Huge classic hits, but rarely or never covered

[Buster Brown]

Good Lord!! I couldn't even count the number of times I have played "inagadadavida" at different High Schools....WHen Butterfly came out with "Butterfly Bleu" we learned it - played it and blew every High School Kid away!!

 

[scootron]

I've been dying to cover this song most of my life. If only the rest of the band would step up to the plate.

We played Inside Looking Out a couple of times, but I will confess that we did the Animals' original version instead of the GFR. At our advanced ages, the vocalist just couldn't bring himself to sing about wanting to score some herb.

 

[JMacBass65]

A few off the top of my head that I have personally never seen a band cover...
Ebony Eyes - Bob Welch
Sweet City Woman - Stampeders
Fool In The Rain - Zeppelin
Into The Night - Benny Mardonis

I heard a bluegrass "ish" band do this a few weeks back. I think I have video of it on my phone, if I can sort out how to upload it, I will.

Edit to add - I looked on my phone, and it's not there, meaning it's on the one that was just replaced. So no vid.

 

[12BitSlab]

What about "This Boy" from The Beatles. Great song, easy to play, everyone has heard it. I've never heard it covered by any cover bands.

 

[prowla]

It could be argued that Carrie Underwood won American Idol on the strength of her cover of that exact song, very early in the season...

Seems to have had a bit of echo on it...

 

[Rebopmass]

Sometimes the songs have so much production and specialized sounds that a typical band can't duplicate the tune in a way that works. Some tunes work with all kinds of different instrumentation, but others require faithful reproduction to even work.

So the tune falls by the wayside. Check out A-Ha's "Take on Me" from the 80's. Very few people can pull off those vocals and not all have the synth sound or chops to make the song work. So I've never seen it covered live locally.

Did this way back when i could sing most of it lol with keys
Once in while we pull it out with giitars now 25 years later

 

[Rebopmass]

True that different parts of the world have different hits. Even the same artist will release a song in one country and a different song in another. One of my favorite bands is Thin Lizzy and in the US only the Jailbreak album was commercially successful for them. So when I want to play a TL song in a band it is always the boys are back in town. Not that I do not like that song but there are so many other songs that I would much rather play. Very rarely will other musicians learn off an 'odd' song that was not a hit in their area. Shame really as I love hearing bands cover songs that are not the same ole thing.

Rebopmass has it great that they just play what they like. IME that is rare. I also feel that by doing that and having fun with your covers that translates to the audience better. It does to me.

 

[MonetBass]

A few tracks my former band did that I rarely heard other bands do (at least at the time):
"True Faith", New Order
"Jerkin' Back N' Forth", Devo
"Turning Japanese", The Vapors
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", The Police
"Send Me An Angel", Real Life
"Head Over Heels", The Go-Gos
"Mexican Radio", Wall Of Voodoo

 

[Rebopmass]

Ooops meant to say yeah im a huge 80s fanatic. Id love to blast some Smiths, The Cure Joy Divsion Sex Pisgols Clash Husker du but not a big audience for it. But we mostly pick songs that were popular.
Weve also done 99 Red Balloons, Beat It, You Spin Me Round, Do Ya , Billy Jean, Im very lucky to be with 3 good singers and musicians who are all kind of on the same page. We try to find unique stuff other bands wouldnt try. And we are versatile as we can go from Ozzie Scorpions Neal Young Grethen Wilson The Beatles to the 80s stuff which along with pop punk just seems to fit us.

Anothe cool one we do that I love playing is Middle of the Road from the Pretenders. Song just kicks butt although we sound weird doing the woah woah parts but oh well.
Another cool one we have worked on but never rinished is Africa from Toto. No keys just guitar and bass.

Id say go for it if you really like a tune and its danceable and recognizable people will enjoy it. I should also not im a huge DuranDuran fan and Inxs and love to play Dont Change and Hungry Like the Wolf.
Im rambling but another cool song we did for a while was Dr Love from Kiss. People loved it

 

[Rebopmass]

A few tracks my former band did that I rarely heard other bands do (at least at the time):
"True Faith", New Order
"Jerkin' Back N' Forth", Devo
"Turning Japanese", The Vapors
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", The Police
"Send Me An Angel", Real Life
"Head Over Heels", The Go-Gos
"Mexican Radio", Wall Of Voodoo

We just started working on Kirsten Dunst version of Turning Japanese lol. Great list id love to do Mexican Radio. Cause i wish I was in Tijuana eating bbqed iguana lol. Sweet

 

[Rebopmass]

Another great song to rock out but yet is danceable is Hot Stuff from Donna Summer

 

[MegaSwing]

<snip>i wish I was in Tijuana eating bbqed iguana lol. Sweet

Is that a thing?

 

[DWBass]

Has anybody here covered Shai's "If I Ever Fall In Love"?



It was huge back then, but seems to be almost forgotten today, plus the vocal harmonies would make it difficult to cover. The early 90s had quite a bit of stuff like this.

I hated this song.

 

[MegaSwing]

Here's one that I think deserves much greater appreciation. J. Guitar Watson was excellent and hugely funny.

 

[MegaSwing]

If we may get esoteric for a moment, this is one of the all-time great Northern Soul songs in England. I remember my older brother giving me this 45 when I was about 7 or 8 years old. Evidently, someone liked it in Baltimore, MD, USA for a few minutes. Goodness, how I love the Internet!

 

[tpa]

... Another cool one we do that I love playing is Middle of the Road from the Pretenders....

From Learning to Crawl Thumbelina is actually on my wish list. Many good hits from Schoolboys in Disgrace and Sleepwalker are rarely covered or reinterpreted. Wether these are classics or not I dont know.

 

[MegaSwing]

Manfred Mann's version of Do Wah Diddy Diddy is actually a cover. It was originally done by The Exciters and written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich.

Yes. But how many people know that? Moreover, what did Manfred Mann write? There are many similar examples in popular music history.

 

[MegaSwing]

This is a TRULY great song. Sting owes a LOT to it.

 

[getrhythm]

Well, in the Cult Classic world it has been a huge classic hit since the late 60s... The Iliad, by Ed Sanders (also longtime member of The Fugs). To my knowledge, it's never been covered.

Ha! I've played along with the LP myself, but not with others.

 

[Richland123]