By deep I mean with the most obscure original. I am not talking ‘all along the watch tower’ but things like Fever Ray’s cover of Vashti Bunyan’s song Here before
Fever Ray is relatively well known while Bunyan had very limited success
Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun was originally Robert Hazard’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Wow. Again, mind fucking blown
I had no idea. This slaps.
Harry Belafonte’s exuberent cover of “Day O (Banana Boat Song)” which was a hit in its time and re-popularized by the dinner scene in Beetlejuice.
The original is Jamaican folk/traditional and the first recording of it Eric Connor - Day O has a totally different tone to it. In the original, labouring on a banana plantation is as tiring and depressing as you’d think.
Whiskey In The Jar Song by Metallica, original is from
the Dubliners in 1969a traditional Irish song in the 1950s
Metallica might have been more influenced by the Thin Lizzy version. But the song is older than The Dubliners.
God Gave Rock and Roll To You was a hit for Kiss.
Original by Argent: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QsG5V-o6uxY&pp=ygUdZ29kIGdhdmUgcm9jayBhbmQgcm9sbCB0byB5b3U%3D
And I only knew the Wyld Stallyns version!
This cover by the Afghan Whigs of the song “Lost in the Supermarket” by The Clash is really good:
Dude, London Calling (the Clash album this song is from) sold over 5 million copies. They are in no way obscure.
Ah. Sorry.
For real, they’re The Only Band that Matters.
probably The Association’s cover of “Windy” by Ruthann Friedman (which she wrote about a guy, btw)
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Type O’s cover is so weird: really turns out on its ear
The Louis Prima Orchestra’s cover of “Whatta Ya Gonna Do?”, by Sunny Skylar. One of my favorite songs, a perfect blend of New Orleans and New York in the 40s. The link above is the only version I can find on the internet, which is instrumental. The version on the record I have has vocals and is cleaner. I hope somebody works to preserve Louis Prima’s catalog from the 40s digitally, there’s so much old music at risk of being lost!
Hard to pick one, but murder by death has quite the number of them… But them covering the 90s rnb classic ‘creep’ was a shock
Dax Riggs covering Bonnie Prince Billy’s Grand Dark Feeling of Emptiness
Bizarre Love Triangle. The original is some very bad pop music. New Years Day brought it not only to rock, but into being really good too.
Taste aside, some of y’all really need to learn the definition of obscure.
Meh, I saw this as an excuse to talk about something I wanted to
John Coltrane’s versions of Afro Blue. Very different from Mongo Santamaría’s original. I like both approaches, but Coltrane’s recordings of it were all just so powerful.
Probably The Man Who Sold the World covered by Midge Ure, which I find much better than Bowies original or the famous Nirvana cover.
Also really like Renegades cover by 36 Crazyfists.
Good song, but Bowie is not obscure.
Bowling For Soup covered 1985 as the original came from SR-71
I’m actually gobsmacked to hear 1985 isn’t a bowling for soup original, it’s a song I associate with them intrinsically
SR-71 ended up being a one hit wonder band and the singer ended up being a songwriter and producer, so I could see the song getting shopped around for a second chance.