Exquisitely Awful Cover Songs

[Armpit_licker]

Has anyone ever heard Frank Sinatra's cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson"? The song cracks me up every time -- the dumb swagger of the orchestra, the ice cubes tinkling in Frank's rum and Coke, the vulgar new lyrics, etc. I always wondered, did Frank do it to piss S & G off, or was he truly going for something artistic? Here are the altered lyrics:

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jilly loves you more than you will know
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Oh bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey, hey, hey (hey, hey, hey; hey, hey, hey)

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our file
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home

The PTA, Mrs. Robinson
Won't OK the way you do your thing
Ding, ding, ding
And you'll get yours, Mrs. Robinson
Foolin' with that young stuff like you do
Boo, hoo, hoo; woo, woo, woo

So how's your bird, Mrs. Robinson
"Dandy", Mrs. Robinson you'd say
Hey, hey, hey
Well have you heard, Mrs. Robinson
Mine is fine as wine, and I should know
Ho, ho, ho

Any other cover versions that are so awful/clueless that you actually enjoy them?

 

[dskodj]

I can say just about every cover made of 70s and 80s tracks by these teenie pop people of today really suck...but cant say I like em..makes me sick LOL. But if ya wanna know a whole entire LP of covers thats so bad its funny..listen to Barry Manilow's "Summer Of 78" album that came out in 1996/97..thats some god awful but enjoying stuff all at the same time😀

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Yo, Pit, if you think Mrs. Robinson was bad, well, you haven't lived till you've heard The Big F's version of 'Bad Bad Leroy Brown'. Many of the Frank Sinatra covers from this period are, in their own way, equally as funny as anything Weird Al Yankovic ever released.

Awful covers? Where do you start? Well, first, here's one in reverse: the original version of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler is so horrendous that whoever redid it a couple of years ago actually improved on it.

Linda Ronstadt made a living back in the day doing covers of Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison and Shirley Ellis. In retrospect, it's given me a very low opinion of her, since it was the era of the singer-songwriter. Whenever those 70s rock and roll covers of hers come on the radio, it's reach for the button time. Her version of Little Anthony and the Imperials' 'It's So Bad' and Smokey's 'Ooh Baby Baby' are truly grotesque.

The current cover of the Cure's 'Love Song' is basically toilet paper. So are most of the covers I hear now, and don't get me started on digital sampling!

In deference to the holiday season, ALLLLLLLL versions of 'Silver Bells', but the one by Neil Diamond in particular, suck. Pure and simple.

 

[Dr. Bill Kobb]

I think it was the Wallflowers who had the audacity to cover Bowie's Heroes. There's a special pit in Corporate Rock Hell reserved for them.

Of course, Micheal Bolton will be joining them there, with a red-hot pitchfork up the wazoo for his blasphemous cover of Dock of the Bay.

And then...

Well, and then there's this.

 

[ElectricEye72]

Van Halen covering "Dancin in the Streets" Bad song to begin with not even Eddie could make it work!

 

[featherfingers]

My vote goes for Chubby Checker's version of "The Twist", originally performed by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters...not because the song is terrible but because of Chubby Checker's massive ego! If you play both versions back to back, you'd think both singers were Hank Ballard. Chubby Checker basically did a note for note impersonation of Hank Ballard, then he goes on to say that he (Chubby) was The Beatles' biggest influence. That's like the Osmonds saying they paved the way for U2 and Van Halen.

In keeping with the spirit of this thread, I believe UB40 did a completely crappy job of covering Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love With You". Elvis' version has a nice melody and it's sung beautifully...UB40, however, make it sound pretty monotonous and mechanical. Play them back to back and you'll see what I mean.

 

[shooter]

Marilyn Manson's cover of the Eurythmic's Sweet Dreams..'nuff said!

 

[featherfingers]

I've just thought of another... "Hooked On A Feeling", by Blue Swede. Originally performed by B.J. Thomas, Blue Swede's version is fantastic...except for the "Hooga-chaka hooga-hooga" chant at the beginning. What purpose did that serve except to make the makers of ear plugs richer! I admit, after thirty years I've grown quite fond of the song, but I still plug up my ears with my fingers and yell 'la-la-la-la-la-la-la' while that hooga-chaka-ing is going on.

 

[HuskyMarcher]

Last night I was watching Saturday Night Live and the Scissor Sisters were the musical guest. They did their single first, and I wondered if they'd show up again doing Comfortably Numb. They did, and it was AGONIZING. They turned a slow, brooding song about a man's descent into madness into a creepy disco dance tune. Syd Barrett must have been rolling in his grave. I was hoping Roger Waters would burst out and smack all the members of that band. And the cover hit big on the UK charts too. I must wonder, how?

 

[Dave2112]

There's a new cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" done by some Macy-Gray-on-Acid sort of chick who not only makes the worst cover of that song ever...but quite possibly the worst cover of anything...ever.

Let's see...there's any one of the 17 or so "crossover" covers that the Dixie Chicks have built thier "career" on. Note to country artists...write your own crap and leave rock alone, ok? I actually heard a country cover of Journey's "Faithfully" that was so god-awful that I thought it had to be a joke.

The current cover of Supertramp's "Give A Little Bit" by the Goo Goo Dolls pretty much blows, too. 😎

 

[featherfingers]

Syd Barrett must have been rolling in his grave.

Syd Barrett died? How did that get past me, Rock's Grim Reaper! I usually hear about these things long before anyone else does. I know he lived life as a recluse and was overcoming some of his mental problems.

Anyway, someone told me last night about that disco version of "Comfortably Numb" and my reaction to that news made me rather uncomfortably numb. What's next, a rap version of "Stairway To Heaven"?

 

[steph]

Britney Spears horrendous cover of Bobby Brown's "My Perrogative"! Please, somebody hand me a bucket...What the hell does she think she has in common with a black male from Southie with a crack habit and kids with five different mothers??? 🙄

And PS, the tune wasn't that good to begin with, why bother if you're going to make something lousy even worse?

XOXO

 

[featherfingers]

I believe that if something is perfect the way it is...then leave it the hell alone! There was a song called "Without You", originally performed by Badfinger, whose members wrote the song. A pleasant enough song by that Beatle-esque band, but when Harry Nillson covered that song...it was simply gorgeous beyond compare! How beautifully sung...then Mariah Carey came along and massacred it. Mariah Carey's fans don't realize that when she sings, she's merely showing off. She doesn't put her heart into the song. Nilsson made me believe he was truly heartbroken about losing the lady he was singing to...Mariah sounds like she's thinking, "Ooh, my fans will love the vocal acrobatics I'm doing." Not one ounce of soul in her performance.

 

[TMF Jeff]

I'd vote for Madonna's version of American Pie, I thought it was absolutely agonizing, like she completely missed the point of the original song.

Although I have to say, I didn't hate the Scissor Sisters version of Comfortably Numb the way I should have. Not that it was a good version of the song as such, but it was an incredibly competent job of converting it to disco, which I'd have said couldn't be done.

 

[dskodj]

Ive heard that horrable discohouse version of Floyd. First off i'll say, it made me sick for 2 reasons....1, as much as I love disco and dance music...ya dont fuck with Floyd...and 2, the electro synth intro to the song was ripped off (aka "sampled" as todays people say..yea right!) from a deep disco classic from 1979 called "Exalt Exalt" by Azoto. Sooo, these people do a rip off and horrable cover in one shot!

Also, Syd is not dead..and also Syd had nothing to do with "Numb" other than insperation as he was gone from the group nearly 10 years before "The Wall" even came about. I think Waters & Gilmore shoulda not let them destroy that but...I think the 2 of them are still at war LOL

 

[Goatboy]

Fred Durst doing his hatchet job on "Wish You Were Here." A song so horrible, the DJ on my local station actually complained live on the air that she was forced to play it by her program director.

 

[dskodj]

Oh my, I havent heard that! That sounds very bad alone with the artist (if ya wanna call him that) doing it. Whats with everyone screwin up Floyd now days anyway?

 

[TklDuo-Drew]

What's next, a rap version of "Stairway To Heaven"? [/B][/QUOTE]


I don't remember who the group was, and it didn't even chart.....but there was a disco version of "Stairway to Heaven" recorded back in the late 70s/early 80s.


Equally horrible, and I heard this one, Don Henley redid his "All She Wants to Do is Dance" as a rap song.😕



Drew

 

[dskodj]

The disco "Stairway To Heaven" was by The Wonderland Band in 1979 (surprised someone knew of this as it didnt even make club play! very rare stuff) and yes..very horrable it was..They were a strict disco only group (aka no radio stuff). Sad shame they did such a piece o shit like that and destroyed Zep when right before that LP they did some real great original disco stuff that was hot in the clubs.

 

[MAJ0718]

I would say ANYTHING covered by Rod Stewart, particularly The Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart Of Mine" is a disaster to my ears. Also Limp Bizkit's hatchet job on George Michael's "Faith.

 

[BaneDaemon]

I'd probably have to say Kelly Osbourne's cover of "Papa Don't Preach". I've nothing against the Osbournes, I think their show can be amusing at times... but I don't like the song.

 

[TklDuo-Drew]

How about the "king of bad cover versions":

Micheal Bolton

This jackass has been destroying some of the greatest R and B songs ever made. So has his evil counterpart, Micheal McDonald.




Drew

 

[natural tickler]

The answer is simple, it has to be Crash Test Dummies's God Shuffled His Feet. Terrible art design


btw steph, My Perrogative was a hit. Saw the video the other day. Brings back memories of '88

 

[steph]

I know honey~I used to be a huge New Edition fan~did I ever tell you I met them as a kid (I lived in Boston) and they were a struggling group, not yet famous 😀

XOXO

 

[natural tickler]

No, I didn't know that. I've seen them a few times when they came to Chicago😀