I Heard the Cover Version First

[Winston Legthigh]

Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven before Spirit's Taurus.

[Lammycat]

Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven before Spirit's Taurus.

Ha!

 

Hendrix' "Hey Joe" before The Leaves.

"Louie, Louie" by The Kingsmen before whoever that dude was that wrote the original

Those Vaselines tunes after I'd heard Nirvana do them ("Son of a Gun," "Molly's Lips," "Jesus Wants Me for a Sun Beam")

A few of those Elizabeth Cotton tunes after I'd heard the GD do therm ("Babe, It Ain't No Lie," etc.

[Winston Legthigh]

I learned something new today!

 

Yeah, Green Day definitely has their share of plundering. I wonder how they've avoided lawsuits. Here's another one:

 

Their "Maria" is a photocopy of The Avengers (a seminal Bay Area punk band, so Green Day definitely would have been aware of them) Thin White Line,

[Lammycat]

I remember I heard The Clash do "I Fought the Law" before whoever wrote/sang the original.

[Winston Legthigh]

Ha!

 

Those Vaselines tunes after I'd heard Nirvana do them ("Son of a Gun," "Molly's Lips," "Jesus Wants Me for a Sun Beam")

 

 

Pretty sure I heard Nirvana's version of Man Who Sold The World before Bowie. Definitely heard "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" before Leadbelly's.

 

Definitely heard every version of any song by Robert Johnson before hearing the original.

[tinnitus photography]

"These Days" came to me first via Barbara Manning, then Jackson Browne and then Nico. She also covered "Soul of Patrick Lee" from John Cale, whose version I'd not heard.

 

REM has a bunch... in addition to Pale Blue Eyes, Strange (from Wire) and "Academy Fight Song" by Burma.

 

I first became aware of Chrome via the Jesus Lizard, with their 7" called Chrome (basically "TV as Eyes" and "Abstract Nympho"

 

 

my brother had a Nugent record where he covered "I Want To Tell You," before i'd heard teh Beatles vesion.

 

 

 

tons more i am sure. 

put down the The Clash for "Police And Thieves" too.

[PopTodd]

I remember I heard The Clash do "I Fought the Law" before whoever wrote/sang the original.

Bobby Fuller Four.

And, by your post, I am assuming that you don't know anything else that Bobby Fuller did, either. That is something that you need to remedy immediately.

The Rhino "Best Of..." is a fantastic collection that is all-killer, no-filler. Seriously, do yourself a favor and check it out. I envy your discovery.

 

This is the version that you want of this album:

(Click the image for a link to the Amazon page where they're selling it.)

 

And here is one of the fantastic songs on there:

[jff]

Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) - I heard the Jerry Garcia Band version before Dylan's original.

 

Mr. Tambourine Man - I heard the Byrds before Dylan.

 

I Can't Stand It - I heard Five Eight's version before the Velvet Underground.

 

Tainted Love - Like everyone of my generation, I heard Soft Cell before Gloria Jones.

[Lammycat]

Bobby Fuller Four.

And, by your post, I am assuming that you don't know anything else that Bobby Fuller did, either. That is something that you need to remedy immediately.

The Rhino "Best Of..." is a fantastic collection that is all-killer, no-filler. Seriously, do yourself a favor and check it out. I envy your discovery.

 

Will do! Cool.

[tinnitus photography]

Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) - I heard the Jerry Garcia Band version before Dylan's original.

 

Mr. Tambourine Man - I heard the Byrds before Dylan.

 

I Can't Stand It - I heard Five Eight's version before the Velvet Underground.

 

Tainted Love - Like everyone of my generation, I heard Soft Cell before Gloria Jones.

there's also this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtkGjoRrc9o

i can't recall, but i might have heard Sebadoh's cover of "Hammers and Sickles" before the Minutemen's.

[worldrecordplayer]

I remember I heard The Clash do "I Fought the Law" before whoever wrote/sang the original.

Same.

 

Add to my list, I knew Boogie On Reggae Woman from seeing Jerry Garcia and Merle Saunders many times in the early-mid '70"s. It wasn't until years later I learned that's a Stevie Wonder song. Most likely a bunch of Phish heads out there who heard that song first at a Phish show. 

[Lammycat]

Same.

 

Add to my list, I knew Boogie On Reggae Woman from seeing Jerry Garcia and Merle Saunders many times in the early-mid '70"s. It wasn't until years later I learned that's a Stevie Wonder song. Most likely a bunch of Phish heads out there who heard that song first at a Phish show. 

Similarly, I saw JGB do "Dear Prudence" in '81 or '82 before I ever heard the Beatles do it (at least to my memory at the time) and I thought I had heard the entire White Album at the time!

[KevinG]

I Was Walking with a Ghost - Cover by The White Stripes; Original by Tegan and Sara

First We Take Manhattan - Cover by REM; Original by Leonard Cohen

Hallelujah - Cover by Jeff Buckley; Original by Leonard Cohen

[tinnitus photography]

 

Add to my list, I knew Boogie On Reggae Woman from seeing Jerry Garcia and Merle Saunders many times in the early-mid '70"s. It wasn't until years later I learned that's a Stevie Wonder song. 

 

i had no idea that Coolio ripped "Gangsta's Paradise" from Stevie until a few years ago.

Camper Van Beethoven's version of "I Love Her All The Time" before Sonic Youth's.

[Lammycat]

Or "Pictures of Matchstick Men."

[KevinG]

Or "Pictures of Matchstick Men."

 

score, forgot about that one.  

[howdjadoo]

Todd,how about this gem
 
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdvzELKEmRE

[Doug C]

"I Fought the Law" is originally a Crickets song written by Sonny Curtis. The hell, ya'll? 

[jff]

Walking the Cow - fIREHOSE. Heard before the Daniel Johnson original.

 

Memories Can't Wait - Living Colour. Heard before the Talking Heads original.

 

Young Man Blues - The Who. Heard before the Mose Allison original.

[Winston Legthigh]

"I Fought the Law" is originally a Crickets song written by Sonny Curtis. The hell, ya'll? 

dammit

[Oil Can Boyd]

First one I remember is being shocked to discover that Signed Sealed Delivered was not a Peter Frampton original but that Stevie Wonder did it first.

 

I saw Jerry Garcia cover Tangled Up In Blue.  I  bought Blood on the Tracks the next day and it has remained one of my favorite albums ever since

 

Feelies covering Mannequin (Wire)

 

Replacements covering Another Girl Another Planet (The Only Ones), Iron Man (Sabbath), and Black Diamond (KISS)

 

REM covering Crazy (Pylon)

 

Bangles covering September Gurls (Big Star)

[Winston Legthigh]

heard Talking Heads' Take Me To The River before Rev. Al Green's. 

[Lammycat]

 

 

REM covering Crazy (Pylon)

 

 

I saw Pylon open for REM on the Green tour in Roanoke, VA. Still know very little about them.

[jff]

Every cover song on the fIREHOSE Live Totem Pole EP. (Sophisticated Bitch - Public Enemy, Slack Motherfucker - Superchunk, The Red and the Black - BOC, Revolution (Part Two) - Butthole Surfers...still haven't heard the original, Mannequin - Wire)

[tinnitus photography]

Wire is one of the best bands. 


I think i heard Thelonious Monster's "For My Lover" before the Tracy Chapman version.


also, Husker Du's version of "Sunshine Superman" before Donovan's.