Songs & singers

Singers often record “covers” – their versions of songs made famous by someone else.

Here are some we probably ought to hear:

  • Johnny Cash – Money (orig. Pink Floyd)
  • Chemical Brothers – Cocaine (John Cale)
  • Dead Can Dance – Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees)
  • Eminem – Candy Man (Sammy Davis Jr.)
  • Fastball – My Boy’s Gonna Play in the Big Leagues (Tom Cochrane)
  • The Four Seasons – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (Simon and Garfunkel)
  • Massive Attack – Oliver’s Army (Elvis Costello)
  • Van Morrison – Truckin’ (Grateful Dead)
  • REM – Dreamer (Supertramp)
  • Chicane – Turn, Turn, Turn (The Byrds)
  • Badly Drawn Boy – Sketches of Spain (Miles Davis)
  • Benny Goodman – Bad (U2 or Michael Jackson)
  • Big Sugar – The Sweetest Thing (U2)
  • The Smurfs – How Blue Can You Get? (BB King)
  • Guns and Roses – Canon in D (Pachelbel)
  • Blues Traveler – Around the World (Daft Punk)
  • Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Been Caught Stealing (Jane’s Addiction)
  • Jason Priestley – Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
  • The Odds – It’s Not Unusual (Tom Jones)

Here are some we probably won’t and shouldn’t hear:

  • Divine Brown or RuPaul – Natural Woman (orig. Aretha Franklin)
  • Rob Zombie – I Fall To Pieces (Patsy Cline)
  • O.J. Simpson – Before You Accuse Me (Eric Clapton)
  • O.J. Simpson – I Love You – I’ll Kill You (Enigma)
  • Monica Lewinsky – Hummer (Smashing Pumpkins)
  • Ike and Tina Turner – Hit Me Baby One More Time (Britney Spears)
  • Ash – Disco Inferno – Burn, Baby, Burn
  • Violent Femmes – How I Could Just Kill a Man (Cypress Hill)

p.s. Did you ever notice the irony of having Bad to the Bone made famous by George Thorogood?

Collaborations we’d like to see

  • Cindy Church and Maxi Priest
  • Barry White with Frank Black and the Catholics
  • Johnny Cash, Eddie Money and Johnny Paycheck
  • the Rolling Stones and Kate Moss
  • Skeeter Davis and Sting
  • Whale and Reel Big Fish
  • Wide Mouth Mason and Jars of Clay
  • William Orbit with Orbital and The Orb

"They’re playing our song, dear"

  • Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reeves – Bus Stop
  • Tony Soprano & Dr. Malfi – Stayin’ Alive
  • Svengali & Trilby – You Do Something To Me
  • Elizabeth Taylor & any husband – Go Your Own Way
  • Clinton & Lewinsky – Behind Closed Doors

Say what?

From a Toronto Globe & Mail contest … one’s personal circumstances may lead to mishearing the title of a love song:

  • Outraged husband: I’ve Caught You Under My Kin
  • Bartender who has run out of liquor: I Only Have Ice For You
  • Marine biologist: The Krill Is Gone
  • Indigent Chinese chef: You’ll Never Loan A Wok
  • The financially troubled: Lien on Me
  • A non-recovering alcoholic: Return to Bender

Additional credit: Graham Hicks, Vancouver, B.C.

Last Reviewed: 7 years