What song has got the best ratio of good versions of it?

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Gah well you know whhat I mean. Like, there might be some bad cover versions but not many. The limit-case being a song with NO bad versions of it.

I offer you, dear readers, "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small, covered amazingly by both Shivaree and The Aural Exciters, and somewhat less-successfully by Lulu, although it's still pretty great.

"It's a Long Way to the Top (If Ya Wanna Rock and Roll)" does pretty well too, since the AC/DC and Motorhead versions are each more perfect than the other, but there must surely be a host of awful awful versions out there as well.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:43 (twenty-two years ago)

New "I haven't heard the Star Academy version of 'Lollipop' yet" answers!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I've never heard a bad version of "Dirty Water" by the Standelles. Of course, the only other versions I've heard of it were by the Inmates and a live version by Aerosmith, but it's a great song all around.

Bad Manners also tried their hand at "Lollipop".

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Alex I'm not sure I even know that song! Maybe it's like having met somebody and you forgot their name, but you'd recognize the photograph?

"Some Velvet Morning" might win the booby prize what with the Lydia Lunch/Nick Cave and Primal Scream attempts.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Then there was a Cradle of Filth version or something too.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

But wait, Thin White Rope did a great version. So ner.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Cole Porter's "Night and Day" is pretty hard to mess up, and I especially like the versions by Everything But the Girl and Esquivel. Also, covering "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott requires a certain level of competence, and I don't think I've ever heard it performed poorly.

For the OPPOSITE of the question posed, I have never, ever heard a good cover of "Academy Fight Song" by Mission of Burma.

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I might be alone in this, but I love all three charting versions of "You Keep Me Hanging On": Supremes, Vanilla Fudge, and Kim Wilde.

There's also "A Song for You," which scores at an 80% clip: good = Carpenters, Leon Russell, Dusty Springfield and Temptations; bad = Cher.

― Joseph McCombs, Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:57 (twenty-two years ago)

wasn't there a two cd set released last year (or was it the year before) solely devoted to versions of "Louie Louie?"

― tod (tod), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:58 (twenty-two years ago)

You'd know "Dirty Water" if you heard it, Tracer. The chorus: "Oh, Boston You're My Home!" Greatest, moronic garage punk riff EVER!

Firewater just did a cover of "Some Velvet Morning" as well. My reaction: meh!

"Paint In Black" has been covered too many times, and I've never heard a decent cover of "I Am the Walrus" by ye olde Beatles.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha OMG I just finally got Hanle y's thread title about Boston on ILE for the first time!! Me = moron.

Ernest maybe there's something about indie rock songs that makes them harder to cover?

Alex no one should ever do "I Am the Walrus" and that includes the Beatles.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 11 January 2004 19:00 (twenty-two years ago)

no one should ever do "I Am the Walrus" and that includes the Beatles.

POX: Worst Beatles Covers.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 11 January 2004 19:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I was under the impression you couldn't do a shitty version "Surrender" (I first heard the theory from Jim Greer in the SPIN Alternative Record Guide) but Marilyn Manson proved otherwise when he rang in the New Year innaa Cheap Trick stylee on MTV. It was so bad that you could actually hear someone off-screen comment on it (something like "well THAT was great") during a technical glitch where they didn't switch cameras but a bored-looking Daly thought they had.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 11 January 2004 19:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow. Marilyn Manson did "Surrender"? Yipes!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 11 January 2004 19:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Every New Years a band plays a different unannounced cover at midnight. One year it was No Doubt doing "It's The End Of The World (As We Know It)." I haven't seen any of them since Manson's.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 11 January 2004 19:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I remember the No Doubt one. I don't like that song nor do I particularly get excited about No Doubt.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 11 January 2004 19:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha OMG I just finally got Hanle y's thread title about Boston on ILE for the first time!! Me = moron.

Ya punk, it was MY thread title. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 19:15 (twenty-two years ago)

never heard a decent cover of "I Am the Walrus"

for shame, Alex: Foetus!

― Paul (scifisoul), Sunday, 11 January 2004 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

When You Were Mine has two good covers, by Ani DiFranco and Crooked Fingers.

― sym (shmuel), Sunday, 11 January 2004 21:04 (twenty-two years ago)

i've never heard a version of "outdoor miner" that i've out-and-out disliked, and there's a LOT of them, so that must count for something

― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:17 (twenty-two years ago)

for shame, Alex: Foetus!

Ack! Good point, Paul!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:18 (twenty-two years ago)

The only two possible answers to this question are "Whiskey in the Jar" and "The Mexican," obviously. Prove me wrong.

― chuck, Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:50 (twenty-two years ago)

"Train Kept a Rollin'" would also be way up there, I would imagine.

And "Morning Dew," obviously.

And "Jet Boy Jet Girl"/"Ca Plane Pour Moi" (same song) -- actually, these would probably be an easy third place, I'd imagine.

And "Ballroom Blitz," as I'm sure no one would argue otherwise.

And "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonight," perhaps.

And "Hey Joe" couldn't be MUCH lower than the top ten, right?

― chuck, Sunday, 11 January 2004 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I've never heard a version of "Baby, Please Don't Go" I didn't like. And I agree with Chuck (as usual) about most of his choices (tho I hated Krokus' "Ballroom Blitz"!)

Also, most Bo Diddley songs (or Willie Dixon songs w/Diddley beats) are difficult to screw up.

Yet another "Some Velvet Morning" cover everyone forgot: Vanilla Fudge's, probably the best thing they ever did (but I'm not going to sit through "The Beat Goes On" again just to find out for sure.)

― Scott Bloomfield, Monday, 12 January 2004 18:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Yet another "Some Velvet Morning" cover everyone forgot: Vanilla Fudge's, probably the best thing they ever did

it's great indeed but their "ticket to ride" and "season of the witch" were even better!

― jody (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:42 (twenty-two years ago)

There's a million versions of 'Softly as in a Morning Sunrise', and I haven't heard a bad one yet.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:44 (twenty-two years ago)

and speaking of: cathy berberian's "ticket to ride" is pretty funny, if you find that sort of thing pretty funny.

― jody (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:44 (twenty-two years ago)

i don't believe i've ever heard a less-than-awesome version of "i had too much to dream last night," but i'm sure i haven't heard all the existent versions.

― jody (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:46 (twenty-two years ago)

"Femme Fatale" is pretty hard to louse up.

― d.w., Monday, 12 January 2004 19:41 (twenty-two years ago)

never heard a "coedine" i didn't like. same w/ "strychnine".

― dan (dan), Monday, 12 January 2004 19:57 (twenty-two years ago)

wichita lineman?...possibly

― thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Monday, 12 January 2004 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Ca Plane Pour Moi by Thee Headcoatees is wonderful.

Also, I have heard nothing but good versions of Promised Land by Broooce, esp from Sleater-Kinney and Crooked Fingers.

― Gear! (Gear!), Monday, 12 January 2004 20:36 (twenty-two years ago)

"Dominator" to thread (or do remixes not count?)

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 12 January 2004 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Chuck beat me to the punch w/ 'Train Kept a Rollin', tho' the Motorhead versh is a little bit of a let-down

'My Funny Valentine'

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Monday, 12 January 2004 20:44 (twenty-two years ago)

"I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, CCR and the Slits are all amazing (never cared for the Gladys Knight version that started it all, though). Even more spectacular the fact that none of them really sound alike.

― Vic Funk, Monday, 12 January 2004 21:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Crimson y Clover?

― ModJ (ModJ), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 06:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"money (that's what i want)," including barrett strong, the beatles and the flying lizards.

but i think chuck wins with "ca plane pour moi/jet boy jet girl," which is clearly the most unfuckupable song in the history of rock and roll. it's practically designed to make bad bands sound like good bands, good bands sound like great bands, and great bands to explode into a million unrecognizable pieces.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I have never heard a bad version of "Little Red Book" maybe because all versions kind of sound the same?

― LiquidTide (LiquidTide), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

the toni basil version is a bit different -- and it's fantastic!

― america's first municipal lunatic asylum (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

wichita lineman?...possibly

There are a buncha really terrible ones. I think "By the Time I Get To Phoenix" has a better quality ratio.

― Colin Beckett (Colin Beckett), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:44 (twenty-two years ago)

"money (that's what i want)," including barrett strong, the beatles and the flying lizards.

And the good folks who gave us the Josie soundtrack < / 2000 >

― ModJ (ModJ), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 02:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Wire's "Map Reference blah blah"

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:07 (twenty-two years ago)

and the one of the best versions of "some velvet morning" is Slowdive's!

I didn't like the Primal Scream one too much.

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:15 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

Does anybody know who does that "Money (That's What I Want)" version where the woman speaks the lyrics instead of singing them? The band has an '80's sound to it...

Thanks!

― John Francis, Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)

The Flying Lizards.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:36 (twenty-one years ago)

"Body and Soul" (the standard....esp. Hawkins' and Art Tatum's versions)

"Train Kept A-Rollin'" x2

"Stop Breaking Down"

― PB, Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Beat Happening's "Indian Summer" has good verisons by Luna and Eugenious, but I can't remember if I like the original.

― nickn (nickn), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Indian Summer: OTM. The Spectrum version, though, is kind of bland - even though I'm a huge Kember fan.

― Steve Gertz (sgertz), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:28 (twenty-one years ago)

"different drum" somehow sounds better the more incompetent the version is, although the original is still great.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:36 (twenty-one years ago)

'Sweet Dreams'

- Don Gibson
- Patsy Cline
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Mighty Sam
- Bettye Swann
- Tommy McLain

All great. Not mad about the Faron Young version, but 6:1's not bad. Don't know other versions, though I'm sure there are lots.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:36 (twenty-one years ago)

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