Cover songs versus the original track, which ones are better?

[Hornbein]

Eva Cassidy --Songbird

 

[jack action]

Drum cover of Led Zep IV

What she does at 8:35 and 31:52 is so funny!

 

[symbolipoint]

About the video of Sina, the young drummer handling some Led Zepplin songs, the one called "Four Sticks" has a bit of interesting information described in wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Sticks

 

[Hornbein]

Cover of David Bowie's Let's Dance.



Eight keyboards! A traditionalist.

 

[pinball1970]

I didn't know he could play!

 

[Hornbein]

I didn't know he could play!

Well dang they swing real good. That sounds great! Is that Lenny Pickett on sax?



I think Jeff makes a mistake and covers it up by going into outer space. Good for him,.

As far as famous actors playing instruments here's Jayne Mansfield on piano.

 

[Hornbein]

 

[fresh_42]

Given that surname, I have to mention the godfather of European Jazz:



and to stay on topic, a cover of it:

 

[pinball1970]

Given that surname, I have to mention the godfather of European Jazz:



and to stay on topic, a cover of it:

Whe he stared the solo I thought he was going to play the whole solo with two fingers like Django!

 

[Hornbein]

I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts | Missioned Souls​

 

[Hornbein]

Robert Johnson did the orig but this vers is more copied. If there is ever a "best eguitar solo" contest this will get a lot of votes. Jack Bruce's ebass remains unduplicated to this day. He was trained as a classical cello player.



Cover by Char.

 

[Hornbein]

Delbert McClinton



There are many covers by big name women.

 

[Hornbein]

Jerry Lee Lewis covering Bruce Springsteen



Natalie Cole joins in.

 

[Hornbein]

In Japan, Highway Star is a popular van model.

 

[robphy]

More Izzyful : #1,046 Tornado of Souls , #1,050 Cliffs of Dover
More #1,815 Highway Star

 

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicken_(music)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pee_Wee_Ellis


(1968) (Alfred Ellis) James Brown (1968) FIRST RECORDING [THE CHICKEN] (JGC History)

info: https://www.jazzguitarcomprehensive.com/rep/chicken,-the

(2012) Pee Wee Ellis Assembly - The Chicken

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(1985) Jaco Pastorius, Kenwood Dennard & John Scofield - The Chicken - Live 1985

see also (2009) Jaco Pastorius-"The Chicken"

(1991) Maceo Parker - Chicken

(2014) Aaron Spears, "The Chicken" (Cover) - Zildjian Berklee Performance Center Concert


(2013) The Chicken (Pee Wee Ellis) - Abraham Laboriel (bass), Jimmy Branly (drums), Otmaro Ruiz (keyboards) and Allen Hinds (guitar) (Shepherd University - Cornel School of Contemporary Music)


(2017) The Chicken - Matteo Mancuso - Riccardo Oliva - Salvatore Lima

More #780 Matteo Mancuso .

 

[pinball1970]

Ian Gillian's song for me but this lady has some pipes.

 

[pinball1970]

The original Ian Gillan.

 

[pinball1970]

Over 2000 posts so I may have posted this previously.

Ray Davies wrote this but never officially released it.

The arrangement is just perfect, the tune, her voice, those minor 9ths, that horn line. Beautiful.

 

[robphy]

Over 2000 posts so I may have posted this previously.

Ray Davies wrote this but never officially released it.

The arrangement is just perfect, the tune, her voice, those minor 9ths, that horn line. Beautiful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Go_to_Sleep (May 24 1965)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Davies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Go_to_Sleep
The Kinks never formally recorded the song. Band biographer Johnny Rogan considers the lack of a Kinks recording strange, since the material they recorded around the same time was "obviously inferior".[ Davies's demo remained unreleased until April 1998, when it appeared as a bonus track on the CD remaster of Kinda Kinks. Sanctuary Records later included it on the 2014 box set The Kinks Anthology 1964–1971.

Here's the demo version

The Kinks - I Go to Sleep (Demo Version) (Official Audio)



(1965) I Go To Sleep - Peggy Lee


(1967) Marion Maerz - I Go To Sleep (1967) - Beat-Club


(2009) Sia - I Go To Sleep (The Pretenders) | Live in Sydney | Moshcam

 

[Hornbein]

 

[robphy]

House of Pain (1984 album version, 1976/77 demo version for Gene Simmons)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(Van_Halen_album)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen


(1984) Van Halen - House of Pain (2015 Remaster)


(1984) Van Halen - Full Concert - Monsters Of Rock Donington 1984
&t=21m50s for "House of Pain"


more Van Halen


(2024) Brown M&M's "House of Pain (cover)" Van Halen tribute

more Brown M&Ms

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(1976) Van Halen - House Of Pain [1976 Demo Version] (Remastered 2020)



(2025) GENE SIMMONS "HOUSE OF PAIN" VAN HALEN COVER 4K Paramount Theater Huntington NY May 9, 2025
&t=2m10s for the start of the song

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[fresh_42]

 

[Hornbein]

Stella By Starlight

Orig



Riyoko Takagi
I attended this gig but my seat was so bad that after one tune I got my money back and left.



I wish they would still make jazz versions of popular songs. Trane and Miles did it. Maybe the problem is that in the USA today's popular songs are too simple and unmelodic to jazzify. But out of that myriad of tunes there are some with jazz potential. How about Natalie Imbruglia's Torn or Radiohead's Creep. I say that USA jazz musicians are too snobby to do that.

It's different in Japan. The government makes a hit song by having it be the theme song for a TV show. This is so prized that a TV show will have both an opening and ending theme for a total of two. Such theme songs are a lot more complicated than US pop/rap and are frequently jazzified. It helps that jazz is more popular in Japan than in the USA. I sometimes look for pop tunes with the most chords. So far the champ is Black Rock Shooter with an awesome 32 different chords.

Edit : Sergio Mendez's Never Going To Let You Go has 43 different chords. But it's a ballad. Those tend to have more chords.

 

[robphy]

#1,702

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Countdown_(song) (1986)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe_(band)

many covers (including one-man covers)

(2018) The Final Countdown (Europe) - Les Fo'Plafonds


(2016) The Floppotron: The Final Countdown

(2023) The Final Countdown on FLOPPOTRON 3.0

(2019) The Final Countdown on an Electric Toothbrush (Device Orchestra)


(2015) Final Countdown on Musical Tesla Coils (Bobinas de Tesla) (Fabricio H. Franzoli)


(2016) Final Countdown Live Drum Cover - Nur Amira Syahira (13 years old) - a different version was in the earlier post

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not-so-Honorable Mention: (2006) worst cover ever! *the final count down* (6M views)

 

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'll_Wait (1983)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen

VAN HALEN - I'll Wait (Montreal 1984)



Van Halen Didn’t Give Michael McDonald Writing Credit For His Work on 1984 album. (Greg Renoff on The Roundtable with Drew)

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(2022) Van Halen - I'll Wait Isolated Keys on Oberheim OB-8 Synth - All parts recreated - Inasimplerhyme

Van Halen - I’ll Wait Keyboard Cover on Oberheim OB-8 Synth - all parts recreated

(2012) Jamie Holka - Van Halen (I'll Wait - cover) The Evening Star - Niagara Falls, NY - 11/30/2012 (fingerstyle instrumental)


(2021) Lost Symphony (feat. Mike Golarz, Kevin Bias & Joey Concepcion) | "I'll Wait" (Van Halen cover)


(2004) "I'll Wait" (Van Halen Cover - Jazz Version) | Realistic Orchestra | Live in SF 12.4.04


(2023) Van Halen | I'll Wait | All Guitar - The Retro Guitarist

(see also Van Halen | House of Pain | Guitar Cover | No vocals - The Retro Guitarist [I would have included this is in #2,032 House of Pain.])

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Honorable mention
- NERD HALEN - I'll Wait
- Electric Aloha - I'll Wait - Van Halen, Acoustic Cover
- Campfire Chord Covers - I'll wait cover - (acoustic with vocals)

 

[Hornbein]

Sina covers Mitch Mitchell

 

[Hornbein]

Eddie van Halen covers The Rolling Stones

 

[Hornbein]

Cover of Delbert McClinton's Two More Bottles Of Wine

 

[difalcojr]

Tedeschi-Trucks cover of Clapton-Whitlock from Derek and the Dominos "Layla"