MUSIC & POP
When the Originals Were Better Than Their Famous Covers
There’s often a good reason a cover is more successful but sometimes it’s just the artist is more famous
Artists often manage to find something new and better inside an original song. Think All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, Twist and Shout from the Beatles or Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.
Sometimes, though, an inferior cover gains success over a far better original thanks entirely to it being released by a more well-known star.
Sailing by Rod Stewart / The Sutherland Brothers
Google Sailing from the UK and the first result you’ll get is Sailing by Rod Stewart. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, it was №1 around the rest of the world.
Rod’s version was also used as the theme tune to a major BBC documentary about the much-loved British aircraft carrier Ark Royal’s final voyage.
Sailing cemented Stewart’s departure from serious folk-rock and blues artist to mainstream commercial pop star.
The song was first recorded by the Scottish folk-rock duo, The Sutherland Brothers, and written by Gavin Sutherland. The duo gained later success with Arms of Mary.
Where Stewart’s version was an anthemic ballad, the original was an atmospheric and moody folk song. A definite case of a major artist gaining success over a superior original version.
Valerie by Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson / The Zutons
Amy Whitehouse, with Mark Ronson, recorded the jazzy upbeat hit Valerie in 2007. The two artists were riding high and had worldwide success with the single.
The video is notable for Amy Whinehouse being sadly unavailable for the video due to her descent into addiction. Ronson worked her absence into the video and used a number of singers to mime in an apparently impromptu audition.
Valerie was initially a 2006 UK success for Liverpool band The Zutons and written by lead singer Dave McCabe.
And as an indie and dad-rock aficionado, the original slower, rockier style is so much better. In my honest opinion.
Killing Me Softly by Robert Flack, The Fugees / Lori Lieberman
Think Killing Me Softly and immediately you think of Roberta Flack or the later cover of a cover by The Fugees. They are both great versions.
The original version was by Lori Lieberman, an American singer who accompanies herself on piano and guitar.
Her version is more simple, folkier and more tender than the famous versions. And for me, it’s simply beautiful. The original was best.
Tainted Love by Soft Cell / Gloria Jones
Soft Cell were massive in the ’80s UK synthpop dance scene along with other acts such as The Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and the original incarnation of Depeche Mode.
Disco was a big thing at the time and an obscure 1964 song called Tainted Love by Gloria Jones was a favourite in the UK’s dance halls.
This is exactly how Soft Cell came to know and eventually record it.
Soft Cell’s cover is excellent. Better still is the original 1965 version by a then-unknown Gloria Jones. Soft Cell used much of the original beat and style but the Motown feel and vocal can’t be beaten.
It was only the B-side to a commercial failure and remained obscure until picked up in the ’80s in the UK. Due to its popularity, Jones re-recorded it but without success until later when Soft Cell sailed in on the synthpop wave.
Red Red Wine by UB40 / Neil Diamond
I never understood the popularity of UB40. Named after the government card given to an unemployed person in the UK, this band came from England’s second city, Birmingham.
I wince at the faux West Indian accents of the two lead singers and their atrocious dance moves.
I was in the minority because their 1983 reggae cover of Neil Diamond’s 1967 album track was a number one hit around the world.
Neil Diamond has the benefit of having a great voice and actually singing in his own accent. He doesn’t do awful dance moves either.
UB40 were hot in the ’80s, riding on a wave of English groups with political statements to make. Neil Diamond was just a brilliant artist which is all you want really.
Fire by The Pointer Sisters / Bruce Springsteen
Fire was a major hit for The Pointer Sisters around the world. They recorded it after hearing a recording of the track sung by Bruce Springsteen and it became their first-ever international success.
The girl group changed the perspective of the lyrics from the driver of the car in Springsteen’s version to that of the female passenger. Nevertheless, it’s a great version.
Springsteen left the original version of Fire off the album, Darkness On The Edge of Town. He liked the song but thought it was unrepresentative of the mood of the album. Despite this, he played it live on the Darkness tours.
The studio version eventually surfaced on The Promise, a double album of outtakes from the Darkness sessions. Bruce brings more depth and passion to his original — when doesn’t he? It’s a pared-down, rockier, grittier version and miles ahead of the Pointers’ cover.
Take a listen to this and you’ll know exactly what I mean. Or is my dad-rock bias kicking in again?
When the originals are better
Do you have any examples of other originals that were far better versions but never had the same success as the cover?
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And here’s an article about cover versions you may not have known were covers: