“The 59th Street Bridge Song” (1966) by Simon and Garfunkel is better known as “Feelin’ Groovy”. Harpers Bizarre had a hit with it in 1967. The Liberace cover is incredibly terrible.
Category: Music covers
Covers: Prison Cell Blues
I am going to post some of the songs from Harry Smith’s Anthology of America Folk Music. (see prior post on Smith)
Blind Lemon Jefferson was one of the biggest blues stars of the 1920s. Prison Cell Blues is from 1928.
Covers: To Sir with Love
“To Sir with Love”, a 1967 movie theme was a big hit for Lulu in 1967. I thought of it when I heard the 1993 cover by 10,000 Maniacs with Michael Stipe on the radio today.
Covers: Baby Don’t You Do It/Don’t Do It
“Don’t Do It” by The Band (1971) is one of the rare instances where the rock cover is better than the Motown original. Marvin Gaye’s 1964 record “Baby Don’t You Do It” just doesn’t have the intensity of The Band’s version.
Covers: Oh Well
“Oh Well” is a Fleetwood Mac song from 1969. The two parts are very different. The first is a short loud blast of guitar-based rock while the second is a lengthy acoustic instrumental that seems totally unrelated.
Covers: Last Date
Covers: Hippy Hippy Shake
“Hippy Hippy Shake” was originally recorded by Chan Romero in 1959. The version I know best was by The Swinging Blue Jeans which was popular in 1964. The Beatles performed it on the BBC in 1963.
Covers: Gimme Shelter
“Gimme Shelter” (1969) is my favorite Rolling Stones song. It’s one of the best rock songs ever. It’s the first track on one of their best albums, Let It Bleed. Merry Clayton sang on the record with them. Playing for Change covered it.
“Gimme Shelter” was recorded during a time of extreme stress and unrest. In 1968, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. The war in Viet Nam was unpopular. There were other songs in 1969 that were grim – “Bad Moon Rising: by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Look Out Cleveland” by the Band both warned of weather disturbances.
Covers: Ode to Billie Joe
“Ode to Billie Joe” is a 1967 song written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry. June 3rd is a significant date in the song as noted in the Instagram post.
Bob Dylan parodied the song with “Clothes Line Saga”.
Covers: Down in the Alley
“Down in the Alley” was a 1957 single by the Clovers. Check out the great job by Duane Allman on the 1970 Ronnie Hawkins version.
Sad! 