Songs You (Probably) Didn't Know Were Covers archived

Most cover songs everyone knows are cover songs, but here are some many people didn't know were covers


Don't really have to say too much about this one... It was a monster hit for Joan Jett but was first recorded by The Arrows in 1975

The Arrows - I Love Rock & Roll (1975)
http://youtu.be/KASgOFvIQVc
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You probably know the hit version by The Animals and the disco version by Santa Esmerelda but the original was done by Nina Simone in 1964

Nina Simone - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
http://youtu.be/B4LmamTo61Y
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Everyone knows the hit version by Otis Redding but you may not know that the song was already thirty years old by the time he recorded it. The original was done by Ray Noble and his Orchestra

Ray Noble - Try A Little Tenderness
http://youtu.be/iJMFurJxxF8
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Everyone knows Big Brother & Holding Company had a huge hit with Janis Joplin singing but the original was done by Aretha's older sister...

Erma Franklin - Piece of my Heart
http://youtu.be/kUM161EgKdI
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We've all heard the 80s version of Soft Cell singing Tainted Love but the original was done in 1965 by Gloria Jones

Gloria Jones - Tainted Love (1964)
http://youtu.be/LSv9LOMDhbU
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Blondie's version was a big hit but the original was done by The Paragon's in 1967

The Tide is High - The Paragons (1967)
http://youtu.be/wrIP3DpYOV0
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UB40 had a #1 with Red, Red Wine in the 80's twenty years after Neil Diamond first wrote and recorded it

Neil Diamond - Red, Red Wine (1968)
http://youtu.be/BeJ55sUacPM
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Ace of Base had a Top 10 hit in 1994 with Don't Turn Around but Tina Turner first recorded it in 1986

Tina Turner - Don't Turn Around
http://youtu.be/YPJgQlUiZPE
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Most of Santana's hits were cover tunes (Oye Como Va by Tito Puente, Black Magic Woman by Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac) and this one originally written and recorded by Russ Ballard of Argent

Russ Ballard - Winning
http://youtu.be/iQQtLWKjkZE
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Everyone's always talking about the Harry Nillson version but the original was by Fred Neil

Fred Neil - Everybody's Talkin'
http://youtu.be/M-Ql1284QLw
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Frank Sinatra has totally made this song his own but the original was done by Liza Minelli in the 1977 movie "New York, New York"

New York, New York - Liza Minelli
http://youtu.be/WcuxBf0frQE
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Led Zeppelin took this one over the hills and far away but the original was done by Joan Baez in 1962

Babe. I'm Gonna Leave You (1962)
http://youtu.be/xG9YUDaQk_I
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You may be familiar with The Pretenders version from the 80's as it got lots of radio play (though wasn't quite a hit) but the Kinks did the original in 1964

Stop Sobbing (1964)
http://youtu.be/EXh2H0s50v0
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You probably remember the 1983 version by Naked Eyes but the original was done in 1964

Always Something - Lou Johnson
http://youtu.be/MOQ1NUdkg50
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You've probably heard the 90's version of this song by The Soup Dragons but never knew it was actually a Rolling Stones song from 1965

I'm Free - Rolling Stones
http://youtu.be/XnoakMBR5g8
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Kim Carnes had a huge hit with this 1975 song by Jackie DeShannon

Bette Davis Eyes - Jackie DeShannon
http://youtu.be/FAQsOJbs-yo
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The Brothers Johnson had a hit with their version of this Shuggie Otis song from 1971

Strawberry Letter - Shuggie Otis
http://youtu.be/iAPPAJ1sT8g
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This one is less of an original as it was ripped off to make the hit song song everyone knows by Aretha

Elijah Fair - Pains of Life (1967)
http://youtu.be/UdcLUN8K998

Everyone knows the Jefferson Airplane version but the original was done by The Great Society
Somebody To Love - The Great Society
http://youtu.be/NzyDLwUgFdc
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We all know Janis Joplin was a One-Hit Wonder and had her only hit with it but Roger Miller hit #2 on the Country Charts a couple of years earlier in 1969 with Me & Bobby McGee
Roger Miller - Me and Bobby McGee
http://youtu.be/6ko_bzuODTI
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Stevie Wonder made it a soft-pop radio staple but it was first done by Jean DuShon a couple of years earlier in 1966
Jean DuShonn - For Once In My Life
http://youtu.be/dl6st3VcBik
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What can you say... Jimi knocked it out of the park but it was first done by The Leaves
Hey Joe - The Leaves
http://youtu.be/XNmu3z8XEzw
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The Ventures really rocked it in the 60s but it's actually a 50s Jazz tune
Walk Don't Run - Johnny Smiith
http://youtu.be/0HwQxdrmwY8

Gloria Jones's "Tainted Love" was a revelation when I first heard it on the radio in the early '90s. Probably my favorite original of a famous cover. Shuggie Otis is right up there, too.

Interestingly, that charting version of "Hey Joe" by the Leaves was released just after Love released their version in 1966, according to the ever-reliable Wikipedia. However, the Leaves recorded a little-heard version in late 1965, so maybe they still deserve credit.

A few more ...

Kim Weston before the Doobies:

http://youtu.be/KOEwslR4o6Y

Linda Lyndell before Salt N Pepa:

http://youtu.be/TNojyNeK3FY

Hot Chocolate before Stories:

http://youtu.be/wiM6hF1naXE

The Temps before the Undisputed Truth. (Not sure why the video features the "Psychedelic Shack" album cover; the song appeared on the later "Sky's the Limit.")

http://youtu.be/fSUb2zX4POA

Just for fun, Chuck Berry before "Come Together":

http://youtu.be/hrDoy4LDDCg

A note on The Leaves: Jim Pons played bass with them on "Hey Joe", then moved on to The Turtles, and then to The Mothers. He left music for a new career and became the official film and video director for the NY Jets. According to Wikipedia, he retired to Jacksonville FL, where he now does game-day video for the Jaguars and plays upright bass in a bluegrass gospel band. What a career!

Before the Rolling Stones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAGgGKMnD6k

and speaking of Jackie DeShannon, she wrote this, and it was a big hit for the Searchers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMvy-N1doR0

Heard a great interview with Sonny Curtis on Michael Shelley's Saturday show on WFMU. An original member of the Crickets, he wrote and recorded this before Bobby Fuller (never mind the Clash…). Plenty of other great songs too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTZO1F0kfzw

Re Me & Bobby McGee: Roger Miller released his recording of it before Kristofferson did, but Kris' demo version is amazing

http://www.amazon.com/Please-Dont-Tell-Story-Ends/dp/B003EXAQOK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375852019&sr=8-1&keywords=kris+kristofferson+demo

And what else did Sonny Curtis write and sing? The theme to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," natch.

I was going to post Betty Everett's "You're No Good" and Irma Thomas's "Time Is on My Side," but I discovered that those were not the originals, either. Drat.

Because (1) Joplin, (2) Cocker and (3) Dog Night were more or less cover artists (no shame in that), the worthy originals are too numerous to mention. But I'd encourage a listen to (1) Garnet Mimms's "Cry Baby" and Lorraine Ellison's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)"; (2) the Lovin' Spoonful's "Darling Be Home Soon"; and (3) Nilsson's "One" and Argent's "Liar."

Speaking of Nilsson ...

Badfinger:

http://youtu.be/S9aNIhxIz10

This is too addictive.

Another one before the Doobies, this time the Byrds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpKAQacDkFo&sns=em

Allen Toussaint before Glen Campbell:

http://youtu.be/mCscZ2tPFmI

Slade before Quiet Riot:

http://youtu.be/VfdQxBOZIro

Todd Duncan before Al Hibbler (my dad's favorite version) and the Righteous Brothers*:

http://youtu.be/r9lkn5PRfyk
*Am I the only dope who needed decades to realize that it's called "Unchained Melody" because it's the melody from a movie titled "Unchained"?

Jeff Lynne before Jeff Lynne:

http://youtu.be/kuRvumUxMMI

And just for fun again, Horace Silver before One of the Two Most Overrated Bands in Rock History:

http://youtu.be/CWeXOm49kE0

This one came up in an earlier thread, but worth a mention here, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz1ftiiPpyo&sns=em

Great thread!

One that hasn't been mentioned: Younger people seem to be most familiar with the Amii Stewart version, and people around my age often know the David Bowie version, but I've always loved the original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92NpzXXpQtg

Also, before REM:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyfDH0HKLjs

Been listening to the Nuggets collection all afternoon, and the Clique and "Superman" fit right in.

You could do worse than be stuck on a desert isle with an iPod stocked with both the American and international Nuggets boxed sets and Vols. 1 and 2 of the complete Stax/Volt singles.

Speaking of ...

Emitt Rhodes and the Merry Go Round before the Bangles:

http://youtu.be/FXFEuKKhQJ0

What a great thread! Thanks!!

Yes, thanks, @arnomation.

I really enjoyed this!! Thank you!

Fun thread... before Whitney...

Willie Nelson, Composer and Performer, Crazy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwS6FL_WgoI

A rare case of the Jamaican version being the original: Harry J All-Stars, Liquidator, beget The Staple Singers, I'll Take You There
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uvBM_y_mVc

Ketty Lester's original before the King got his hands on it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juLWA0N6Xzo

Marshall Crenshaw made this "famous," but it was written by Ben Vaughn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiE88iJdN8o

munchies said:

Ketty Lester's original before the King got his hands on it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juLWA0N6Xzo

Omg, who is this woman? I'm in love....

Wow! Great thread!

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes before Thelma Houston:

http://youtu.be/rNLR9r_qdNQ

Jackson Browne wrote this one in Glenn Frey's basement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMA3lIeqV8M

Willie and Merle made this one famous. It was written by Townes Van Zandt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SjwO17gsqU

And then there is this one made famous by Arlo Guthrie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ0JgqoF2W4

Another one made famous by Whitney, recorded by George Benson for a movie about Muhammad Ali (hence, "The Greatest.")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHIWlKVUF4s