OT: You Like the Cover More Than the Original Song

[RoadMaster]

Janis Joplin, ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ Country pop singer Roger Miller was the originally voice behind this tune but it was a release from Janis, just after her death, that topped the charts – hers was the second posthumous release to do that (the first was Otis Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’).

Original/ Writer... Kris Kristofferson

 

[RoadMaster]

Original and writer was Chuck Berry...
Love his and Emmylou's
...old school Emmylou and more recent, up-tempo Emmylou..

 

[RoadMaster]

Original and written by Ian Tyson (Ian and Sylvia)

 

[my2cents]

While I love the Patti Smith original, I absolutely adore the 10,000 Maniacs cover of Because the Night:

Song written by Bruce Springsteen.

 

[MdStang]

Just released the other day: Slash & Chris Stapleton

 

[MdStang]

A classic:

 

[Conndog]

Pink - Me and Bobby McGee the 2003 version

Pink has a great voice, it does resemble Janis' voice, but I like Janis' voice better still. I think Janis' voice has a wider range, and in Me & Bobby McGee that range is more fully shown- from gritty/raspy to sweet melodic- at least for me, it just is displayed better. But one huge advantage to Janis' version is that is comes complete with the entire band's performance, and Holding Company did a phenomenal job with the music. The backing guitars and organ etc really give the song the 3 dimensional magnificence that completes it and makes it so iconic.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Jewel - Whole Lotta Love - Live

I love Jewel music.

 

[Jackcatscal]

Some cover song good news and some bad news. First, the good news. Led Zeppelin covered the great blues song "When the Levee Breaks," and the song is a killer. The bad news: they credited themselves with writing it, but they hadn't. The song was written in 1929 by a black blues couple, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy.

 

[Jackcatscal]

Here's a recording of the original version of "When the Levee Breaks," sung and played by the writers, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe.

 

[Jackcatscal]

"My love's bigger than a Cadillac..." A great Buddy Holly tune--"Not Fade Away," covered by the Grateful Dead 566 times in concert (Watch Bob Dylan Play 'Not Fade Away' as His Grateful Dead Tribute Week in Japan Continues)

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Originally done by the Jackson 5

 

[Jackcatscal]

Here's the original Buddy Holly and the Crickets version of "Not Fade Away." (A few years ago, a friend of mine actually took a pilgrimage to the field on Iowa where Holly died in a plane crash. Also died aboard: Richie Valens and the Big Bopper. Waylon Jennings was also supposed to be aboard, but he traded his seat to another).

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Done originally by Seals and Croft.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Lakeside just crushed this remake. Probably the most underrated remake of all time.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Originally done by Glen Campbell.

 

[SalinasV]

Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was beautiful in its original and covered by many. My favorite cover is by k.d. Lang. got to see her sing it live and she brought down the house.

Unfortunately I don’t know how to upload the song. Are there directions somewhere?

 

[Bigboote]

Some cover song good news and some bad news. First, the good news. Led Zeppelin covered the great blues song "When the Levee Breaks," and the song is a killer. The bad news: they credited themselves with writing it, but they hadn't. The song was written in 1929 by a black blues couple, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy.

Led Zeppelin did a lot of that. It's certainly possible that they thought something like When the Levee Breaks was a folk song, but after they got caught a couple of times, they really needed someone to check their music before copyrighting it. LZ is not alone in that, of course, but they made loads of money, making it worth writers' whiles to sue them.

 

[Jackcatscal]

Led Zeppelin did a lot of that. It's certainly possible that they thought something like When the Levee Breaks was a folk song, but after they got caught a couple of times, they really needed someone to check their music before copyrighting it. LZ is not alone in that, of course, but they made loads of money, making it worth writers' whiles to sue them.

If you believe Wikipedia, Zeppelin's taking credit for the song was not an oversight: "When considering material for the group to record, singer Robert Plant suggested the Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie song. Jimmy Page commented that while Plant's lyrics identified with the original, he developed a new guitar riff that set it apart."

IMHO, it was just crass to take credit for the song.

 

[Jackcatscal]

The Allman Brother Band covering Blind Willie McTell.

 

[Halloween]

Jimi Hendrix-All Along the Watchtower

 

[Martin]

Led Zeppelin did a lot of that. It's certainly possible that they thought something like When the Levee Breaks was a folk song, but after they got caught a couple of times, they really needed someone to check their music before copyrighting it. LZ is not alone in that, of course, but they made loads of money, making it worth writers' whiles to sue them.

Its funny how so many bands cover this song they cover it heavy, in the LZ style and not in the original style.

Led Zeppelin did a lot of that. It's certainly possible that they thought something like When the Levee Breaks was a folk song, but after they got caught a couple of times, they really needed someone to check their music before copyrighting it. LZ is not alone in that, of course, but they made loads of money, making it worth writers' whiles to sue them.

My fave song. Some interesting versions to hunt down: Zepparella, Down, WASP, Judge, Roadsaw, Great White, Beth Hart.

 

[MSGRET]

Some cover song good news and some bad news. First, the good news. Led Zeppelin covered the great blues song "When the Levee Breaks," and the song is a killer. The bad news: they credited themselves with writing it, but they hadn't. The song was written in 1929 by a black blues couple, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy.

I thought it was their label that did the credit and not Led Zeppelin. Did it change later after it was brought to the labels attention or was the label trying to stay out of a lawsuit?

 

[MSGRET]

Originally done by Glen Campbell.

Actually it was written by Jimmy Webb and originally recorded by Johnny Miller in 1965. Glenn reinterpreted it with a country vibe on his album with the same name.

 

[EasyEd]

I still think the Beatles cover of Twist and Shout is one of the best covers. I never noticed the song when it was released by the Top Notes nor the cover by the Isley Brothers. The lip sync of it in Ferris Bueller was my musical highlight of that movie: