When a cover song is better than the original.

[Wicked Lester]

White Wedding     Murder Dolls totally crushes Billy Idols original   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8d-Kx4S9OE

[Hepcat]

If I Were a Carpenter by Bobby Darin got to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btWobQsGcS4

The cover by the Four Tops in 1968 got to only #20 but I think it's better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXX36b_mlMo

[Hepcat]

Me and the Devil Blues by Robert Johnson was a typical Delta blues tune and was released in 1938:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MCHI23FTP8

While the track has been covered by many and varied artists including the Doors, Peter Green Splinter Group, Eric Clapton and the Cowboy Junkies, the first version that made me sit up and take notice was this one by Gil Scott-Heron that was included on his I'm New Here album released 8 February 2010:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OET8SVAGELA#

[Hepcat]

Whiskey in the Jar is a traditional Irish song of unknown origin.

Here's the version by the Highwaymen released in 1962:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJgsCO_qK9o#

It was also the signature piece of the Dubliners throughout the 1960's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlWTASnnft4#

Thin Lizzy's take released on 3 November 1972 was a quantum leap better than previous versions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyQ-tScuzwM#

Metallica did it better again with this version released on 1 February 1999:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsrvmNtWU4E#

[Memphremagog]

September Gurls by Big Star originated the song..

http://youtu.be/BNKSs1J38EA

but it was the Bangles who truly nailed it

http://youtu.be/PvJiMfhKbp0

[Memphremagog]

Temptation Eyes by the Grass Roots

http://youtu.be/MG6I76F1HTI

and the cover by the Blake Babies

http://youtu.be/H9qXi9Hb8sY

[Wicked Lester]

Paint it Black- Totally CRUSHES The Stones....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03mUI9LaaIg

[Hepcat]

Paint it Black- Totally CRUSHES The Stones.......

I disagree. I don't think the changes and additional elements they've added to the Stones' classic constitute an improvement.

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

[Hepcat]

Walk Away Renee was released in July 1966 and got to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqBTzfcIk4

A cover by the Four Tops was released on 18 January 1968 and got to #14 in the States, #3 in the United Kingdom and #2 in Canada:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu5ynjOlnOg

They're both excellent but I might choose the cover by the Four Tops if you backed me into a corner.

[Hepcat]

The Rolling Stones covered several of Chuck Berry's numbers. Two of the best of these covers by the Stones appeared on their live LP Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!

Carol by Chuck Berry was released in August 1958:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MC9CRL1cX4

Little Queenie by Chuck Berry was released in 1959:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-b0BtCSUXM

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! was released on 4 September 1970:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2sTmWr7ISY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRCq1VhhSac

[Hepcat]

Here the Kinks covered their own tune and absolutely destroyed their original version!

The initial version of I'm Not Like Everybody Else was released on 3 June 1966 as the flip side of the Sunny Afternoon single:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmb7TU0OrOI#

A live version was included on the Kinks' live LP  To the Bone that was released in the U.S.A. in 1996:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9vZL-xE4CQ#

The live version is just far more intense!

[Hepcat]

Anyone Who Had a Heart by Dionne Warwick was released in November 1963:

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

A very similar though somewhat screechy cover by Cilla Black was released 31 January 1964 and was a #1 hit sensation for three weeks in a row in the United Kingdom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUxn6JLwdDY#

Another very similar cover by Atomic Kitten was released in 2008:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXgD-Psu4pc#

They clearly didn't have a clue though as to live delivery of the song. I mean smiling and wiggling when they were supposed to be pouring their hearts out? Whoever coached them on delivery should have been flogged. Well they were pretty anyway....

[Mord]

 I love this thread, Hep. The evolution of classic songs makes for very interesting variants. Well done!

[Hepcat]

It's Wicked Lester though that deserves the bulk of the credit since he started this thread.

[Hepcat]

Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon by Neil Diamond was released in March 1967 and got to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGvMjgLXBi0#

A cover by Urge Overkill was contained on their Stull EP released in 1994:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fr1iyhkyVs#

Urge Overkill's version gained considerable notoriety when it was included in the Pulp Fiction movie from 1994.

I really like them both.