cover songs

Yep. Not just the Queen of Soul, the Queen of Covers as well. Now, I suppose we can't count gospel as 'covers' per say, but her double album of gospel 'Amazing Grace' is fine fine fine....that's where her cover of Marvin Gaye's 'Wholly Holy' comes from.

Thanks fer the tip Cav...I'm off to look for it.

"Summertime Blues" by the Who

"It's My Party" by Brian Ferry

(There have been some great posts here. I hadn't thought about the Vanilla Fudge for about 35 years.)

Ever hear K.D. Lang's cover of "Johnny Get Angry" by Shelley Fabares?(sp) Some sick stuff there.

Yuh know, I think I saw her do that in concert now that you mention it. It was eerie ,all right...

Words and Music by Hal David and Sherman Edwards

Johnny, I said we were through
Just to see what you would do
You stood there and hung your head
Made me wish that I were dead
CHORUS
Oh, Johnny get angry, Johnny get mad
Give me the biggest lecture I ever had
I want a brave man, I want a cave man
Johnny, show me that you care, really care for me
Every time you danced with me
You let Freddy cut in constantly
When he'd ask, you'd never speak
Must you always be so meek?
CHORUS

Every girl wants someone who
She can always look up to
You know I love you, of course
Let me know that you're the boss
CHORUS
Johnny, get angry, Johnny
Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny
FADE

Aretha's "Amazing Grace" album is truly remarkable, indeed.
Remember, "RESPECT" was even a cover, originally done by Otis Redding.

good point

Panzade:


Re: Johnny Get Angry

Well, back in the early sixties, the rule was that the man "wore the pants in the family"-that is, made all the decisions, etc. That record was from what-1963?

Shelly Fabares was never really a singer anyway, in the sense of playing bars and building an audience. The record industry needed teenagers to be an audio analog of the Beach Party movies, so they dug up various teenage actresses, brought them into the studio, stuck a song in their hand and told them to sing it. Fabares was one. Many years she later had a long running part in a TV series.

Needless to say, the attitudes on these things clashes rather drastically with the present view. It must have been a gas to see the openly gay Laing, in her stage tuxedo and butch harido, singing that tribute to male superiority on stage, lol.

Interesting sidenote: perhaps the first song espousing a changing view of women was by that ultimate ditzy teenage queen, Leslie Gore! No kidding. The singer who made not-a-brain-in-her-head history with "It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To) about being emotionally unable to handle her boyfriend breaking up and rejoicing when he beat up another guy for her, apparently matured enough a few years later to have a fairly large hit with the following song:

You Don't Own Me [/b]

Artist: Lesley Gore (peak Billboard position # 2)
Words and Music by John Madara and David White


You don't own me, I'm not just one of your many toys
You don't own me, don't say I can't go with other boys

And don't tell me what to do
And don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display, 'cause

You don't own me, don't try to change me in any way
You don't own me, don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay

Oh, I don't tell you what to say
I don't tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That's all I ask of you

I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want
To say and do whatever I please


Quite a departure in attitude from It's My Party. To my knowldege, this is the first pop song that ever expressed those sentiments.

Speaking of covers....

Covers hav a bad rep because we tend to think of the singer or band ripping off someone else's work, that expresses their life.

For some reason, the songwriters collecting the royalties rarely express that opinion.

But is it still a cover if the author records it years and years after someone else did? Aretha had a big hit with Natural Woman in in 1966, I guess. Songwriter Carole King didn't record it until the Tapestry album in 1971.

Good posts keltic. I used Fabares as an example, although I think Joanie Summers did "Johnny" first and Shelly did the cover. Carol King was a songwriter along with her husband Bob Goffin. They churned out songs in the historic "Brill" building and I'm guessing that "Natural Woman" was sold to Atlantic Records by recording a promo version, probably with Carole on piano.

At Motown back in the 60's, various acts would record one song. Both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight did "Heard it Through the Grapevine", both the Temptations and The Jackson Five did "Who's Loving You", and I can recall hearing two versions of the same song sung by the Temptations, but with two different leads. There's an old cut by one of my favorite doowop groups, the Flamingoes, "You're the Dream of a Lifetime", which was done twice, one version a high tenor lead, the other version, mid-tenor.

Was that the "I Only Have Eyes For You" Flamingos?
I'd sure love to hear those two versions.

Or was it the Moonglows? I think it was the Moonglows with Harvey Fuqua. They also did "The 10 Commandments of Love."

Ah, yes, "You Don't Own Me" -- excellent tune. And, if I'm not mistaken, Joan Jett does a creditable job in her cover of that song...

"California Sun" by the Dictators is fun, too. Especially the "cha, cha, cha" at the end...

"I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" has been covered by Dusty Springfield, Elvis Costello and The White Stripes -- and they're all good!

The Cowboy Junkies do a beautiful version of "Sweet Jane".

Joey Ramone's "What a Wonderful World" is my favorite version, and there's The Ramone's cover of Sonny and Cher's "Needles and Pins" which is mind blowing fun.

Lately I've been listening to "Lounge Against The Machine" which is cover versions of naughty classics like "Closer To God" and "Holiday In Cambodia" and "Wrong Way" redone for the cocktail crowd. Too fun!

Ooooh, yeah, boomerang re Joey R's "Wonderful World" (it's poignant, knowing he was dying when he recorded it). Ditto re "Needles and Pins-uh"

I once heard the Dead Kennedys perform "Rawhide" at the old Earth Tavern in Portland. A night to remember...

Boomerang, wow, welcome back! You have been missed!