When a cover song is better than the original.

[Lazarus]

I think I prefer the Donovan version of Season of the Witch, myself.

[Hepcat]

Baby, Please Don't Go was a traditional blues number played by many in the early decades of the 20th century. Perhaps the most popular early recording of the song was this one from 1935 by Big Joe Williams accompanied by Sonny Boy Williamson I on harmonica:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrOCNBBO8-w

Them recorded this great cover in 1964:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wah7MqEHFg

[Hepcat]

The Butterfield Blues Band did as much if not more to expose young American music fans to blues-rock as did any of the British Invasion bands. The East-West LP released in August 1966 in particular contained a couple of sensational covers of blues classics:



Walkin' Blues was originally written and recorded by Son House in 1930:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9rwsnPJ7aw#

The Butterfield Blues Band added a pronounced beat and made the old classic rock!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dkse6R3Tg#

Get Out of My Life Woman was a big hit for Lee Dorsey earlier in 1966:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxp0Kfgpft8#

Once again the Butterfield Blues Band added more punch to the tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dM5febYr4k#

Both Butterfield tracks are blessed with excellent separation and sound great on a good stereo!

[Hepcat]

The Fresh Cream LP originally released in December 1966 contained a couple of excellent covers.



Spoonful had been written by Willie Dixon and was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LFjHo7Cdrw

Cream's version seemed darker somehow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEl0ZhKm-lo

I'm So Glad was first recorded by Skip James in 1931:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTDQrgb7nhE

Cream recorded a harder driving version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3GIQ86eu6c

[marsattacks666]

Sorry Beatles, fans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIN_ev8Msvo&app=desktop

Aerosmith's version is much better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo4GJ6YdDeY&app=desktop

[Hepcat]

One of the most often recorded blues standards is Good Morning Little Schoolgirl. It was first recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson in 1937:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnvId0dasgc#

Smokey Hogg turned it into a big hit on the R&B charts in 1950:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6sKquiUHaA#

In 1965 Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band turned the song into a classic electrified Chicago blues number:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXq4SI-2kjA#

The Grateful Dead included a surprisingly good cover of the song on their debut album in 1967:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMUxM4CAAFU#

Ten Years After dispensed of the harmonica parts but picked up the instrumental pace overall for their rerecording of the track on the Ssssh album in 1969:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIjufDIgMdM#

And here's a smoking hot version from 1997 by Jonny Lang:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpk85tND1T4

Maybe, maybe, his is the best!

[Hepcat]

Cannibal & the Headhunters had a sensational hit in 1965 with Land of 1000 Dances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZFzKZyyQK0

This version released by the Wrestlers of the WWF in 1985 was even better though!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHZCcu9ltcs

[Hepcat]

Wilson Pickett excellent take on Mustang Sally was released in 1966:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1FRrZD2y9Y

But the cover that Buddy Guy released in 1991 with Jeff Beck guesting on guitar took the song to new heights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TYWYDqr-TA

[Hepcat]

The Vibrations recorded My Girl Sloopy in 1964:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh0hHm-ckQw#

The McCoys' 1965 cover took the song now retitled Hang On Sloopy one step better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlTKhPkZSJo#

[Hepcat]

The Leaves released Hey Joe as a single in 1966:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWv03Wgz0PQ

The Jimi Hendrix Experience then did the Leaves one better later on in 1966 with this cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o_-NoW3n3A

[Hepcat]

The Spencer Davis Group hit big with I'm a Man in early 1967:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFkFtyJGae4

The Chicago Transit Authority's 1970 cover was perhaps even a bit better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8vY3vAbAdQ

[Hepcat]

The Swingin' Medallions had a big hit with Double Shot of My Baby's Love in 1966 despite it being banned from airplay on many stations for its suggestive lyrics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4Rj9WXjko#

Note the inclusion in the above video of clips of the sensational Sandy Sarjeant, the lead dancer on Ready Steady Go!:



Because of its lyrical content, the song made far more sense performed by a female singer. The Goodees did precisely that in 1969 and did it very well indeed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlWML9wynwo#

[Doh!]

I'm diggin' this thread! It's the most entertaining history lesson I think I've ever experienced.

Another one from me: remember that goofy Russian guy whose '70s performance was dug up about 10 years ago...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oavMtUWDBTM


Well, that was a remake from the '60s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n041M5FnqA

I definitely find the remake more watchable!

[Hepcat]

 

I just cringe! Too painful to keep watching.

[Hepcat]

Torch singer Etta James released this now classic number in 1968:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9sq3ME0JHQ#

Chicken Shack with the incomparable Peter Green guesting on guitar did a cover with particularly striking instrumentals in 1969. It reached #14 on the U.K. charts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohx9Ve7-GS0#

Beyoncé played the part of Etta James in the 1968 Cadillac Records movie and did a great cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZVQD9piv7A#

It rather left me wondering why so much of Beyoncé's other catalogue is outright crap.