On That Note - Covers, From Obsurity to Hit
- Thread starter MeanDean
- Start date
So it seems appropriate that the first 'hit' version. Produced by Bert Berns needs to be posted
I had no idea Buddy Holly wrote "I Fought the Law". Every time I hear it, I think "what a great song". I listen to The Clash version fairly often, but recently heard the BFF version on the radio for the first time in a long time, and there version may be the best.
This came to mind out of the blue:
At least a dozen others recorded it, too, but Dr. Hook version was my first exposure, IIRC. Ah, good ol' '70s!
At least a dozen others recorded it, too, but Dr. Hook version was my first exposure, IIRC. Ah, good ol' '70s!
Written by Sonny Curtis. A friend of Buddy's from early days. Worked with Holly on some of the Decca sessions before he was dropped by the label and before there were Crickets hits. He also wrote Rock Around With Ollie Vee during this period.
Sonny then joined the Crickets after Holly's death, at which time the song was recorded by a Holly-less Crickets
Here's Rock Around With Ollie Vee
Those 2 versions side-by-side (or back-to-back?) demonstrate how B-Wilson's ability as an arranger (and Beach Boys harmonies of course) can change complexion of even a traditional song. It truly "modernized" it (in context of mid-60s and the group's evolving sound).
Here's a version released the year after Kingston Trio's interpretation.
Alabama Song - The Doors
The original was a song commonly sung in European Cabarets. It was set to music by Kurt Weill the famous German composer who also wrote The Threepenny Opera which ironic enough included another song, "Mack the Knife", that would be arguably more covered by American musicians than it was in its original European cabaret version.
I am sure many of you are familiar with this popular Classic Rock tune from American front man Jim Morrison and The Doors. This song was covered by The Doors who got the idea to cover it from their keyboardist who happened to have a book of German Songs. Whereas the original used the themes of pleasures with materialism, The Doors cover became more and more symbolic of the vices that Morrison struggled with.
Bonus covers mentioned above.
Mack the Knife Original from The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill
Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
I should make a note to say that the originals that the covers were based on, were successful and well known, but such fame paled in comparison to the limelight enjoyed by their American covers.
The original was a song commonly sung in European Cabarets. It was set to music by Kurt Weill the famous German composer who also wrote The Threepenny Opera which ironic enough included another song, "Mack the Knife", that would be arguably more covered by American musicians than it was in its original European cabaret version.
I am sure many of you are familiar with this popular Classic Rock tune from American front man Jim Morrison and The Doors. This song was covered by The Doors who got the idea to cover it from their keyboardist who happened to have a book of German Songs. Whereas the original used the themes of pleasures with materialism, The Doors cover became more and more symbolic of the vices that Morrison struggled with.
Bonus covers mentioned above.
Mack the Knife Original from The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill
Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
I should make a note to say that the originals that the covers were based on, were successful and well known, but such fame paled in comparison to the limelight enjoyed by their American covers.
Shakin All Over probably wasn’t all that obscure, but different artists did better in different markets. All sound pretty good to me.
From Wikipedia:
“Shakin' All Over" is a song originally performed by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates.[1] The song was written by frontman Johnny Kidd, and his recording of it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in August 1960.[2] Kidd's original recording was not a hit outside of Europe, and in other parts of the world "Shakin' All Over" is much better known in versions by other artists. In 1964, a local band from Plattsburgh, N.Y. called the Twiliters recorded a live version of it. It did well in New England but did not chart nationally. The first North American cover of the song by The Guess Who was released in the spring of 1965 and reached #1 in Canada,[3] #22 in the US and #27 in Australia. In Australia, Normie Rowe's 1965 version reached #1 as a double A-side with "Que Sera Sera" and became one of the fbiggest-selling Australian singles of the decade. ...
The 1960 original by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates:
The 1965 version by The Guess Who, and more from Wikipedia:
The original recording was not a hit outside of Europe. Instead, "Shakin' All Over" gained fame in North America after the Canadian band The Guess Who covered it in 1965, and the following year it became a number one hit in Canada, and a number twenty-two hit in the US.[6] The Guess Who had previously been known as Chad Allan and the Expressions prior to the release of "Shakin' All Over", but the group's Canadian label (Quality Records) issued the record as by "Guess Who?", in an attempt to imply that the record might be by a British Invasion act. Although the recording artist was revealed to be Chad Allan and the Expressions a couple of months later, radio DJs continued to announce the artist as "Guess Who". The group subsequently permanently changed its name to The Guess Who, and went on to a long Top 40 career. ...
The Twiliters’ 1964 version:
A more recent version by Wanda Jackson and Jack White, and more about Wanda Jackson from a 2011 NY Times article:
Rockabilly Queen Prolongs her Party
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/arts/music/23wanda.html?pagewanted=all&referer=
From Wikipedia:
“Shakin' All Over" is a song originally performed by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates.[1] The song was written by frontman Johnny Kidd, and his recording of it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in August 1960.[2] Kidd's original recording was not a hit outside of Europe, and in other parts of the world "Shakin' All Over" is much better known in versions by other artists. In 1964, a local band from Plattsburgh, N.Y. called the Twiliters recorded a live version of it. It did well in New England but did not chart nationally. The first North American cover of the song by The Guess Who was released in the spring of 1965 and reached #1 in Canada,[3] #22 in the US and #27 in Australia. In Australia, Normie Rowe's 1965 version reached #1 as a double A-side with "Que Sera Sera" and became one of the fbiggest-selling Australian singles of the decade. ...
The 1960 original by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates:
The 1965 version by The Guess Who, and more from Wikipedia:
The original recording was not a hit outside of Europe. Instead, "Shakin' All Over" gained fame in North America after the Canadian band The Guess Who covered it in 1965, and the following year it became a number one hit in Canada, and a number twenty-two hit in the US.[6] The Guess Who had previously been known as Chad Allan and the Expressions prior to the release of "Shakin' All Over", but the group's Canadian label (Quality Records) issued the record as by "Guess Who?", in an attempt to imply that the record might be by a British Invasion act. Although the recording artist was revealed to be Chad Allan and the Expressions a couple of months later, radio DJs continued to announce the artist as "Guess Who". The group subsequently permanently changed its name to The Guess Who, and went on to a long Top 40 career. ...
The Twiliters’ 1964 version:
A more recent version by Wanda Jackson and Jack White, and more about Wanda Jackson from a 2011 NY Times article:
Rockabilly Queen Prolongs her Party
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/arts/music/23wanda.html?pagewanted=all&referer=
I really like the Slade versions as well. Definitely more of a rock vibe than the metal version. It's interesting that they were just too early for the US to embrace them.
The songs ended up being perfect for the glam metal, 80s, MTV video era in which Quiet Riot used them. I guess they get points for presentation and flash
I like the Slade version a lot. I'm sure it's partly because I've heard it far less often than Quiet Riot's cover. I agree that song adapted well for the metal/MTV period. No surprise it was a hit in that context.
