Bob & LBF in the Morning

Bob & LBF in the Morning

Bob & LBF in the Morning

SYDNEY - JANUARY 01: SINGER DAVID BOWIE PERFORMS DURING HIS GLASS SPIDER TOUR IN 1987, AT SYDNEY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE. (Photo by Patrick Riviere/Getty Images).

Covered over

When you hear a song on the radio for the first time, it’s new to you. Automatically you assume that the song is not a remake, but rather an original. There are so many songs that you know are cover versions of earlier hits. For instance, the Motown classic “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was originally performed by Gladys Knight and The Pips in 1966, then again in 1968 by Marvin Gaye. Then released again in 1970 by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

By the time CCR did the song, you knew it was a remake of a remake

It’s always interesting to hear another artist perform a song that you were familiar with by someone else. Sometimes the remake performs better on the charts than the original (as you will see on this list) and other times they are what we call “stiffs”, meaning they didn’t exactly make you forget the original.

Blinded by the light!

As I’m writing this article I hear Manfred Mann’s “Blinded By The Light” and I know very well that it is a remake of a Bruce Springsteen song from his very first album, 1973’s “Greetings From Asbury Park.” I have always enjoyed both versions of the song. Manfred Mann made the song their own, they made it more modern and electric than the Boss’ stripped down version, and when they sing the infamous line “wrapped up like a deuce” it just hits differently than when you hear Bruce sing it. Maybe because he wrote the lyric, he knows what that means.

Here are 7 songs that you probably didn’t know were covers

 

  • 7. Torn, by Natalie Imbruglia (1997)

    Torn was originally recorded by Danish singer Lis Sorensen in 1993

  • 6. I love Rock and Roll, by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (1981)

    I Love Rock and Roll was originally recorded by The Arrows in 1975

  • 5. Respect by Aretha Franklin (1967)

    Respect was originally recorded my Otis Redding in 1965

  • 4. Tainted Love, by Soft Cell(1981)

    Tainted Love was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964

  • 3. Always On My Mind, by Pet Shop Boys (1987)

    Always On My Mind was originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972

  • 2. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, by Cyndi Lauper (1983)

    Girls Just Wanna Have Fun was originally recorded by Robert Hazard in 1979

  • 1. China Girl, by David Bowie (1983)

    China Girl was recorded by Iggy Pop in 1977

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