Songs you didn't know were covers

Matthew Bryson · #1 11-30-2006, 04:43 PM

For 17 years or more I thought that "Ring of Fire" was written by Social Distortion.

Obviously, I didn't listen to much Johnny Cash growing up. I liked Social D back in high school, but then didn't listen to them for many years. When the Johnny Cash movie came out a while back I was exposed to some of his music, and also Ring of Fire seems to be on some television commercial now… I couldn't figure out why every time I heard that song something in my brain was getting confused. It hit me last night as I walked through my living room and heard it on a TV commercial. As I started to sing along I realized that I was hearing Mike Ness in my head. Yeah, I'm kinda dumb sometimes. I just had to look it up on the interweb to make sure that my "Swiss cheese" memory wasn't failing me, but my foggy memory was right - Social Distortion did record that song and that's why my brain always thinks of it as a Social Distortion song. I wonder if there are any other songs that I thought were originals that aren't.

Komakino · #2 11-30-2006, 04:54 PM

When I was little I thought the Kylie version of The Locomotion was the original...then again, it was in the charts at the time.

DGbass70 · #3 11-30-2006, 05:34 PM

Knocking on heaven's door(G-N-R) until i heard the original version on a Mel Gibson movie.
Smoking in the boys room(Motley Crue) then i heard the original.
There's also a very old Metallica song(i think is from Ride the lightning) and then the same thing..i heard the original version.
everytime i heard the originals i had the

face...

Peter Squire · #4 11-30-2006, 05:36 PM

All Along the Watchtower - I thought Hendrix wrote it.

v-12 · #5 11-30-2006, 05:40 PM

it wasn't until the other week that i learned i'm your boogey man isn't a white zombie song

.....

Poop-Loops · #6 11-30-2006, 05:41 PM

When I first heard NIN's Hurt I thought it was a Johnny Cash cover, not the other way around. Good song.

**Blackbird** · #7 11-30-2006, 06:48 PM

You Got A Friend - Written by Carole King, not James Taylor

Twish & Shout - Not a Lennon McCartney song.

deftim69 · #8 11-30-2006, 06:51 PM

I'm easy by Faith no More.

TrooperFarva · #9 11-30-2006, 07:31 PM

+1 to Easy by Faith No More and All Along the Watchtower. It wasn't long that I found out they were covers, but when I heard them the first few times, I had no idea.

Also, there was this awesome band in Columbus, Ohio called Victim, and they would throw random snippets of 80s songs into their music. It was great stuff, cuz their music was fairly heavy, hard rock, and then, in their style, they'd have like 10 seconds of Radio Ga Ga by Queen or Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell/Michael Jackson. There's one great section of a song where the singer is screaming "Gloria, I think they got your number, I think they got the alias, that you've been living under" and years later, I found out it was Gloria by Laura Branigan. They made it fit so well, great band.

libertyjah · #10 11-30-2006, 07:35 PM

When The Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin...look into Memphis Minnie...she was the original artist. Obviously some liberties were taken.

Cap'n Video · #11 11-30-2006, 07:51 PM

Several years ago, my stepson (who I think was in jr. high at the time) very indignantly asked "Can you believe Dolly Parton remade that Whitney Houston song?" Luckily he's grown up to have much better taste in music.

Spector_Ray · #12 11-30-2006, 08:16 PM

I didn't know until about 4 or 5 months ago that Tesla didn't write Little Suzi.

Sneckumhaw · #13 11-30-2006, 08:27 PM

Bad Case of Loving You was originally by Moon Martin.

A few others that some may be surprised by-

- Fleetwood Mac originated Black Magic Woman
- Dazed and Confused was by a white American singer-songwriter named Jake Holmes (his version is amazing), a lot of people think they only ripped off the old black blues guys
- I know nobody thinks The Ramones wrote California Sun (at least I hope not) but they were not even the first group to put a punk spin on it, The Dictators did it first.

superjesus · #14 11-30-2006, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Squire

All Along the Watchtower - I thought Hendrix wrote it.

+1

Woodchuck · #15 12-01-2006, 05:56 AM

When I first heard the Brothers Johnson's "Strawberry Letter 23", I thought it was an original, then my dad ruined it all by putting on a Shuggie Otis record.

Btw, most people don't know that Elvis' "Hound Dog" and Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You" are covers.

allenhumble · #16 12-01-2006, 07:41 AM

Eric Claptons Cocaine and Lynard Skynards call me the breeze where both written by JJ Kale.

Morrolan · #17 12-01-2006, 10:31 AM

I only learned a few years ago that Quiet Riot's "Cum on Feel the Noize" was a Slade cover.

MakiSupaStar · #18 12-01-2006, 12:47 PM

Message To You Rudy is a Toots and the Maytals song, but I thought it was a Specials song. Same with Monkey Man, which is also a Toots song they cover.

Don W · #19 12-01-2006, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Squire

All Along the Watchtower - I thought Hendrix wrote it.

Me too. I also thought that Social Distortion wrote Under My Thumb until a couple years ago when I heard the Rolling Stones' version.

DGbass70 · #20 12-01-2006, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spector_Ray

I didn't know until about 4 or 5 months ago that Tesla didn't write Little Suzi.

well.....thanks for telling us.
because i didn't know either