Covers: Winterlong

Neil Young’s “Winterlong” was originally a previously unreleased song included on his 1977 compilation Decade. The Pixies covered it in 1989 on the tribute album The Bridge.

Young’s version is country but the Pixies stripped the country elements out and bash away in the style of Young albums like Rust Never Sleeps. That’s one of the great things about Neil Young. His restlessness means he will never be stuck in one style of music.

The song goes back to at least 1970 since it’s on Live at the Fillmore

That album was recorded in February and March 1970 but not released until 2006.

What is your favorite Cover of a Neil Young song? Name recording artist too, of course. Bonus points for adding a link 'also'. pic.twitter.com/qu65k0TZLf
— MusicMentor (@Music__Mentor) November 16, 2022

Covers: Purple Haze

The original version of “Purple Haze” is by the Jimi Hendrix Experience from 1967.

You knew that. But I bet you didn’t know it was covered in 1999 by the great rock and roll polka band from Texas, Brave Combo. If you don’t know them, you will not be prepared for this!

Covers: Junker Blues/The Fat Man

This is more of a ripoff than a cover. In 1941, Champion Jack Dupree recorded “Junker blues”. In 1949, Fats Domino used the music for his first hit “The Fat Man” which has songwriting credits for Domino and his producer Dave Bartholomew.

Covers: God Is Standing By

The original version is by The Soul Stirrers from 1962. It features Johnnie Taylor who wrote the song and later had a long career as a soul singer. Al Green covered it on his great 1971 album Gets Next To You. Green also recorded it as “I’ll Be Standing By” which is a bonus track on some releases of Gets Next To You. It’s great, too.

Covers: Driving Wheel

The original version of “Driving Wheel” was by Roosevelt Sykes in 1936 (as “Driving Wheel Blues”). Junior Parker covered it in 1961 and Al Green recorded a terrific version in 1971.

Covers: Door Number Three

These are not really covers. They are two versions by the song’s co-authors, Steve Goodman and Jimmy Buffett. The song makes references to the TV show “Let’s Make a Deal” and name-checks three actual people on the show, the host Monty Hall and his sidekicks Jay (Stewart) and Carol Merrill. Buffett’s version was released in 1974 and Goodman’s version was released in 1975. Goodman’s version quotes lines from Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” which end with “Do you want to make a deal?”. Buffett’s version has some lines at the end that are not in Goodman’s recording.

example of Let’s Make a Deal

Covers: This Is Where I Belong

The original version was by the Kinks from 1966. It was not a single (at least not in the US) but has become better known over time. There are several covers by power pop artists recorded decades after the Kinks version.

Covers: Everybody’s Talkin’

“Everybody’s Talkin'” is famous because of its appearance in the film Midnight Cowboy. The original version was by the song’s author, Fred Neil and was released in 1966. The movie version was by Nilsson and is much better known though it is similar to Neil’s recording.