If Bruce never released or performed it then what's it doing on the Live: 1975-1985 boxset, or The Promise, and how come I've heard him play it live in concert multiple times then??

The AAF version blows the original clean out of the water though. Jackson had some good tunes in the 80's but the production on Bad and Thriller was very weak in places.

Bananarama did 'a deeper shade of blue' before Steps

The Isley Brothers version of Summer Breeze is cover but better than the original.

guilty! i thought bobby fuller was the original!


... although john kongos's original was 'hes gonna step on you again'...

Fair point, I should have been more clear. Smith's version of BTN isn't a cover version because prior to its' release, Springsteen had never released or recorded it. Smith's version in 1978 was totally original, with no previous versions to compare it to.

similarly to the springsteen/smith thing

'handbags and gladrags' was composed by mike d'arbo (of manfred man) recorded it but it was only released as an album track after chris farlowe had had a minor hit with it. (rod stewarts version was later).

so to me, it was chris farlowe who had the original hit with it...

I don't think that's right. Bananarama did Last Thing On My Mind (they co-wrote it with Stock & Waterman) before Steps but I'm pretty sure Bananarama never did Deeper Shade Of Blue before Steps had a hit with it.

according to this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deeper_Shade_of_Blue

tina cousins did it first, but was unreleased

bananarama did 'every shade of blue'.

Bette Davis Eyes was originally by Jackie DeShannon (albeit with a dreadful, boogie-woogie arrangement).

Two of Tina Turner's biggest hits were originally by British artists (The Best by Bonnie Tyler and What's Love Got To Do With It, somewhat improbably, by Bucks Fizz)

I always assumed that The Bluest Eyes In Texas by A Camp (Nina Persson & Nathan Larson) was a self-penned original, but was slightly disappointed to find that it was a cover of a song originally recorded by an American country and western group. The A Camp version is hauntingly beautiful and by far the best.

I doubt if many people realise that Only Women Bleed - a hit for Julie Covington - was actually written by Alice Cooper.

I like the Kim Carnes cover, but I much prefer the Jackie De Shannon original version, and there's nothing dreadful about boogie-woogie - I love it!

Some people believe that the 2006 Girls Aloud version of "I Think We're Alone Now" is the original, while most people who are aware that it's a cover believe that the 1988 version by Tiffany is the original, yet it too is a cover. The actual original is the 1967 version by Tommy James and the Shondells.

Some people believe that the 1963 version of "Twist And Shout" by the Beatles is the original, while most people who are aware that it's a cover believe that the 1962 version by the Isley Brothers is the original, yet it too is a cover. The actual original is the 1961 version by the Top Notes.

It's funny, I was talking about this the other day at work, I was saying how much I really enjoy Josh Groban's version of it, but Westlife's kinda added the 'cheese' factor to it, and now I can't really hear it without hearing their version! I have to admit, I've never listened to the original version though...

Another one which seems to get mistaken is Johnny Cash's version of Hurt. I know a lot of people class his as the definitive version, even Trent Reznor thinks so, but it just annoys me a lot of people still think it was his song originally. I personally prefer NIN's version though.

Going Down To Liverpool by The Bangles , original version The Waves (Of Katrina & The Waves )

I believe most people know that Alexandra Burke's version of "Hallelujah" was a cover. But I bet they didn't know that it wasn't first done by Jeff Buckley, but by Leonard Cohen.

I would say a fair few people think that I Will Always Love You by Whitney is the original.

'I Heard it Through the Grapevine' anyone? This one has a very interesting tale of rejection. Gladys Knight and the Pips had the original single release with it.

However, the track was originally cut by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (later appeared as an album track), but was rejected by the label for a single release. Marvin Gaye, as far as I'm aware, actually went on to record his version before Gladys Knight and the Pips but bizarrely his version was also rejected initially!

The Motown bosses clearly heard something in Gladys Knight and the Pips' version because this was released as a single in 1967, and did very well in the US. However, I have read that Berry Gordy was also reluctant to release Gladys Knight's version as a single too. It just goes to show that the record label bosses don't always know what they're talking about!

Like the version recorded by the Miracles, Marvin's turned up as an album track after Gladys Knight had scored a hit single. Thankfully radio DJs picked up on Marvin's version and Motown released it as a single in its own right.



You're right. In fact, 'Nothing Compares 2 U,' which was mentioned very early on in this thread, could be a good example of the point you're making. As far as I'm aware, it was released by 'The Family' as an album track first (admittedly Prince was just a little bit involved in output credited to 'The Family' ) but a version attributed to him wasn't released until AFTER Sinead had the hit; the live version on 'The Hits/B-sides' has a pretty identical arrangement to what the man himself laid down for The Family.


It's good that the original by Seals and Crofts does occasionally get a bit of airplay. I like their version just as much as The Isley Brothers' take, though I do agree that the Isley Bros. took that song to another level. Their version of 'Put Yourself in Place,' which I think was originally recorded by The Elgins, is another example of a track they took to a higher level.

Speaking of the Isleys, who've been mentioned for their covers of tracks, they also had their tracks covered more successfully by other artists too. The best example of this being 'Shout,' which they originally recorded and released in the late 1950s.

I think The Christians' cover of 'Harvest for the World' scored higher in the UK charts than the Isleys did too, though I imagine that single sales in 1976 were higher generally than they were in 1988.

I forgot to add another bit of pop trivia I recall about original writers and covers.
'Hanging on the Telephone' was mentioned earlier. Its writier, Jack Lee, also penned and recorded the original version of another superb tune that went on to have a very successful cover: 'Come Back and Stay.'

For those too young enough to remember, 'Come Back and Stay' was a massive 1980s hit by an equally massive artist at the time, Paul Young.

Paul was no stranger to covers as a lot of his hits were just that.

It was often the case that a song would be tried out by a few artists at Motown until Berry Gordy thought he had a version that would be a hit.

Indeed 'Wherever I Lay My Hat', his biggest hit was a Marvin Gaye cover.

I would've thought most people knew that. Although maybe I'm just going on who I know, perhaps much younger people wouldn't have...

Bowling for Soup - 1985 (originally by SR-71)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrIP3DpYOV0

The Paragons

Here's the original of Help get Me Some Help by Tony Ronald which was covered by Ottowan back in 1981. Listen to to opening, it's a sample used on a dance number 10 years ago Wonderful Day s by Charly Lownoise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQa-1dwkgOc