OT: You Like the Cover More Than the Original Song

[Scud49]

Post a cover version of a song you prefer over the original.

This one pops to mind for me - David Bromberg's version of Mr BoJangles.

The original was written and first recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker.

 

[FeloniousMonk]

 

[Kaizen]

Whitney Houston's version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You"

 

[Kaizen]

Linda Ronstadt Blue Bayou over Lynn Anderson

 

[TheFarmFan]

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

 

[Fastbreak]

When the Levee Breaks ​

 

[SalinasV]

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Who knows who was the original on this, but this metal singer sang this classic in a way that it needed to be sung:

 

[nwhoopfan]

The original by Britney I can't even listen to, it's just a horrible song. This virtually unheard of singer rescued it.

 

[MSGRET]

Pentatonix's cover of The Sound of Silence

 

[MSGRET]

Jewel - Whole Lotta Love - Live

 

[nwhoopfan]

Among other things, this thread is going to be illuminating about who the original artist of some songs actually is. I think the version of Mr. Bojangles I know is by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, didn't even know Jerry Jeff Walker was the original. Same with Blue Bayou, I thought it was Roy Orbison (I don't even know Lynn Anderson). I love the Linda Ronstadt version, here's another I really like.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I've always preferred this to the Stones' version.

 

[MSGRET]

Sina and Avonalea - Something

 

[uconnfan68]

Maybe my favorite song, and I like almost every cover of it I’ve ever heard, and I love the original too.

 

[MSGRET]

Pink - Me and Bobby McGee the 2003 version

 

[Centerstream]

Pentatonix's cover of The Sound of Silence

Another version by Disturbed

 

[Centerstream]

Halestorm covers Heart

 

[MSGRET]

LeAnn Rimes - Crazy - Patsy Cline Tribute at ACA's in 2013

 

[Scud49]

Beyond the Sea - first recorded by a French artist back in the 40's, it became an uber classic after Bobby Darin recorded it with that classic big band sound of his in 1959:

 

[Aluminny69]

There are many times people are unaware of the original version of a song. I have personally been surprised many times. Did you know this was originally a Motown song?

 

[Bigboote]

Ball and Chain. I love Big Mama Thornton’s version, but Janis and Big Brother just knock it out of the park on this recording.

 

[CL82]

 

[nwhoopfan]

Speaking of Pink, here's a cover of one of her songs that totally blew her away when she heard it.

 

[Aluminny69]

How could you not love her?

 

[Centerstream]

Guns N' Rose's covers Paul McCartney and Wings

 

[Kaizen]

LeAnn Rimes - Crazy - Patsy Cline Tribute at ACA's in 2013

To me both LeAnn and Trisha versions are equal good.

Shortly after Diane Warren wrote the song, she ran into LeAnn Rimes at a restaurant. This was right after Rimes had just won the 1997 Grammy for Best New Artist, and was one of the hottest names in popular music. Warren told LeAnn Rimes she wrote “How Do I Live” with her in mind, and how it was going to be featured on a huge movie soundtrack. Whether this was embellishment to get LeAnn Rimes to bite and record the song or was the truth all along, it worked, and the 14-year-old Rimes was in the studio the very next day recording her version of “How Do I Live.”

However, when the LeAnn Rimes recording was presented to Touchstone Pictures, they thought the subject matter of the song wasn’t believable coming from a 14-year-old. They also felt the song sounded too pop for their liking. And so the decision was made to forgo the LeAnn Rimes version of “How Do I Live.”

Meanwhile, looking for a more country version of the song, Touchstone Pictures turned to another hot name in country music at the time: Trisha Yearwood. Completely unaware that LeAnn Rimes had recorded the song previously, Yearwood agreed to give it a crack herself. Though the Yearwood recording is sold as the “country” version of the song, the production and instrumentation was quite contemporary as well.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Poor Dolly. Seems we all like the covers better than her versions.

 

[Bigboote]

This is my favorite version of Hoochie Coochie man. Written by Willie Dixon, made famous by Muddy Waters, very ably rendered by Steppenwolf.

 

[Aluminny69]

Speaking of Robbie Williams, he released a live recording back in 2001, singing Standards backed by a big band, at the Royal Albert Hall. Every song was great, here's just one example