single "Turn")

Personally, I prefer Dread Zep's "Stairway to Heaven". But Dread Zeppelin is such a thoroughly deranged concept.

Scott, I'm not sure which it is. That's how it appeared in one of my books, so that's what I went with. What worries me is, when I sing along with it, what am I saying? Am I summoning up some Lovecraftian demon or what?

I know there's a new Billy Idol greatest hits out.
Yeah, I've got it. One thing I don't like when greatest hits are remastered and reissued is when they add live performances of the studio versions already on the disk to fill up a bit more space in hopes the buyer will appreciate it. Sorry, nope, it doesn't work for me. This album does that, as does Cyndi Lauper's "She's So Unusual" debut album.

Michael Bolton's cover of (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay was once mentioned by Otis Redding's widow as her favorite, second only to Otis' and I like it, but then I used to be into MB years ago. Not now but I still like his version.

Concrete Blonde's cover of Mercedes Benz ain't too bad. The Goth wannabe guy I work with brought their greatest hits to work several times. The singer sounds somewhat like Janis, but then no one can top her, I don't care who they are, although Leann Rimes did a kickass version of "Me and Bobby MaGee" to rival Janis' in a concert she gave here 2 years ago.

Not that I'd turn Natalie Merchant down, mind you.
Yeah, especially after watching the way she gyrates her hips in that tight black dress in that one video from a few years back.

"Take Me to the River" - Talking Heads
I thought this was theirs originally but I've since heard one or two other covers of it.

"Summer Breeze" - Type O Negative (Though anyone who grew up with Seals and Crofts' original will hate it!)
I did, but I don't. I've heard it at work (again the Goth wannabe) and it's ok. Different, but not bad.

Bad Covers: Locomotion--Kylie Monique
Who cares? She was pretty hot in the video! She was still pretty hot when she sang at last year's Olympics! Looked like she finally filled out and has a nice figure now, too. She used to soooo skinny.

The Youngblood's "Get Together" Several people did earlier versions.
I did not know that. Holy Shades of Johnny Carson, Batman!

I Want Candy by both The Strangeloves and Bow Wow Wow (whose 14yo singer was still crapping her diapers when the original came out) are pretty good versions.

Oh, by the way, avoid the version of "Bang A Gong" by the Power Station at all costs!
I don't think it's too bad, but I do prefer T.Rex's version instead.

Forget B.J. Thomas' wimpy version, Blue Swede's the one to listen to!
Bitecher your tongue, Benny-boy! Blue Swede totally ruined it. Besides, have you seen the clip of them on that 70s hits TV ad and the clothes they're wearing? Ugh! The epitome of 70s popgroups clothing. Maybe you even remember seeing the TV show that clip comes from, too (I don't). Ed Sullivan, perhaps?

Nobody's mentioned any "tribute" discs yet.
Funny you should mention it, Miko, cuz I was just thinking about that just before you mentioned it. In short (can I ever say anything "in short"?) I hate tribute albums, so I never buy them. I prefer listening to the original versions (or at least the ones I'm familiar with and enjoy) and not some lousy, inferior cover by someone else.

Spooky by both Dusty Springfield and Classics IV. I kinda like Dusty's more, but then I'm listening to it right now, too.

I just remembered Sweet and Tia Carrera's (from Wayne's World) covers of Ballroom Blitz.

Sammy Davis, Jr. and Anthony Newley: What Kind of Fool Am I?, which is actually one of them songs that scores of men back then did.

Juice Newton and Merilee Rush: Angel of the Morning. Yes, I know Juice was already mentioned as being able to do only do covers (but not only). Another one she did is Tell Him No, obviously a slight variant of the Zombie's Tell Her No.

Dusty Springfield did some covers, too, such as How Can I Be Sure?, also done by the Young Rascals, and I dunno how many others. What is it about some songs that scores of others feel they must do one, too? I remember back for awhile in the 80s it seemed that practically every singer who went on The Tonight Show sang Memory, from Cats. I like that song but even I got tired of people's lack of choice back then. Dusty also covered Roy Clark's Yesterday When I Was Young. Did the Pet Shop Boys do What Have I Done to Deserve This before teaming with Dusty or was that the only version, does anyone know?

Is the live cut on Cyndi's album, "Money Changes Everything"? That was the B-side to one of her singles off that the She's So Unusual record. It may be worth having, if it is.

Apparently, some kid named Aaron Carter has covered "I Want Candy". I haven't heard myself, just read about it in the paper. The Da-M-N paper (Dallas Morning News) called it a cover of Bow Wow Wow. No wonder I hate Dallas' Only Daily.

Type O's got a version of "Summer Breeze" with alternate lyrics. It's actually refered to as "Summer Girl". ("Kenny Hickey lying on the sidewalk/Devil music from the house next door/So I step on over his vomit/Through the screen and across the floor/Summer girl make me feel fine/Always in the corner of my mind.")

"Blue Swede totally ruined it. Besides, have you seen the clip of them
on that 70s hits TV ad and the clothes they're wearing? Ugh!" - MarkN

I still say I prefer the "Ooga chaga", "ooga chucka" "ooga ckaka", or whatever the hell they're singing version to B.J. Thomas'. ;p As far as their clothes are concerned: a.) I haven't seen them, b.) I'm not Blackwell, so I ain't rating their "sartorial eloquence". The Bay City Rollers weren't exactly fashion plates either. Thomas' is too damned earnest. Blue Swede's is more fun.

In passing, Miko, I mentioned The Monkees tribute album, Here No Evil. It's okay. I buy tribute albums only when someone I like is on them, or it's a tribute to an act I really, really like.

Atlanta Rhythm Section has also covered "Spooky". But then some of ARS were in the Classic IV band, so does it really count?

I believe The Pet Shop Boys have done a solo version of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", but don't quote me on that, Mark.

One person notorious (and rightfully villified for it) for doing covers (hell, it's his entire career!) is |snarls| Pat Boone. That this man is rich from ruining some of the Fifities' greatest RnB songs, is one of the biggest rip-offs in rock! If Boone had any decency he'd give back some of that money to Fats Domino, Little Richard and some of the others he robbed. The embarrassing thing is that he was classified as "rock"! And the less I think of that insane "heavy metal" disc he did, the better. It wasn't even bad enough to be funny. (Didn't Eddie Van Halen contribute to this nightmare? If, so, Edward deserved Gary Cerrone!)

BTW, sorry you didn't make RM moderator. Better luck next time!

In passing, Miko, I mentioned The Monkees tribute album, Here No Evil. It's okay
I shoulda known, Benn!...from now on "nobody" shall mean "Nobody but Benn"

Totally agreed re: Pat Boone BTW. I still gotta take Dread Zep's "Heartbreaker" over "Stairway", but it reminds me: is "Stairway To Gilligan's Island" a cover? Probably not, else we'll open up that whole Al Yankovic can o'worms. Somewhere in the middle lies Tiny Tim's version. I play it when I'm in a particularly iconoclastic mood.

Here's a couple of my favorites by artists covering themselves
"Walk, Don't Run '64" by The Ventures
"Think" by Aretha Franklin (version from The Blues Brothers Movie)
One I wish hadn't been done
"Cherry, Cherry" by Neil Diamond. Why people thought his yelps were an improvement mystifies me.
Worst cover I can think of
"Cathy's Clown" by Reba McIntire

Neil Diamond wrote "Cherry, Cherry". And then re-wrote it for The Monkees as "A Little Me, A LIttle Bit You".

"I shoulda known, Benn!...from now on "nobody" shall mean "Nobody but
Benn" - Miko Iko

Why do I detect a wee bit o' sarcasm here? Or am I being neurotic? (Okay, paranoid.) Still, I'm only human (hmm. Probably less than.), things happen.

There are a couple of tributes tapes I borrowed from a friend of mine last night, that I hadn't heard in an eon or two; 20 Explosive Dynamic Super Smash Hit Explosions! and its sequel, 20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!. These were put out by Pravda Records in the early 90's. They're tributes to those old K-Tel records that used to be advertised on TV. They're pretty good. I gotta get 'em on disc and add them to my collection. The first is better than the second. Highlights include "Hooked On a Feeling" by The Slugs (they also used the "Ooga chakas".), "Jackie Blue" by The Smashing Pumpkins, "Little Willy" by Material Issue, "That's the Way I Like It" by Trenchmouth (a hard rock version of a disco smash. It works!), "Brandy" by The Rievers and "Shannon" by The Sinatras.

"Cathy's Clown" reminds me of Faith Hill's abominable version of Pearl's "Piece of My Heart". Sammy Hagar came close to matching Janis' version, but if you wanna get rid of me, just play Faith Hill's.

Benn, I know Neil Diamond wrote Cherry, Cherry. What I was referring to was his having a Top40 hit with it twice, the second version from his Hot August Night live album where he injects these yelps into it. I just never could figure out why many people preferred it with yelps. I always liked the studio version better. The live version is all I seem to hear on radio anymore.

Why do I detect a wee bit o' sarcasm here? Or am I being neurotic?
Honestly, Benn, it was meant as a bit of a compliment. Sorry if it came across the wrong way.

Neil Diamond sucks! In my opinion, anyway. He's a great songwriter, but I don't like him at all as a singer. Same thing with Willie Nelson; a songwriting genius, but can't sing worth a darn!

Butch, I LOVE Reba, but I have to agree with you about "Cathy's Clown".

What I really hate is when an artist teams up with someone years later to ruin one of their classic songs by turning it into something else. For instance, Jimmy Page lost my respect for having anything to do with that godawful "Come Go With Me" by Puff Daddy that used the music from Led Zep's "Kashmir". Same thing for Sting working with Puffy, Faith Evans, etc. for that Notorious B.I.G. tribute song that ripped off "Every Breath You Take".

I can kind of forgive Sting, because that song was somewhat likeable, but Jimmy Page? Forget about it! That monstrosity (and I'm not talking about Godzilla, which was the movie soundtrack the "song" was on) is complete and utter garbage.

One I DO like, however, is the new Mariah Carey song, "Loverboy", which borrows from Cameo's "Candy". At least, I would like it if they cut out the rap part....

Uh, I screwed up in the previous post. I should have said the Fraudzilla soundtrack. Lets face it; that movie was actually more of a remake of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms than a Godzilla movie!

And I forgot to mention one other rip-off song, which the original artist has nothing to do with, as far as I know:

Jessica Simpson's "I Think I'm In Love With You" uses the movie from John Mellencamp's "Jack And Diane", without the hand-claps. I know the hand-claps were added to "Jack and Diane" at the last minute, so I almost wonder if the music isn't a studio recording from before they were added! I wouldn't put anything past record companies, or producers, nowadays.....

"Honestly, Benn, it was meant as a bit of a compliment. Sorry if it came
across the wrong way." - Miko Iko

Actually, it didn't. I just thought you were kidding with me. Wasn't sure it was meant as a compliment. Thank you, sir.

Butch, I didn't Neil released it twice! I thought you were saying somebody recorded it other Neil. I like maybe six songs by Diamond, and can safely ignore the rest. "Cherry, Cherry" is definitely one to ignore.

Yeah, "Come With Me" was not a case of sampling a riff and basing a song on that riff. That was just taking "Kashmir" and adding new lyrics to it. I'm surprised Robert Plant even talked to Pagey after that. (John Bonham's asking for a chance to come back to life, just long enough to kick both Jimmy Page's and Pee Diddy's asses for "Come With Me", I'm sure.) Sean "Puffy Puff P Diddy Daddy" Combs frankly is someone I can live without. He is not a musical genius, but a vulture.

"I know the hand-claps were added to "Jack and Diane" at the last
minute, so I almost wonder if the music isn't a studio recording from
before they were added! I wouldn't put anything past record companies,
or producers, nowadays....." - BF

I'm not sure I know what you're getting at here, BF. I would assume "Jack and Diane" was recorded in the studio. I'm not trying to be smart-ass. I'm just looking for clarification. Are you saying that Johnny Cougar and his band are not the musicians on this, or what?

I saw an interview with John Mellencamp several years ago where he talked about recording "Jack and Diane". If I'm remembering right(?) the vocals were recorded first and the handclaps were used to just keep time so the vocals would stay on rhythm. The instrumental parts were recorded later. When the parts were put together John and the producer realized the song seemed 'thin' without them and they were added back in. Hope this helps the discussion.

If I'm not mistakened, generally the rhythm section of a track (drums, etc.) is laid down first. The songs are then built up from that foundation. Of course, some tracks are done differently. Some artists work differently. But usually percussion is first; to keep time for the track.

What I was saying, Benn, is that "Jack & Diane" was recorded without any hand-claps, and a tape made with the hand-claps added later. What I meant in my post was that I would not be surprised if, instead of re-recording the music for that Jessica Simpson song, the producers used the tape John Mellencamp and the other musicians made without the hand-claps for it.

I do know that they listened to "Jack and Diane" with AND without the hand-claps and decided to use the one with them. I believe Butch's post is more or less correct; that they were done to help keep rhythm, and were not originally intended to be left on the track.

Sean "Whatever the heck his nickname is this year" Combs has only done one good song: "Its All About The Benjamins". That's it!

Oh, okay. Cool. It sounded like you were talking about Mellencamp's song, and not Simpson's.

Another one for the c*rap-pile: Grace Jones' version of the Police's "Demolition Man". (Of course, anything by Grace Jones belongs on the c*rap pile, in my opinion)


Anyone besides me like the Joan Jett version of AC\DC's "Dirty Deeds"? (The AC\DC version's still better, though)

While I was considering the DID's I came across Joni Mitchell's Blue which caused me to remember Nazareth's pretty cool version of "This Flight Tonight".

Then that led me to their version of "Love Hurts", which I don't like nearly as much, but most consider a classic.

I picked a free country compilation disc the other day. On it was a cover of "The Most Beautiful Girl" by South 65. I believe Charly Pride and Kris Kistofferson have previously recorded it. South 65's version is horrible!

Joan Jett did do a good version of "Crimson and Clover". I saw her in concert last month, and her lead guitarist pulled off the solo in that song very nicely.

"Fly Like an Eagle". Seal did it for the "Space Jam" soundtrack.

Whatever happened to the Steve Miller Band, anyway?

Yeah, "Crimson & Clover" is the best cover song Joan Jett did. I don't think that many have heard her AC\DC cover, though.

Steve Miller still periodically tours. I believe he may also release albums, but not on a major label.

The group Alien Ant Farm has a cover version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" out. I have no idea if its on their album or not. I just know that MTV is going to use it in their new WWF tryout show "Tough Enough".

I like it better than the original; for one thing, I can finally understand the lyrics!
Case in point:

"Tell me if you're okay, Annie". I thought MJ was saying "Tell me if you're walking any", which I thought was a Moonwalk reference.

Another classic misheard Michael Jackson lyric was in "Billy Jean." It sounds like Jacko is singing "Billy Jean is not my lover/She's just a girl who says I am the one/But the chair is not my son." I believe the actual word is kid and/or child. Letterman used to have a running joke about that lyric.

Miles Davis did a cover of Jacko's "Human Nature." He also covered Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time." Wynton Marsalis damned Miles for doing those songs. To Marsalis they diluted in some way the purity of jazz. That Wynton should be arrogant enough to tell MILES DEWEY DAVIS what he should record is astonishing. He's lucky Davis didn't show him a new way to play the trumpet.

Michael Jackson recorded a cover of Wings' "Girlfriend" that wasn't any good. But then again, "Girlfriend" is not an example of Paul McCartney at his best either. It would be hard for anyone to make anything good out of such a crappy song.

Anybody who's ever gotten Japanese imports of albums originally released in America know that the Japanese editions usually have the lyrics included to albums that didn't originally print them . . . and the lyrics on the Japanese version are almost always hilarously way off. I remember reading some place the Japanese version of the Rolling Stones' "Get Off My Cloud" . . . I'll try to find that.

One for the "worst" bin: "Light My Fire" as done by Jose Feliciano (Train's version on Stoned Imaculate was horrid as well)

I was driving from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando in August 1983, when I heard this bizarre cover of The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" (on WSHE radio, I think.) The name of the artist (female) was not announced, and I never heard it anywhere before or since. Who was it? Please help.

Stevie Wonder has a great cover of Dylan's "Redemption Song" on a greatest hits album called "Song Review". A song worth hearing whoever does it (within reason!). Anyone from England think of Darius from "Popstars" doing "Hit me baby one more time"???

Beats me.

Speaking of Stoned Imaculate, I neglected to mention that The Cult does "Wild Child" better than The Doors, and Days Of The New did "The End" justice as well. Smash Mouth ruined "Peace Realm" though (and I thought they would be a great Doors cover band)

Funny, I thought Ian Astbury and The Cult were doing the Stones on that song.

"Smash Mouth...I thought they would be a great Doors cover band" - Blitz

Why?

On Electric The Cult did "Born To Be Wild". Talk about unnecessary! Methinks there was the foul stench of record company execs behind it. Unfortunate,... gives musical junk food a bad name.

The Doors episode of Storytellers on VH-1 was great. Ian Astbury did justice to a couple of Doors songs ("Last Whiskey Bar", or whatever the name of it is, and "Backdoor Man", which was originally a Willie Dixon song), Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, Travis Meeks of Days of the New, and Scott Stap of Creed were also good, but....I missed the rest of the show, and they're not re-running it anytime soon that I know of!

I missed "Light My Fire". Did anyone see the episode, and if so who sang it?

Btw, the only Doors album I have is the soundtrack to the movie.

"Btw, the only Doors album I have is the soundtrack to the movie." - BF

|Head falls forward and slams into the edge of the desk. Looks up to re-read Brian's post. Slowly rises up to type a message.|

At least get L.A. Woman, Brian, if you can't get the double disc greatest hits album.

|Head thumps back down on the desk|

That's who that vocalist was! He was good! Unfortunately, did not see "Light My Fire." Get more than "L.A. Woman." Get the first album, too. If neither, get the TWO-DISC "Greatest Hits." Not that single CD collection. Too much good stuff was left off the single disc.

Heck, why pick and chose? Just buy the Box set! It's got all the albums (Well, no. Two post-Morrison ones are excluded for obvious reasons) and a bonus CD that collects the best tracks of the "Essential Rarities" box set. Also, I thought Smash Mouth could do a good job of Door's songs because "Then The Morning Comes" and "Walkin' On the Sun" sound a lot like the Doors and "Soul Kitchen" and the origional version of "Peace From" reminded me of Smash Mouth. So much for that theory.

"Walkin' On the Sun?" Really? Sounds too popish for The Doors to me.

Incidentally, the L.A. punk band, X, covered "Soul Kitchen" on their Los Angeles album. Did a pretty good job, too. Of course, Ray Manzarek produced the record...

The worst cover song ever: "Satisfaction" by Britney "Whiney" Spears.

I cannot remember the guy's name, but around '96-'98 an Elvis impersonator cut an album of covers sung in the style of The King. One of the singles was an alarmingly tasteful version of "Come as you Are" by Nirvana. It's a tall order to take a all-time grunge/rock classic and make it pleasingly mellow, but this fella pulled it off. Excellent.

You ever hear Tori Amos' version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? It's on her Crucify disc. It also has her versions of Led Zep's "Thank You" and, The Stones' "Angie". Hadn't played it in awhile, but as I recall, it's just her on her piano.

"Cathy's Clown" by Reba McIntire
I never knew she did this song but I've heard her version of "The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia", which those of us old enough to remember was done by Vicky Lawrence, formerly of The Carol Burnett Show and Mama's Family. We used to have her album, and she had that Dorothy Hamill hairdo, or was it more like Toni Tenneile's?

"Cathy's Clown" reminds me of Faith Hill's abominable version of Pearl's "Piece of My Heart". Sammy Hagar came close to matching Janis' version, but if you wanna get rid of me, just play Faith Hill's.
Well, please don't hate me, Benn, but I like Faith's version, although I prefer Janis'. And ya gotta admit what a babe Faith is, too.

Another classic misheard Michael Jackson lyric was in "Billy Jean." It sounds like Jacko is singing "Billy Jean is not my lover/She's just a girl who says I am the one/But the chair is not my son." I believe the actual word is kid and/or child. Letterman used to have a running joke about that lyric.
Yes, I remember this. Letterman (when he was at NBC) was doing Viewer Mail and a viewer asked about this lyric, thinking MJ said "chair", so they played the actual clip of that part of it and when it came to "child" (which has always sounded like "ched" to me, and still does) they had a man with a deep voice do a voiceover, saying "chair".

Actually, lots of people have done Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time."

One for the "worst" bin: "Light My Fire" as done by Jose Feliciano.
I like his version, but prefer the Doors'.

Dolly Parton's new hit: Collective Soul's "Shine", done in a Kentucky bluegrass sort of way.

The Shirelles and Mamas and Papas both did very different but good versions of "Dedicated To The One I Love" .

Dolly Parton should be shot for doing "Shine". Two reasons; not a song Dolly should even attempt to sing, and I hate bluegrass!

And how about the zillion different versions of "Blue Moon"? I like the Cowboy Junkies' version.

The deep voice saying "chair", Mark, was Paul Shafer, trying to sound macho.

I won't hate you, Mark, for liking Faith Hill's version. Might look at you funny, though.

Dolly Parton doing "Shine"? God am I glad I don't listen to the radio anymore! Is she trying to get revenge for Witless Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You"? If so, she should, at least, do Witless' "The Greatest Love of All", or something. Leave innocent bystanders, like Collective Soul, out of it.

Oh Blitz. I've been playing this Goth box set I've got called The Black Bible. On it is a song by Gene Loves Jezebel called "Rosary". I've heard GLJ before. Got their Kiss of Life disc. But on "Rosary" they sound a helluva lot like The Doors. It's a pretty good imitation, consciously done or not.

Gene Loves Jezebel were a good group. Wonder if they'll ever be mentioned briefly on a "Where Are They Now?: One (or two) Hit Wonders" special?

Benn, be glad you haven't heard Dolly's version of "Shine". It almost made me want to burst my eardrums!

Seems like they played through Dallas last year. I think they're around. Come to think of it, I did a free sampler disc last year that had two of their songs on it. I assume they're still around.

"Jolene" is about the only Dolly Parton song I can tolerate. I like "Shine". So I'd imagine I'd have to get medieval if I ever heard her version. Of course, it could be better than I think.

The third sentence of the first paragraph should read, "Come to think of it, I did get a free sampler disc last year that had two of their songs on it."

More great covers:

"Once Bitten, Twice Shy" by Great White: The original version by Ian Hunter sucked. This is easily the best remake of all time in terms of improving upon the original.

"Viva Las Vegas" by ZZ Top

More terrible covers:

"Stairway to Heaven" by the Far Corporation: The ultimate one-hit blunder!!!

"Toys In The Attic" by R.E.M.: From the Dead Letter Office outtakes album.

Country remakes of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and Janis Joplin's "Piece Of My Heart": Don't know who sang them, and don't care. Joplin and Freddy Mercury probably spun in their graves when these remakes came out.

Dance-pop remakes of Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", the Stones' "I'm Free" and Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind": Aside from the lyrics and basic melodies, they have almost nothing in common with the originals.

Covers I wish would have been done:

Olivia Newton-John's "A Little More Love", covered by Van Halen w/ Sammy Hagar

The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For The Devil", covered by John Mellencamp

Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man", covered by R.E.M. (you've gotta admit, the melody is a little reminiscent of "Driver 8")

The remake of "If You Could Read My Mind" was either done by Stars on 54 or Amber. I forget which. Doesn't matter, anyway; it stunk!

I think Juice Newton did a version of "Piece Of My Heart", but the one you're probably referring to is Faith Hill's version.

As for Dolly Parton....Sherrie Austin has a cover version of "Jolene" out that's pretty good. Since she ruined "Shine", I'd like to see a heavy metal cover (AC\DC or Danzig, maybe?) of "Coat Of Many Colors" or "9 to 5", but it ain't gonna happen!

Btw, I haven't heard it, and its only available as an import or bootleg, but Def Leppard did a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing". I know where to get an Mp3 of it, if anyone's interested.

Hate to say it, Joshua, but I like R.E.M.'s version of "Toys In the Attic". They also did pretty good versions of Floyd Cramer's "Last Date" and "Love Is All Around". I can't remember who did "Love..." originally. There is another version of "Last Date" with R.E.M. backing Blondie's Debbie Harry.

I won't hate you, Mark, for liking Faith Hill's version. Might look at you funny, though.
You wouldn't be the first one, Benn.

Is she trying to get revenge for Witless Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You"?
What revenge? She let Witless Houston (I love that name!) do the song and made millions in royalties for it, too. I love Dolly's version cuz she did it with heart and real feeling and just beautifully. Witless, however, only did it for the money and to further her worthless career. She obviously never cared how awfully she did it, either.

I think Juice Newton did a version of "Piece Of My Heart"...
You might be thinking of her cover of Merilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning".

I heard "Going to a Go Go" today. Who redid it?

In response to a comment by ScottN in the "Name Songs About ..." thread, I've re-posted my comment here.
In the above mentioned thread I posted these two original/remakes ...
1. Can't Get No Satisfaction
original - The Rolling Stones
remake - Devo
2. She's Not There
original - The Zombies
remake - Santana

(hope they fit the bill)

"Going to a Go-Go" was remade by The Rolling Stones. Originally a hit by The Miracles.

I kick myself for forgetting this, but "Good Lovin'" by The Young Rascals was origionally done by The Olympics. The Who also did a fine version that's on Live at the BBC. Speaking of wich, The Who's version of "Dancing in the Street" is great.

Also, I'm not sure how many of you already knew this, but "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplaine is a cover (origionaly done by The Great Society)

Derf, one song that I can think of in which the original and cover version was a top forty hit is

"Daydream Believer" - The Monkees/Anne Murray.

There are certa... Oh. Yeah.

"Got to Get You Into My Life" - The Beatles/Earth, Wind and Fire
"Come Together" - The Beatles/Aerosmith.

If I think of some others, I'll letcha know!

The quintessential original/remake ...
Light My Fire
original – The Doors
remake – Jose Feliciano

Chain Gang
original - Sam Cooke
remake - Devo

Derf, I hadn't been here for awhile so I never saw you mention The Zombies' She's Not There till just now, so I found it rather amusing. It was just serendipitous that I chose its lyrics to scramble over on Quiz Corner.

Louie, Louie
original - The Kingsmen
remake - too many to name (why hasn't anyone mentioned this one till now? I guess cuz it's about the most covered song ever, huh?)

Going back over the previous posts I was reminded that "Jolene" has been covered by Sherrie Austin on her newest album. She's a sweet and petite, blackhaired beauty from Aussieland. If anyone remembers "The Facts of Life" well enough she played that Aussie girl, Pippa, for part or all of one of the last seasons.

"Got to Get You Into My Life" - The Beatles/Earth, Wind and Fire
"Come Together" - The Beatles/Aerosmith.

Does *ANYTHING* from that '70s horror story movie "Sergeant Pepper" have to count???

"Blinded by the Light" - Manfred Mann
"For You" - Manfred Mann

I believe Springsteen was the original for both these (they were both on Greetings from Asbury Park), and Mann was the cover. If I'm wrong, reverse them.

No Scott, you're right. The Boss did originate both songs in the early `70's. Manfred Mann's Earth Band did "Blinded By the Light" in... `77?, `78? Might have been `76 for that matter. "For You" was recorded by Manfred Mann's Earth Band in approximately `80, `81. For the record, MM'sEB also covered Springsteen's "Spirit In the Night".

As far as the Sergeant Pepper movie is concerned... I'd completely forgotten that Aerosmith's "Come Together" and E,W, & F's "Got to Get You Into My Life" were both from that soundtrack. Derf said he wanted a listing of songs that were hits whose cover versions were also hits. Those are two that came to mind. Aerosmith's is the better cover song. Besides, I only knew it from Aerosmith's Greatest Hits. It is better than Michael Jackson's version of the song.

Viva Las Vegas
the original - Elvis Presley
the remake - ZZ Top

Mamma Mia
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
Super Trouper
One of us
Voulez-Vous
S.O.S.
Dancing Queen
Take a chance on me
Lay all your love on me
The name of the game
Our last summer

the original - ABBA
the remake - The A*Teens Ugh! Like, why? The originals are far, far superior.

I'm not sure who's responsible for turning Gordon Lightfoot's lovely, wistful ballad If You Could Read My Mind into a generic R&B track, but if I ever find them, I will hurt them. Bad.

I don't have much time for Michael Bolton's histrionic-as-opposed-to-passionate When a Man Loves a Woman either. (As a SNL parody put it, 'When a ma-aan needs a big hit....')

The Fugee's Killing Me Softly kinda grew on me after awhile. I think Lauryn Hill's voice is comparable to Roberta Flack's.

I do like Phil Collins' various covers, expecially Groovy Kind of Love and True Colours. He actually sounds like he's singing songs he genuinely likes. Amy Grant's version of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi is affectionate and fun too. Also Jennifer Warnes' take on Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan.

And of course the Barenaked Ladies' version of Bruce Cockburn's Lovers in a Dangerous Time. You knew I was gonna mention them sooner or later.

Oh, and I should mention Common Threads: The Music of the Eagles, my all-time favorite tribute album, too. Especially Alan Jackson's Tequila Sunrise, Travis Tritt's Take it Easy and Billy Dean's Saturday Night.
I am equally (and eternally) grateful to report that they did not attempt to remake Hotel California.

Finally (I swear) - if Disney remakes count - Billy Joel (When You Wish Upon a Star), LL Cool J (Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf) (really) and Harry Connick Jr. (The Bare Necessities do brilliant work on the Simply Mad About the Mouse) video.

Some cool covers:
"Good Lovin"-Grateful Dead (Shakedown Street)
"Gloria"-The Doors (Alive She Cried)
I like the cover by 10,000 Maniacs of Roxy Music's "More Than This," with Mary Ramsey doing the vocals. BTW-Roxy Music did a great cover of Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour."
Most wretched cover ever: Whitney Houston's cover of "I'll Always Love You," for the awful flick "The Bodyguard" (The script collected dust for 10 years before being filmed.) Dolly Parton wrote "I'll Always Love You" originally for the pic "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas."
Thanks for the Urge Overkill info, Mike.

You're welcome Adam.

Hey, anybody know who does that wicked version of "If I Only Had a Brain" being played in the Visa Smart Card commercial? I actually look forward to seeing that one...

kerriem- I believe that the Michael Bolton parody was on In Living Color. If only SNL was that funny with their musical bits...

Good point about Jennifer Warnes. She made quite a rep for herself by interpreting Leonard Cohen. Not many people know her "serious "side. I'm Your Fan, the Cohen tribute disc, is pretty cool but neither Warnes nor the song "Joan of Arc" are there. Can't have everything (where would you put it?)

I haven't heard BNL's version of "Lovers In a Dangerous Time" yet, though that song does seem to generate a lot of interest. Must be the line "Gotta kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight". Bono even pilfered that one for a U2 song.

The BNL Lovers was recorded for some tribute or other and didn't have a real wide distribution outside of Canada, I don't think, Miko. It's on my mind at the moment because they performed it on the MuchMusic telethon for the Sept.11 victims...and that particular line took on whole new levels of meaning.

Adam, of course you're entitled to your opinion, but why do you dislike Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You that much? Yeah, the movie's bad, but that is one magnificent vocal perfomance on Houston's part. Mind you, I have never heard the Dolly Parton version and freely concede that Houston's may suffer by comparison...but given what I know of their respective voices I can't see how.

Just for general enlightenment ...
Dolly Parton wrote and sang the song I Will Always Love You for the 1982 movie Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

weirdest cover i haven't heard yet: Brian Wilson covering the Barenaked Ladies' song, "Brian Wilson." Anyone got a copy?

Didn't Emma Franklin do A Little Piece of My Heart?

Anyone from England think of Darius from "Popstars" doing "Hit me baby one more time"???

Nope. Here's a Scottish opinion instead. It seems Darius (who is Glaswegian, btw) is at it again in "Pop Idol". He might even be sent into the Final by default as one of the finalists was recommended to give his voice a rest.

Getting back to the thread again, does anyone remember Erasure's "ABBA-esque EP", which reached #1 in the UK several years ago? (The songs covered included "Take a Chance on Me" and "Voulez-Vous".) It contributed to the ABBA revival of the Nineties, and even prompted the ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again to release an EP of Erasure covers, entitled "Erasure-ish".

As for obscure cover songs, does anyone remember the cover of the theme tune to that old puppet series "Star Fleet", which was performed by Brian May, Eddie van Halen and friends? (I alluded to it on another board in NitCentral. It was the greatest show ever - at the time. But anyway...)

As for modern covers, has anyone heard the new single by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman, performing "Somethin' Sutpid" by Sid and Nancy... I mean Frank and Nancy! [Yes, the typo was purely accidental... ] It sounds so soulless, if you ask me (in case you hadn't).

Hey Derf, This thread is up 126k. I think it's time for part 2.

A horrific cover: Silicone Slut, "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

1. The girl CANNOT SING FOR A ••••. God, I wish people would realize this.

That said, the only •••• thing that sells her albums is the fact that she's a fake slut who will strip/whatever you want for pennies.

2. The Stones had it perfect. Someone once said "A good song can never be ruined." Obviously not true.

3. Her voice sounds like a cow having multiple orgasms. :D

What is the difference between a "cover" and a "remake". Where does a "tribute" fit on this.

When a band records a song previously released by another act, that's a cover. For instance, Ike and Tina Turner's version of "Proud Mary" is a cover version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival.

A remake is when an act does another version of its own song. For instance, two years ago, Prince recorded a new version of "1999". Blue Oyster Cult's "Astronomy" was initially released on the Secret Treaties album. In 1988, the band's Imaginos album featured a new version of the cut.

Tribute albums are a collection of cover tunes done to homor the works of a particular act. KISS Mt A$$ is a tribute to KISS, Common Threads, the Eagles, Working Class Heroes, John Lennon, etc., etc.

That clarify it for you, William?

I should point out that the covers on tribute albums are usually recorded specifically for the tribute albums. Rarely are they tracks that have been lying around waiting to be put on some future record.

Benn (or whomever knows),

Thanks for the info, however, I've got more questions. It sounds black and white, I could just be looking at gray areas. I'm thinking a little more light will help. (end analogy.)

So whenever Tito Puentes rerecorded Oye Como Va he remade it. When Carlos Santana recorded it he covered it.

When Devo did Satisfaction it was a cover despite being drastically different from the Rolling Stones version.

What if they keep the title but change the lyrics? I'm thinking of the Dead Kennedy's version of I fought the law. While I'm thinking of the DK, how about Take this Job and Shove It I'm not overly familiar with Merle Haggard, so I assume they changed it somewhat maybe with the cord changes.

When Metallica released a bunch of songs the DJ's in my area called them remakes. Is their version of Bob Seger's Turn the Page a cover? (I'm not a Bob Seger or Metallica fan, but it sounds very similar.)

Tributes are albums of cover songs. The issue of how they might be changed musically is moot because no one asks the DK to perform on tribute albums, right?

Here's a definition of "cover" from The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll:

"The term 'cover' refers to the second version, and all subsequent versions, of a song, performed either by another act than the one that originally recorded it or by anyone except the writer."

So basically "...whenever Tito Puentes rerecorded Oye Como Va he remade it. When Carlos Santana recorded it he covered it," would be true statements. (Santana's "Black Magic Woman", is incidentally, a cover of the song originally performed by Fleetwood Mac.)

"When Devo did Satisfaction it was a cover despite being drastically different from the Rolling Stones version."

Yep. Devo was still using the same lyrics, same chords and notes. Despite how radically different it is, Devo's version is still recognizably the same song by The Rolling Stones.

"What if they keep the title but change the lyrics? I'm thinking of the Dead Kennedy's version of I fought the law."

Have to admit, I haven't heard the DK song in question (Bedtime For Democracy is the only DK album I have.) However, I would say that it would depend on the music itself. Is it, despite being given a punk treatment, the same tune as the Bobby Fuller Band's song? If not, then we're talking an entirely different song. That happens a lot. I've got a six page list of songs that share the same title, but are not the same tunes. It would also depend if Jello Biafra or another member of the Kennedys is credited with writing the song or not.

Along the same lines, I should mention Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" is a cover of a Robert Hazzard. Cyndi, I believe, changed the lyrics somewhat to reflect the change in gender (of who sings the song). KISS did the same thing when they covered "Then He Kissed Me".

"While I'm thinking of the DK, how about Take this Job and Shove It I'm not overly familiar with Merle Haggard, so I assume they changed it somewhat maybe with the cord changes."

Well, to get picky about, Merle wasn't the original artist for "Take This Job and Shove It". That was Johnny Paycheck. And the Dk's version is definitely a cover of the country tune. It's possible that Paycheck's version is also a cover. The song was written by David Allan Coe.

"When Metallica released a bunch of songs the DJ's in my area called them remakes. Is their version of Bob Seger's Turn the Page a cover? (I'm not a Bob Seger or Metallica fan, but it sounds very similar.)"

Sounds like the dj's are using the terms "cover" and "remake" interchangeably. To an extent, it's perfectly alright. But technically, I think, a remake is when the original artist or song-writer re-records their own songs.

"Tributes are albums of cover songs. The issue of how they might be changed musically is moot because no one asks the DK to perform on tribute albums, right? "

I dunno, some of the best tribute albums, and cover tunes for that matter, are the ones where the artists take the original songs and turns them inside out, making the song their own. One very (in)famous cover is that of "My Way", done with glorious ineptitude by the Sex Pistols bass player, Sid Vicious. If Frankie had heard it, Sinatra would've used his Mafia connections to kill Sid.

If you wanna talk grey areas, the blues provide a lot of them. "Dust My Broom" and "Sweet Home Chicago" are two songs that whatever version you hear, is clearly the same song. However, they have different song-writing credits. I've seen "Dust My Broom" credited to both Robert Johnson and Little Milton. Most likely the credit should go to Johnson.

Then there's the case of the songs "I'm a Man" by Bo Diddley and "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. These are the same song, different titles, different song-writing credits. Ellis McDaniels (Bo Diddley) takes sole credit for "I'm a Man". The credits for "Mannish Boy" are McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters), Mel London and Ellis McDaniels. Go figure.

(And now that I've got 'em out, I think I will play my Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters box sets.)

Oh, and Butch, sorry, but I think I've just put this thread waaaay over 126k. As a matter of fact, that post might be as long as one of Luigi's.

CC - Re: Silicone etc. (if it's the same person I'm thinking of that you're on about):

1) Is it me, or do you actually have something against her? Chill, man.

2) I agree. See also Wastelife's "Uptown Girl". (Never in the field of human conflict have so many done so great an offence to such a small little ditty.)

3) I've never witnessed such an event you describe, so I'll either have to have a veterinary opinion, or take your word for it. Personally it sounds like a cat being swung around a large room by its gonads, its torso being stretched apart by the extreme centrifugal forces endured during such an act.

Hey C-C,

Silicone Slut, huh?

Well Benn, it's up to 141k now. Hopefully Derf will check in soon and start a 2nd thread.

And I don't think anybody's posts are as long as Luigi's. ;-) (Just joking Luigi).

Well, C-C, Bob Dole likes her, and Bob Dole knows what's best for Bob Dole!

For the general appeasement of Benn and Butch (and everyone else), I will start the desired 2nd thread!