Song(s) that artist covered that became "go-to" version.

[bill5]

3 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

We are all different, James Taylor has always sounded like he's too bored to take a nap but sort of wants one. 

tbh that is one of the most bizarre statements about a musician I've ever heard. Agree to disagree, to say the least...as does pretty much the entire musical world, who not only consider him one of the greatest singer/songwriters ever, but one of the greatest live performers ever.  You don't get that rep from sounding "bored." 

 

[bill5]

3 hours ago, 16251 said:

I like reading opinion.

 

Here's one - Wichita Lineman - Glen Cambell or JT?

That all said, Glen Campbell. Nothing against JT's, but Campbell's version is IMO "the" version.

 

[HSS]

"When the Saints Go Marching In" by Louis Armstrong.  Several gospel versions of the song were recorded in the 1920s before Louis made it one of signature songs in 1938.  

 

"Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin, It had been recorded by several others before, including Frank Sinatra.

 

"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" by Willie Nelson.  It was written by Fred Rose and originally recorded by Roy Acuff.

 

"Mr. Bojangles" by Sammy Davis Jr.  It was originally written and recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker.

 

"Hot Nuts" by Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts Band.  It was originally recorded by Georgia White.

 

"Congo Square" by the Neville Brothers and Meters.  It was originally written and recorded by Sonny Landreth

 

FWIW... This thread has to the potential to become long.

[bill5]

1 hour ago, Al Quinn said:

I love how EWF covered this Beatles song

 

 

Outstanding call. I don't have a fav between the two as they're very different and if there's one thing I have a lot of respect for, it's a band taking a great song and doing it very different...and it's still great, in a diff way.  

 

 

[nursers]

Arguably the go-to version for me at present, I like the arrangement as it's a bit rockier.

 

 

 

[o0Ampy0o]

1 hour ago, S_Gould said:

o0Ampy0o said:

 

"This isn't that bad, as much as it is famous husband's wife needing recognition."

 Really? You're gonna be that passive/aggressive? Her husband has sold more movie tickets, so her talent is questionable?

 

...good thing there's an ignore button here.

 

Passive/aggressive? I clearly said it like I see it. Has nothing to do with talent. It has to do with her enormously popular husband and at the point in time of her life pursuing a singing career. I said her version isn't that bad. She does need attention which overshadows everything. Disagree. Ignore.

[KuruPrionz]

11 hours ago, bill5 said:

tbh that is one of the most bizarre statements about a musician I've ever heard. Agree to disagree, to say the least...as does pretty much the entire musical world, who not only consider him one of the greatest singer/songwriters ever, but one of the greatest live performers ever.  You don't get that rep from sounding "bored." 

 

I find your comment on my opinion bizarre, it's my opinion and has been for decades. If we shared our preferences, you would like some of mine, hate some of them and I would feel the same way. That's no dings on either of us, if anything it's that one or the other of us is lucky that they can enjoy something. 

 

People like the strangest things, don't they? "The entire musical world?" Absurd, in 47 years of gigging, going to open mic nights, jamming at parties, etc., I've never heard anybody cover a James Taylor song except Bonnie Raitt and Linda Rondstadt - who both did their usual stellar singing. The songs are good, I said nothing about the material, just the mundane attempt to sing. I even think James is a fine guitarist in his own right and realistically, if opening up his pie hole makes him money, I'm all for it. As long as I don't have to listen to it or pretend to like it. That's just the way it is, not going to change. 

 

I've always wondered, how is "popularity" a metric for quality? If we go by popularity then Brittany Spears is one of the greatest female vocalists to have ever lived and McDonalds has the very best hamburgers on earth. Ridiculous. 

 

You like James Taylor's singing, you are luckier than I am. That's the truth, simple and straightforward. 😇

[HSS]

1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:

You like James Taylor's singing, you are luckier than I am. That's the truth, simple and straightforward. 😇

 

A lot of women seem to dig James Taylor probably because he conveys melancholy sentimentality in both his material and his stage persona. It probably also helps that he's like ten feet tall.😉   Having said this, IMO J.T. is undoubtedly a really good acoustic guitarist and song writer, albeit a bit formulaic with the sentimental melancholy vibe. 

 

I had a good friend during the early 80's in New Orleans who hated James Taylor's music because he caught his fiancé boinking some dude in their apartment while J.T.'s "Fire and Rain" was playing on his stereo. The last time I talked to him was about ten years ago, he still hated James Taylor's music.

 

The guy was so down afterwards that he quit his lucrative career as a petroleum geologist, moved to a shack on stilts on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and became a short order cook at some greasy spoon.  You have to wonder how many other dudes' relationships and careers James Taylor's music has destroyed.  I smell a song in there somewhere. 

 

Anyway, I suspect SNL's Lady's Man would probably agree that playing some James Taylor on the stereo, along with Luther and Barry, will help get the ladies all lathered up. 

 

Back on topic... I really dig Sam Cook's cover of "Tennessee Waltz" and Bonnie Raitt's cover of "Runaway", even though their covers aren't the "go-to" versions. 

[jazzpiano88]

12 hours ago, bill5 said:

That all said, Glen Campbell. Nothing against JT's, but Campbell's version is IMO "the" version.

 

Glen Campbell hands down!    Whenever I hear that song it takes me back to a range of emotions.    Jimmy Webb's greatest piece, IMO.  Joy to play on piano as well.

 

15 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

We are all different, James Taylor has always sounded like he's too bored to take a nap but sort of wants one.

 

I hear where you're coming from.   For me, he's kind of like Taco Bell.   He has a set of musical ingredients and every tune is some combination of those set of ingredients.  It's why all of his material has that same flavor.  I can listen to him for a little while, but after a few songs, it's exhausting to the ears.

[Docbop]

James Taylor is to Rock what Smooth Jazz is the real Jazz.     

[El Lobo]

James Taylor's version of "Handy Man" has always been a fave of mine over Jimmy Jones' original. 

[El Lobo]

Fun thread. Great lists.  Lots of people think the Talking Heads version of "Take Me To The River" is the go to version over the Al Green original. My band does a version that's sort of a combination of both. I still prefer Al Green.

[Bill H.]

I was in an R&B band that covered Al Green's Take Me To The River when it was current. Awesome track. To these ears the Talking Heads version still doesn't compare. Not a fan of James Taylor's somniloquent version of Handy Man either - completely destroyed the vibe of an uptempo energetic track that I loved in my childhood. 

 

OK back on topic: Chris Stapleton's take on Tennessee Whiskey. Speaking as a DJ this is the go-to version. No one ever asks for the David Allen Coe original. It's almost a different song though -  complete with changing the melody, and the time signature from 4/4 to 6/8. The only thing left pretty much intact are the lyrics. 

 

 

 

 

[Bill H.]

14 hours ago, HSS said:

FWIW... This thread has to the potential to become long.

Yeah this thread has expanded it's original boundaries and could go on for years!

[Steve Nathan]

This is a live cover, but ever since, I can't hear any one else sing this song.  

 

[jazzpiano88]

1 hour ago, El Lobo said:

Fun thread. Great lists.  Lots of people think the Talking Heads version of "Take Me To The River" is the go to version over the Al Green original. My band does a version that's sort of a combination of both. I still prefer Al Green.

 

Prefer Delbert McClinton.

[o0Ampy0o]

3 hours ago, HSS said:

 

A lot of women seem to dig James Taylor probably because he conveys melancholy sentimentality in both his material and his stage persona. It probably also helps that he's like ten feet tall.😉   Having said this, IMO J.T. is undoubtedly a really good acoustic guitarist and song writer, albeit a bit formulaic with the sentimental melancholy vibe. 

 

I had a good friend during the early 80's in New Orleans who hated James Taylor's music because he caught his fiancé boinking some dude in their apartment while J.T.'s "Fire and Rain" was playing on his stereo. The last time I talked to him was about ten years ago, he still hated James Taylor's music.

 

The guy was so down afterwards that he quit his lucrative career as a petroleum geologist, moved to a shack on stilts on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and became a short order cook at some greasy spoon.  You have to wonder how many other dudes' relationships and careers James Taylor's music has destroyed.  I smell a song in there somewhere. 

 

Anyway, I suspect SNL's Lady's Man would probably agree that playing some James Taylor on the stereo, along with Luther and Barry, will help get the ladies all lathered up. 

 

Back on topic... I really dig Sam Cook's cover of "Tennessee Waltz" and Bonnie Raitt's cover of "Runaway", even though their covers aren't the "go-to" versions. 

James Taylor is one of the most interesting acoustic guitar players around.  A third of his break out Fire and Rain is his voice, a third are the lyrics and a third is the very memorable acoustic guitar accompaniment. The whole comprises a great song presentation. The ladies and some gents have found him physically attractive though like most people more so in his younger years with a full head of hair.

[Steve Nathan]

1 hour ago, El Lobo said:

Fun thread. Great lists.  Lots of people think the Talking Heads version of "Take Me To The River" is the go to version over the Al Green original. My band does a version that's sort of a combination of both. I still prefer Al Green.

Al Green for the win!

[HSS]

"Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Blues" by Johnny Rivers. It was originally by Huey "Piano" Smith out of New Orleans.

 

 

"Blueberry Hill" by Fats. It was originally recorded by Sammy Kaye and several others in 1940.

[jazzpiano88]

Zawinul Syndicate Mercy Mercy Mercy.   Over Zawinul Canonball version.

[Docbop]

10 minutes ago, JazzPiano88 said:

Zawinul Syndicate Mercy Mercy Mercy.   Over Zawinul Canonball version.

 

Oh no the original has so much soul it can't be beat even by Joe. 

[El Lobo]

3 hours ago, Bill H. said:

\Not a fan of James Taylor's somniloquent version of Handy Man either - completely destroyed the vibe of an uptempo energetic track that I loved in my childhood. 

 

 

 

 

Yes. I loved the original Handy Man in my youth. But what James Taylor did in rearranging it was quite useful for wooing. I learned to play it on guitar and later on keys. I've got no singing voice, but the song works wonders when sung with James' arrangement and tempo.  It's a different song from the one I rocked to as a youngster.

[El Lobo]

37 minutes ago, JazzPiano88 said:

Zawinul Syndicate Mercy Mercy Mercy.   Over Zawinul Canonball version.

What? Not the Buckingham's version with different lyrics? 😀 

 

[El Lobo]

2 hours ago, HSS said:

"Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Blues" by Johnny Rivers. It was originally by Huey "Piano" Smith out of New Orleans.

Yes. Good call. I've always loved both versions.

[jazzpiano88]

27 minutes ago, Docbop said:

(MercyMercyMercy)

Oh no the original has so much soul it can't be beat even by Joe. 

 True, they are virtually two different songs.   I just prefer the harmonic complexity added to the newer one as it still keeps much of the soul.

[16251]

58 minutes ago, Docbop said:

 

Oh no the original has so much soul it can't be beat even by Joe. 

The crowd response during Joe's solo, omg.  And Cannonball's final comment.

[16251]

Here's a tough one for me. Herbie's original Watermelon Man or Head Hunters.  Originals carry more weight but I luv Head Hunter's version from the first time I heard it.

[Docbop]

9 minutes ago, 16251 said:

Here's a tough one for me. Herbie's original Watermelon Man or Head Hunters.  Originals carry more weight but I luv Head Hunter's version from the first time I heard it.

This one is tough and I lean towards the Headhunters a bit more.

[El Lobo]

The Mongo Santamaria version was the hit in 1963

 

[drawback]

‘Nuff said.