Ever since the frst record came out in 1066 (well a bit later really) artists lacking original materal turned to the songs of other artists for salvation. The beatles recorded rock and roll standards like Long Tall Sally and Twist and Shout. Then their own songs got treated – Cockers With a Little Help from my Frends being the best known example. n more recent years we saw O’Conners version of Princes’s Nothing compares to you. And who can forget Tina Turner’s Proud Mary or Jeff Buckley’s Halleluyah.
Here are five incredible covers you may not have heard

  • The Hazy Shade of  Winter – The Bangles. When first released by Simon and Garfunkel this was a sweet lyric duet. The Bangles rehashed it into a rock song per excellance.
  • Gloria – Pattie Smith’s version of  the Van Morrison classic, from her Horses album,  bears little likeness to the original. t needs to be heard to be believed.
  •  A Hard Days Night – Peter Sellers. If Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet had sung the song this might be how it would sound. This joke of a cover made number one in the British charts. 
  • Your Song – The Streets. Not everyone’s favourite version of Elton’s masterpiece but I really like it.
  • Summertime – Janis Joplin. Need I say more. When Janis put  her heart into the blues there was nobody who could touch her.

Hazy Shade of Winter


Horses


Classic Songs and Sketches


Janis Joplin:The Woodstock Experience (2 CD)

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