Songs you didn't realise were covers

[hoarahloux]

I almost grew up with Natalie Imbruglia's Torn. I used to put the music video channels on TV in the early morning before my parents got up. I loved it, she was one of my first crushes. I watched the video of it over and over again and was bemused how the man was so normal when she was so incredible.

It wasn't until much later I found out that the song was a cover, and the original by Ednaswap was almost identical so it wasn't even an interesting cover!

That is an awesome cover. I'm not a fan of Elvis, but I do like some of the cover versions of his songs.

Soft Cell from the 80s

It was Willy Nelson's song, he wrote it. His version is better than either

And of course Always on My Mind wasn't an Elvis song originally.

Jealous Guy by Roxy Music - originally by John Lennon.

Wherever I Lay My Hat by Paul Young - originally by Marvin Gaye

It Must Be Love by Madness - originally by Labi Siffre

All of these were a bit of a 🤯 for me when I realised.

As sung by Elvis that is genuinely the only song that makes me cry, so I think the Elvis version is better. PSB pretty darn good tho.

Ahhh @D12troop @SpiderGwen nooooo I never knew that!

Well in keeping with the title of this thread, I never knew that!

Willy was after Elvis. Neither wrote it.

Wiki says Brenda Lee/Gwen McCrae first recorded/released it.

It’s based on a song called Sepheryn by Curtiss Maldoon, so sort of is a cover

Whoa, John Lennon wrote a song called Jealous Guy? Never would have thought it of him. That man who had so many normal relationships and wrote so many normal songs about women...

WHAT?! I had no idea!!

Elkie Brooks version of Fool If You Think It's Over is actually a Chris Rea song. She made it famous but he wore it and released a version several years prior to hers.

I would go back and read some of the previous posts before getting excited - the song was offered to other artists, including Bucks Fizz, who recorded their version before Tina Turner, but hers was the one that got released. Bucks Fizz didn't release theirs until the year 2000.

Band on the Run is in three parts; it’s a rock opera song.

Because it's not true. Bucks Fizz were offered it and refused it. Tina released it first, the demo version was released on a Bucks Fizz album much later.

Ahh, I had read the thread but I missed that!

I thought it couldn’t be right!

That reminds me, I only discovered a few weeks ago that the Chris Rea song "On The Beach" was originally released in the mid 1980s. I only ever knew of the version from the Year 2000, which as I now know was by a group called York and sampled the Chris Rea original.

I switch off mentally after the first part ends. I didn't know it had three sections.

I’m amazed that anybody is amazed by the news that songs are recorded by other people and made famous for younger generations. Hasn’t it always been so?

Wild horses was done by Gram Parsons first.
Although to be fair, a lot of songs from back then are kind of hazy in terms of ownership. Lots of people tended to record various versions.

I love gp, but think stones did it better.
Elvis costello covered 'she' as well.

Well yes, but there are some bands who only ever released their own material, which I think makes them pretty special. The only band I can think of is ABBA, but there will have been others.

Well of course but I don’t think that’s the point of the thread.

Some songs are just difficult to imagine being done by other people.

Exactly. Some old songs that we thought we knew were originals arent and thats the point of the thread. Nowadays its all bloody sampling rather than genuine covers.

Noooo!!