Artists That Were More Successful For Their Cover Tunes

south pacific · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:51 pm

...than their own compositions.

And by this I don't mean to include any shit diva singers such as Mariah Carey who probably can barely spell their own names let alone write their own songs. Artists or bands you have some respect for.

The reason I bring this up is because of this recent purchase:

I was sort of surprised to find that Joan Jett never wrote or co-wrote most of her "hits".

Light Of Day -----> Springsteen
Do You Want To Touch Me? -----> Gary Glitter
I Love Rock and Roll ------> Merrill and Hooker
Everyday People ------> Sylvester Stewart
I Wanna Be Your Dog -----> The Stooges
Crimson and Clover -----> Tommy James and Peter Lucia

She did however, co-write "Cherry Bomb".

shmoo · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:52 pm

Alien Ant Farm
Orgy
Elvis Presley
Pat Boone

PopTodd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:53 pm

The Bangles

Walk Like an Egyptian ----> some songwriting team
Manic Monday --------> Prince
Hazy Shade Of Winter ---------> Simon & Garfunkel

All this despite the fact that the girls were MORE than competent songwriters in their own right.

south pacific · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:55 pm

Good call on Boone and El Vez but I mean besides one hit wonders too.

Artists that you thought could write good songs on their own.

PopTodd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:58 pm

south pacific Wrote:

Artists that you thought could write good songs on their own.

See my comments re: Bangles

south pacific · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:58 pm

PopTodd Thumb Wrote:

The Bangles

I fully expected that The Bangles didn't write most of their own hit songs. This does not surprise me one bit. Or Bananarama for that matter.

I guess any "girl band" is suspect.

Billzebub · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:26 pm **Posts:** 6459

The Inmates

and to large extent, The Cramps

south pacific · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:05 pm

The Cramps didn't write their own songs?

I did not know that. Their tunes sound pretty simple.

PopTodd, give me one good Bangles original composition.

PopTodd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:05 pm

south pacific Wrote:

PopTodd, give me one good Bangles original composition.

"Hero Takes a Fall"
"James"
or any number of songs from All Over the Place (covers by Emitt Rhodes and Kimberly Rew notwithstanding).

AllMusic review of that first album:

Quote:

The Bangles' major-label debut is an essential album in the band's catalog. Guitarist and vocalist Vicki Peterson penned most of the '60s and early-'70s guitar rock songs, like the mini-hit "Hero Takes a Fall" (it was rumored the hero in the title was Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn). The record also includes covers of the obscure Merry-Go-Round hit "Live" and ex-Soft Boy Kimberley Rew's "Going Down to Liverpool." The band was polished a bit by producer David Kahne and the release capitalized on the pretty, all-girl group angle rather than the band's actual raw talent, which might otherwise have been too rough and retro for radio at the time. Nonetheless, the band retained enough of the original spunk that made them appealing in the first place.
(4 stars)

Track listing:
Hero Takes a Fall (Hoffs, Peterson) 2:54
Live (Rhodes) 2:36
James (Peterson) 2:36
All About You (Peterson) 2:26
Dover Beach (Hoffs, Peterson) 3:48
Tell Me (Hoffs, Peterson) 2:15
Restless (Hoffs, Peterson) 2:41
Going Down to Liverpool (Rew) 3:41
He's Got a Secret (Peterson) 2:42
Silent Treatment (Peterson) 2:07
More Than Meets the Eye (Peterson) 3:19

Billzebub · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:26 pm **Posts:** 6459

PopTodd Thumb Wrote:

(covers by Emitt Rhodes and Kimberly Rew notwithstanding).

"Going Down To Liverpool" is by The Waves (later Katrina & The...), of which Kimberley Rew was a member. It's off their ep "Shock Horror".

south pacific · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:08 pm

Okay, I'll give you Hero Takes A Fall isn't bad for what it is but The Bangles aren't known for their song craftmanship.

...or would that be craftwomanship?

PopTodd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:13 pm

That whole first record is excellent.

Given the chance to keep writing their own songs, I am confident that The Bangles would have a much more solid rep amongst snobs like us. As it was, the record company was nervous about a bunch of pretty girls writing their own songs, so they pressured them into using outside writers.

They certainly could have had several more self-penned hits, had the label gotten behind those songs for them.

south pacific · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:14 pm

Those girls in The Bangles were not "pretty" however. I always thought they looked like men in drag.

shmoo · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:23 pm

south pacific Wrote:

The Bangles aren't known for their song craftmanship.

Isn't that the point of this thread?

jewels santana · **Joined:** Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:36 pm **Posts:** 10198

Joe Cocker made a career of other peoples songs.

PopTodd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:32 pm

jewels santana Wrote:

Joe Cocker made a career of other peoples songs.

So did Frank Sinatra.

But that was a different era.

Diggity Dawg · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:35 pm

I dunno about "respecting" them, but :

Quiet Riot.

But I imagine Slade wasn't complainin' .

billy g · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:41 pm **Posts:** 9020

Emmylou Harris is the first that hasn't been mentioned that comes to mind. Didn't writer her first song until she was 50, although her last album proved she does have the talent.

The majority of early soul artists fit this bill. Somewhere along the way, people started taking interpreters a lot less seriously than artists who write their own material. Its really a shame because there are a lot of artists out there that are strong performers but can't write worth a lick but still try to anyway.

huskerpunk · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:42 pm

south pacific Wrote:

Those girls in The Bangles were not "pretty" however. I always thought they looked like men in drag.

Susanna Hoffs is very pretty. The rest of the group, yeah, you're right.

south pacific · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:52 pm

She don't turn me on.

Billzebub · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:26 pm **Posts:** 6459

dr winston o'boogie Wrote:

Emmylou Harris is the first that hasn't been mentioned that comes to mind. Didn't writer her first song until she was 50, although her last album proved she does have the talent.

But this is entirely different from "cover tunes". Elton John didn't write any of his crap, but they're not covers.

Cap'n Squirrgle · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:57 pm

Mmmmm... Susanna Hoffs....

- (abt thread title) Joe Cocker was the first one that came to mind. Not just songs written by some team of swedish tunesmiths in caves deep amongst the fjords (a theory Bloor and I share), but songs that were VERY popular when sung by someone else, right before he covered them. The strangest part of that formula was that it worked.

d · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:57 pm

heh heh, how about the crappy band from Seattle called Mercir (opened for Tom Vek) who performed David Bowie's "Sound and Vision" for their encore? That was the only song worth listening to. Poor bastards.

billy g · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:41 pm **Posts:** 9020

Gobblezebub Wrote:

dr winston o'boogie Wrote:

Emmylou Harris is the first that hasn't been mentioned that comes to mind. Didn't writer her first song until she was 50, although her last album proved she does have the talent.

But this is entirely different from "cover tunes". Elton John didn't write any of his crap, but they're not covers.

Most of emmylou's are covers.

Artists That Were More Successful For Their Cover Tunes

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