Had a revelation this morning while listening to a HonkyTonk playlist on Spotify that Jerry Reed originally made Amos Moses. For YEARS I just thought it was a Primus song as it has that vibe Les Claypool puts out.
Another for me was Astronomy Domine by Pink Floyd. I originally heard it on Headbangers Ball by Voivod and had no idea it was a cover. A few years later I discovered that it was a cover and to this day Pink Floyd and Voivod are two of my favorite bands.
So, What songs did you surprisingly find out were covers some time after hearing the song by the cover artist?
The Lion Sleeps Tonight has been covered so many times that the Disney version sung by Nathan Lane (Timon) and Ernie Sabella (Pumbaa) in the original Lion King movie is essentially a cover of a cover.
Funily enough, after the movie’s release, they released a new version of the cover with the female vocals of Lebo M alongside the other two.
Got sued for the whole thing, but it ended up as you’d expect with Disney.
Another one is Tainted Love by Soft Cell, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in '64. My mind’s blowing a little bit because because Soft Cell’s version was released in '81, which means it was covered less than 20 years later and their version was released over 40 years ago. Don’t know why, but that seems fucking wild to me.
Like, the time between the original and cover compared to how long the cover has been around.
For some reason I thought the original was older.
Little bit of pop trivia for you…
The version that was covered by Tight Fit that was an 80s one hit wonder in the UK, was produced by Tim Friese-Greene.
He also produced “She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby and was also a co-writer, producer and player on Talk Talk’s final three albums!
A bit more history: Gloria Jones’ version of Tainted Love was big on the Northern Soul underground dance scene in the industrial cities in the north of England in the late 60s/early 70s. Marc Almond knew it from there. Northern Soul DJs sought out overlooked gems and gave new life to a particular style of older songs from northern industrial cities in the US ❤️