The Fall - There's a Ghost in My House (1987)

The Fall - There's a Ghost in My House 

One song that many might not know was done earlier is Blue Hawaii which was a big hit for Elvis Presley from the movie.   Blue Hawaii had been done in 1937 by Bing Crosby from the movie Waikiki Wedding.    Elvis is my favorite as he he far more emotional and active.  Bing's original though is also great.    

Another brilliant recording that many might not know is a cover is At Last by Etta James.   The original was recorded by the Glenn Miller band in 1941 and used in the movie Sun Valley Serenade.    Its ok but Etta James really makes it work and takes it home.   

Willie Nelson had a big hit with Blue Eyes Crying in the rain from his Red Haired Stranger album.  This song was actually written in the 1940s by Fred Rose and recorded first by his publishing partner Roy Acuff who was a hugely popular country singer at the time.      Acuff's original is very busy and not really satisfying.   It was Hank Williams who sang it with the stark pared down arrangement that works so well and that's the version that inspired Willie Nelson's now classic  recording.    Acuff and Rose were Hank's publishers and Rose sometimes wrote songs with Hank Williams.  

"Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" *written in 1934 by J. Hanley. This fox trot standard has been recorded by several stars from J. Garland to F. Sinatra. The 62' doowop-pop version by the Furys is the cover that got a lot of radio play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CobdKWNzSbw&ab_channel=AndersonSchmitt

One of the most popular songs by the Grateful Dead is Ripple.   What most Dead fans dont realize is that Ripple is cribbed from the song Any Dream Will Do that was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice back in 1968 as part of a show they composed for a high school theater group.    Also cribbed from Any Dream Will Do is the very popular hymn "Because He Lives" .    Rice and LLoyd Webber are not very litigious  and let it go as they were far too busy working on their next show with which they had some success.   

The original recording of Any Dream Will do was by Malcom Parry in a 1969 recording.   Donnie Osmond, Jason Donovan, and Lee Mead all played Joseph on stage and had very popular recordings of the song with Jason Donovan's being the most popular, to the point that many don't realize that it was recorded much earlier.    

TIMELESS: A Hank Williams Tribute     Various artists (Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Keb' Mo', Beck, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Hank Williams III, Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams and Johnny Cash) give their interpretations to his songs, while remaining faithful to the originals. I think its a terrific CD.

"Ballad of a Thin Man {Mr. Jones} * Bob Dylan {66}

uncut version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we37yX3zpKA&ab_channel=BobDylanVEVO

"Ballad of a Thin Man" * Grass Roots

sanitized version for AM radio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou5Nt-9tRro&ab_channel=LENALENAS

...Never knew this was a cover. Like the original too and the live video of them when older is very good. Hootie & the Blowfish liked this Canadian band and they covered this song a lot in live shows and then recorded it. One time when doing a show in Canada they brought in 54-50 as the opener. When 54-40 did "I Go Blind", the Hootie's road manager tried to get them off the stage because he thought the band was trying to do the Hootie's song. Never knew of this band, am starting to listen to their stuff.

"I Go Blind" - original by 54-40 - (87) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkCRX8SHw2o 

    - Live later - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTdFCXKulp0 

Cover 

  "I Go Blind"  - Hootie & the Blowfish (94)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnqoKQpLan8

Whiter Shade Of Pale - Annie Lennox, Procol Harum cover

https://youtu.be/VZqPoriYXho

On my playlist of favorite covers.