Songs you didn't know were a cover

[sadchild]

Over the last 20 years I've learned that many songs from the 70s 80s and 90s were actually covers. For years, I had no clue!
Then I thought HEY!!!! Why not start a thread about it?

I just learned that Lemonheads "Into Your Arms" is a cover

Original



Cover

 

[scotchandcigar]

Great thread idea!

I will have to rack my brain for songs I recently discovered were covers. But in the meantime, these were all songs that I (and most of the world) didn't know were covers for a long time

Ednaswap - Torn


Iggy Pop - China Girl (cowritten with Bowie, but first released by Iggy)


And there's a bunch more, like all the Springsteen covers. I'll post when I can.

 

[sadchild]

Most people know these two by now, but I didn't find out until 25+ years after they came out...

"I Love Rock N Roll"

Original



Cover



"Bette Davis Eyes"

Original



Cover

 

[Channel98]

After Kim Carnes' Bette Davis Eyes went to number one in May 1981 – it was number one for nine weeks – Bette Davis wrote thank-you letters to Kim Carnes and to the song's writers, Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. Davis said the song made her seem "cool" to her grandchildren. They weren't impressed by her movies but they loved the song.

Santana's Oye Cómo Va ("Listen how it goes") reached #13 on the Hot 100 in the last week of March 1971. Here is the original by Tito Puente, from his 1962 album El Rey: Bravo.. Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr. (1923-2000) played timbales, vibraphone, drums, conga drums, claves, piano, saxophone and clarinet – but not all at the same time. He released 120 albums and 148 singles and EPs.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Twist And Shout

Twist and Shout - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This is also a remake ....



but the inspiration for ....

 

[sadchild]

I didn't learn this was a cover until at least 25 years after hearing it the first time

Original "Kitty"



Covered as "Mickey"

 

[Channel98]

The Twist by Chubby Checker (real name: Ernest Evans) went to number one in September 1960. It was re-released in 1961 and went to number one again, In January 1962. Checker reprised the song for the Fat Boys' The Twist (Yo, Twist!), which got to #16 in August 1988.

Here is the original version by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters. The song, written by Ballard, was the B-side of Teardrops On Your Letter (December 1958). Teardrops got to #87 on the Hot 100 in March 1959. The Twist finally charted in July 1960 – two weeks before Checker's version charted – and eventually peaked at #28.

 

[Channel98]

Perry Como was my aunt's favorite singer. He became one of my favorite singers too. From 1959 to 1967, Perry hosted Kraft Music Hall on NBC-TV. My aunt would often come over on the nights the show aired and she and my Mom and I would watch it together. Prisoner Of Love was a number-one hit for Perry in May 1946. (James Brown had a hit with the song in 1963.) I recently learned that the song was first recorded in 1931 by Russ Columbo and the Nat Shilkret Orchestra. Columbo co-wrote the song with Clarence Gaskill (uncredited) and Leo Robin. Gaskill also co-wrote Cab Calloway's Minnie The Moocher. This reached #16 in January 1932:

 

[scotchandcigar]

There are a few Prince songs that most people know were covered by other artists, but this surprised me

Manic Monday - Prince



Manic Monday - Bangles


And of course, the big hit by Coolio was actually a remake of this old Stevie Wonder tune

Stevie Wonder - Pastime Paradise



Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise

 

[scotchandcigar]

When Talking Heads became big with this hit, I had no idea it was a cover

Al Green - Take Me to the River


Talking Heads - Take Me to the River

 

[Listener]

The Beatles are my favorite group. "Boys" from their "Introducing the Beatles" album was first done by the Shirelles.

 

[Channel98]

The chorus of the Shirelles' Boys:

Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
Don't ya know I mean boys
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
Don't ya know I mean boys
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
Hey, what a bundle of joy

Shirley Alston sang those words. That was normal and natural. The first time I heard Ringo sing those words, I wasn't aware of the original recording. You can imagine what I thought! Boys was written by Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell. Dixon also co-wrote the Crests' 16 Candles, Jimmy Reed's Big Boss Man, Chuck Jackson's I Don't Want To Cry, Gene McDaniels' A Hundred Pounds Of Clay and the Shirelles' Mama Said, Soldier Boy and Tonight's The Night. Farrell co-wrote the Vibrations' My Girl Sloopy (also known as Hang On Sloopy), the Partridge Family's I'll Meet You Halfway and Jay & the Americans' Come A Little Bit Closer and Let's Lock The Door (& Throw Away The Key).

 

[Channel98]

When I first heard the Righteous Brothers' 1965 recording of Unchained Melody, I knew the song had been a hit for Al Hibbler in 1955. I remember one DJ putting a caller on the air. He asked, "Why does the song have such a stupid name?" He obviously was unaware the song was from a prison drama titled Unchained. Doy! It was many years before I learned who first sang Unchained Melody. It was opera singer Robert Todd Duncan, who sang it in the movie. He had a small role as Bill Howard.

 

[Channel98]

My favorite version of Unchained Melody is this one by Vito & The Salutations, a Brooklyn quintet led by Vito Balsamo. This reached #66 on the Hot 100 in November 1963. They released 14 singles including doo-wop versions of High Noon and Banana Boat (Day-O) and this was their only hit.

 

[sadchild]

I didn't know these Quiet Riot songs were Slade covers when I was 13/14 years old. I found out years later.

Original



Cover



Original



Cover

 

[scotchandcigar]

These 2 Manfred Mann/Earth Band hits were covers of songs from Springsteen's 1973 album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Most people never heard the original.

Bruce Springsteen - For You



Manfred Mann's Earth Band - For You



Bruce Springsteen - Blinded by the Light



Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded by the Light

 

[sadchild]

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded by the Light

In 2005, songwriter Bruce Springsteen explained his thoughts on this lyric (and Manfred Mann’s alteration of it) to an audience at the Rechnitz Theater in Red Bank, NJ:

"…this is an interesting line because, uh, this song is my only number one song. I never had another number one song, except this one, and it wasn’t done by me, it was done Manfred Mann, which I appreciate, but they changed this line. My line says ‘Cut loose like a deuce’, and theirs said ‘(Revved up) like a douche’. Uh, I have a feeling that that is why this song skyrocketed into number one … the ‘deuce’ was like a little deuce coupe, as in two-seat hot rod. Uh, ‘douche’ is of course a feminine hygienic procedure. Uh, so, they’re different!"

 

[scotchandcigar]

In 2005, songwriter Bruce Springsteen explained his thoughts on this lyric (and Manfred Mann’s alteration of it) to an audience at the Rechnitz Theater in Red Bank, NJ:

"…this is an interesting line because, uh, this song is my only number one song. I never had another number one song, except this one, and it wasn’t done by me, it was done Manfred Mann, which I appreciate, but they changed this line. My line says ‘Cut loose like a deuce’, and theirs said ‘(Revved up) like a douche’. Uh, I have a feeling that that is why this song skyrocketed into number one … the ‘deuce’ was like a little deuce coupe, as in two-seat hot rod. Uh, ‘douche’ is of course a feminine hygienic procedure. Uh, so, they’re different!"

According to all the lyrics sites, the Manfred Mann version is:

Blinded by the light
Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night

So yes, they changed "cut loose" to "revved up" (which would still apply to a deuce coupe), and it certainly sounds like they're saying "douche", but I don't think they are. And I think Springsteen jokes about how it sounds like douche. Perhaps we need an answer from Manfred Mann himself.

 

[Channel98]

Manfred Mann sings the line twice. He clearly says "revved up like a deuce" but, on the second time, drummer Chris Slade hit the snare drum with a brush, making a "shhh" sound. That is why "deuce" sounds like "douche."

Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke recorded Blinded By The Light in 1976. This appeared on Clarke's I've Got Time album and was released as a single in only one country: New Zealand (Parlophone 3536). I prefer this to the Springsteen and Manfred Mann versions.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke recorded Blinded By The Light in 1976. I prefer this to the Springsteen and Manfred Mann versions.

What's that saying, "There's no accounting for taste"? Well anyway, you're entitled to your opinion. My opinion is that Clarke's version is just a more annoying ripoff of the original, whereas the Manfred Mann version is a brilliant reimagining of the song, with a completely fresh sound. Probably why it went to #1.