There are times when I sit down to listen to songs and I wonder how they were inspired to write it and what it is about. There are other occasions when I go to find out this information and find out that I am actually listening to a cover! The songs I am about to list for you I had no idea they were not the original artist, so I attached YouTube links to the originals so you can check them out. How many of these did you already know?
Also, here is a link to a running Spotify list I have going for all of the articles I write that compare songs and covers: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7y2yWsMTb7F7k58feGxtZj?si=7wHRby7KTj-oSzkMgcdCFQ
- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
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This song obviously made famous by the lovely Cyndi Lauper (1983), but Robert Hazard (1979) didn’t do so bad, he has some fun voice inflections in there.
- Dazed and Confused
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Sorry, but there is just no question here of who did it better between Led Zeppelin (1969) and Jake Holmes (1967), all of the words aren’t even the same and Zeppelin always takes songs to the next level that they deserve to be at.
- Respect
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I have to say, these two singers got some soul, I’d be happy listening to Aretha Franklin (1967) or Otis Redding (1965) sing this one!
- I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll
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I love Joan Jett’s (1981) vocals better, but The Arrows (1976) have a gritty rock tone that I’ll give them credit for. If I could combine the two, I think it might be the perfect version of the song for me.
- I Want Candy
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Bow Wow Wow (1982) has that super funky bass line that I love, but The Strangeloves (1965) have a nice swing version with some awesome harmonies on the chorus and at a chill tempo.
- Louie Louie
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The Kingsman (1963) rock out the classic everyone knows, while the Rockin Robin Roberts (1961) sound like when I played it in pep band in high school.
- Red Red Wine
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Everyone is probably familiar with the UB40 (1983) version from some Tide commercials over the years, but I think only my grandparents are familiar with the Neil Diamond (1967) original. My grandma and I had a debate over which one is better because I am definitely partial to reggae!
- Tainted Love
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I dig the vibe of the Soft Cell (1981) cover, but Gloria Jones (1964) still makes her original groove. Depending on what mood I’m in probably determines which one I would feel like listening to.
- Twist and Shout
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Just like everyone else in the world, I love the sound The Beatles (1963) add to their songs and the vocals are perfect, so even though the key change is the only physical difference from the Isley Brothers (1962) version, The Beatles take the win for me.
- Blue Suede Shoes
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Between the tempo and Elvis’ (1956) voice, he also clearly takes the dub over Carl Perkins’ (1956) original. You just have to love a good Elvis tune! Can’t believe he scooped up that song and made a cover it the same year Perkins released it.
- Cocaine
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Aside from the key change, there aren’t many technical difference between the two songs aside from the fact that Eric Clapton (1977) wails on his guitar solo bringing his cover to superiority over JJ Cale (1975).