Cover songs that are better than the originals.

Jerry Lee Lewis (of all people) does a cover of Over the Rainbow, which is not as good as Garland, and is obviously more masculine, but I like it.

https://youtu.be/XEu28N2TINo

I do like the Eva Cassidy version. But, I still like Garland's best.

Since we’re discussing American icons like Over the Rainbow, I’ll throw in this "cover" of Moon River. This is actually the "demo" recording with Mancini playing the piano and Mercer singing.

I have it on an Oxford American Southern Music CD Sampler.

To me it blows all the others away.

https://youtu.be/MKnZ174_kWk

Gary Clark, Jr.'s cover of Hendrix's Third Stone from the Sun.

If you like blues based rock, a little R&B, occasional heavy guitars all mixed together you should check Clark out. He's the real deal.

For me Shout by Otis Day and the Knights (Lloyd Williams) is one of the greatest covers of all time. The original Isley Brothers version is really good. Our local oldies station plays it all the time. But the Animal House version just adds so much to it that I have a hard time hearing it any other way.

I'll admit, the Animal House version has all the associated coolness of the movie associated with it including the impeccable placement of the song within the movie. 

I have to say, I do not care for the Joe Cocker version of "A Little Help from My Friends.

I also prefer the CCR version of Proud Mary. I like watching Tina perform it but still think the CCR version is a lot better.

I suspect I'm the odd man out on these two.

Lots of good stuff here. But it seems like we're getting into some esoteric stuff in regard to some covering musicians.

Obviously music is a matter of taste and it is going to be common for someone to hear a cover by a band or artist and like the cover better than the original but other than that there isn't much to support the cover being better than the original. My example of Jerry Lee Lewis doing "Over the Rainbow". That pretty much just comes down to me since not many people have ever heard Lewis's cover of that song including Wikipedia.

So maybe we should narrow the field and rather than saying covers that are better than the original or that eclipsed the original, maybe we should say covers that are better than AND have eclipsed the original in terms of critical reception, sales, popularity etc.

I think the "AND" is important because there are notable covers that eclipsed the original but are still pretty awful..."The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by Joan Baez being a prime example. She made it a hit song but she also made it an awful song.

I figured someone would say that. It was the most popular rendition after all. And yes, it does all come down to opinion so there are no right or wrong answers. 

My take on that particular song is that she polished a song that, by its nature and lyrics, was intended to be rough around the edges. That smooth polished performance is incongruous with the content.

Also, Baez singing in a voice that is so feminine does not fit either. I don't have a problem with the gender reversal per se. For instance, on Raising Sand I like Krauss singing "Through the Morning, Through the Night."

Maybe if Janice Joplin had done "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" I would have liked it better. It surely would not have been over polished or over produced.

But finally, what really blows it for me is that Baez makes the song over sentimental, almost saccharine. Levon Helms does not. His delivery has pathos and emotion without being sentimental.

Anyway, that's my take. It isn't any more valid than anyone else's.

I often initially prefer which ever version I hear first and am most familiar with. The Baez version of "The Night....." was the first version I heard of that song. It got a lot of radio air time. The Band's version got zero air time. The first time I heard the Band version was in high school home room where our nutty teacher was trying to convince us all that the Band was the best band of all time. I hated the Band version of the song. But that only lasted until I got into the Band. After that I'd turn the radio off if the Baez version came on.

I have never seen that footage and in my youth and ignorance probably would have flipped to another channel when they were on SNL. That's right about the time my homeroom teacher was trying to improve the tastes of a room full of Philistines, preppies and Saturday Night Fever wannabes who thought he was nuts. For me it was all Zep, Who, Kinks, etc.

I will see if I can find that footage on YouTube. Would love to see it.

bdp24, I'm very jealous. Also surprised you have any hearing left.

I saw Foreigner in the early 80's. So-so show but painfully loud. Ears rang for 12 full days afterwards. 

I prefer the SNL/Belushi version of the Joe Cocker version of With a Little Help from My Friends. Its on youtube. Awesome.

robto, Led Zeppelin covers a bit of "That's All Right Momma" and "Mess of the Blues" on one of their BBC live recordings. It is fantastic.

mitchagain, for me the CCR version of Heard It Through The Grapevine and even Susie Q are not my favorites and I am a big CCR fan. They aren't off-putting but I just don't think they eclipse the originals.

Better than the Beach Boys???

I heard the original of "Sea of Love" (Phil Phillips) today on a juke box. I like the Honey Dripper's (Robert Plant) better but it is a really a toss up.