Tuesday Top Ten: Songs You May Not Know Were Covers

Since we're celebrating cover songs this Rocktober, let's talk about the cover songs that you may not know were covers.  And just so we're all on the same page, this is Rocktober, so I'm talking about rocking songs that you didn't know were covers.  There are many other great covers that would more broadly fall into this category -- Sinead O'Connor's cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" comes to mind -- but that's a story for another day (or you can just Google "songs you didn't know were covers").

I had fun researching this one because I uncovered many songs that I -- your supposed rock and roll history blogger -- had no idea were covers.  Please make sure you're seated when you read this, as some of what I have to say may shock you to your very core.

Narrowing this list to ten was nearly as impossible for me as dunking a basketball on a ten-foot rim.  As a result, I'm going to give you a hearty "Honorable Mention" section, which includes Ace Frehley's version of "New York Groove" (which I separately posted about last week after Ace's death).  In the ten that made the main list, I tried to go with more songs that I think you truly may not realize are covers, and there are songs spanning several decades.  These are in alphabetical order by cover artist.

1.  "Piece of My Heart" by Big Brother and The Holding Company (1968)

Originally by Erma Franklin (1967)

"Piece of My Heart" is one of Janis Joplin's signature songs, and probably my favorite song that she ever sang.  But a year before she and Big Brother and The Holding Company recorded it, Aretha Franklin's older sister Erma recorded the original version of the song.  Franklin's version is slower and more of a standard '60s soul song.  It's great, but Big Brother's version is fantastic.  Big Brother's cover went to #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Joplin's highest-charting song during her lifetime.

2.  "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes (1990)

Originally by Otis Redding (1967)

Before he tragically died in a plane crash in December 1967, soul legend Otis Redding had recorded various songs that would be released posthumously.  One of those was "Hard to Handle," an uptempo Memphis soul gem.  His version had mild success, reaching #51 on the Billboard Hot 100, but over the next few decades, it was largely overshadowed by the rest of his excellent catalog.  Then in 1990, along came this rock and roll band that didn't really fit into the popular genres of the day.  The Black Crowes played soul- and blue-inspired rock, so it's not a shock that they chose to cover "Hard to Handle" on their debut album, Shake Your Moneymaker  They punched up the original, giving it a honky tonk rock feel and making it their own.  The song proved to be their breakthrough song, originally reaching #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1990, then reaching #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was reissued in 1991.

3.  "1985" by Bowling for Soup (2004)

Originally by SR-71 (2004)

Pop punk funny guys Bowling for Soup's highest-charting song was a catchy ode to longing for the mid '80s, "1985."  Released on their fifth studio album, 2004's A Hangover You Don't Deserve, and the song went to #23 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It set a record for most downloads on iTunes in a single week.  Only thing is that it wasn't their song.  Two months before Bowling for Soup released their version of the song, fellow pop punkers SR-71 released the original.  SR-71 lead singer and songwriter Mitch Allan gave the song to Bowling for Soup, who made some slight changes to the lyrics, and the rest is history.

4.  "The Twist" by Chubby Checker (1960)

Originally by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters (1958)

This one may blow your mind.  Chubby Checker's legendary 1960 song "The Twist" solidified a dance craze and various other "twisting" songs.  It went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 and 1962, it was the #1 song on Billboard's Decade-End Hot 100 chart for the 1960s, and it's the #2 song on Billboard's All-Time Hot 100 chart.  And it was a cover.  Hank Ballard & The Midnighters recorded the original in 1958, and it had some minor, if not slow-moving, success, reaching #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.  Legend has it that Dick Clark tried to book the group on American Bandstand, but they were unavailable, so he found a local singer, Checker, to perform the song instead.  But don't feel too bad for Ballard.  As the songwriter, he presumably made a nice bit of change from Checker's cover.

5.  "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" by Great White (1989)

Originally by Ian Hunter (1975)

Having named their fourth studio album Once Bitten..., it now only seems natural that Great White named their fifth studio album ...Twice Shy.  They must have known what was in the works.  1989's ...Twice Shy featured the band's biggest hit, "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."  A glammy, boogie-woogie rocker, the song went all the way to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It's not surprising there's some glam to it, as it was originally recorded in 1975 by Ian Hunter on his first solo album after leaving UK glam rock band Mott the Hoople.

6.  "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane (1967)

Originally by The Great Society (1966)

I'll be honest, I had no idea this was a cover until last week while researching this Tuesday Top Ten category.  "Somebody to Love" is one of the quintessential Jefferson Airplane songs, so of course, I assumed it was originally their song.  But alas, it was actually originally recorded a year earlier as "Someone to Love" by another Bay Area band, The Great Society, which featured future Jefferson Airplane lead singer Grace Slick on vocals (and was written by her brother-in-law Darby Slick).  The original is a little unpolished, and Jefferson Airplane took the song to new heights.  You see, because it's an airplane.

7.  "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (1982)

Originally by The Arrows (1975)

Eighties covers of '70s glam rock songs seems to be a theme, and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" falls into that category.  It was originally recorded by UK glam rockers The Arrows in 1975, but didn't chart.  Seven years later, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts made it the title track to their second album, and they stayed pretty true to the original, though Jett's snarling vocals add a bit of grit to the song.  Their version went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's breakthrough single and rightfully putting Jett at the top of the list of female rockers.

8.  "Dazed and Confused" by Led Zeppelin (1969)

Originally by Jake Holmes (1967)

This is another one that blew my mind.  Folk rocker Jake Holmes recorded the original version of "Dazed and Confused" in 1967.  It's a melancholy dirge about uncertainty in a relationship.  Holmes opened for The Yardbirds, and guitarist Jimmy Page took a liking to the song.  They rearranged it and often played it live.  When The Yardbirds broke up and Page formed Led Zeppelin, the band recorded the song for their self-titled debut album, reworking the lyrics in the process.  It would become a staple for the band, and their version is much more visceral and rocking than Holmes's original.  Holmes eventually sued Page for copyright infringement, and they settled out of court in late 2011.  Since then, on Led Zeppelin releases, the songwriting credits are listed as "By Page – Inspired by Jake Holmes."

9.  "Black Betty" by Ram Jam (1975)

Originally recorded by James "Iron Head" Baker (1933)

As with glam covers, blues covers abound.  "Black Betty" was a traditional African-American work song -- allegedly a reference to whiskey -- and the first-known recording of the song was by James "Iron Head" Baker back in 1933.  Delta blues legend Lead Belly recorded the song in 1939, as did various others over the years.  But it wasn't until New York City rockers Ram Jam rearranged the song, gave it a rock and roll makeover, and released their version in 1977 that the world truly came to know "Black Betty."  Ram Jam's version went to #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it has been featured in various films and TV shows since.

10.  "War" by Edwin Starr (1970)

Originally by The Temptations (1970)

And we end the Top Ten with another one I had no idea was a cover until last week.  Written by the legendary Motown songwriting team of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, "War" was a anti-war anthem originally recorded by The Temptations for their 1970 album Psychedelic Shack.  However, Motown didn't want one of their most popular acts to face any backlash by releasing an anti-war song, so the label didn't release The Temptations' version of the song as a single.  Nonetheless, Motown agreed to let another artist on their label, Edwin Starr, record the song and release it as a single, a mere three months after Psychedelic Shack was released.  Starr's version is funkier, angrier, and more soulful than the original, and it perfectly captures the anger of the anti-Vietnam War movement.  It was rightly a huge success, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Honorable mention:  

-"Trouble No More by The Allman Brothers Band (1969) (originally recorded by Muddy Waters in 1955 as a variation of "Someday Baby Blues," recorded by Sleepy John Estes in 1935)

-"Cocaine" by Eric Clapton (1977) (originally recorded by JJ Cale in 1976)

-"New York Groove" by Ace Frehley (1978) (originally recorded by Hello in 1975)

-"Alone" by Heart (1987) (originally recorded by i-Ten in 1983)

-Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin (1971) (originally recorded by Roger Miller in 1969)

-"Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen (1963) (originally recorded by Richard Barry & The Pharoahs in 1956)

-"God Gave Rock and Roll to You II" by KISS (1991) (originally recorded by Argent in 1973 without the "II"; KISS modified the lyrics in their version)

-"Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann (1976) (originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1973)

-"Cum On Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot (1983) (originally recorded by Slade in 1973)

-"Black Magic Woman" by Santana (1970) (originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1968)

-"Good Lovin'" by The Young Rascals (1966) (originally recorded by Lemme B. Goode in 1965)