- There are good covers and bad covers, and then there are… Whatever these songs are.
Cover songs — love ‘em or hate ‘em, they have become a staple of today’s popular music. Some cover songs, like “I Will Always Love You” or “All Along the Watchtower,” may even become more famous than the originals.
Then there are those covers that are… Less than successful. A while back, we wrote a whole thing on them.
But we’ve listened to more music since then and discovered more unusual. There are just too many absolutely mind-boggling attempts at recreating songs that we couldn’t leave this list as a one-parter.
So, here are another six of the most bizarre cover songs ever recorded. Enjoy — if you can.
1. Elton John — To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (Nina Simone)
Elton John’s cover of Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” is tone-deaf at best. Why on earth is Sir Elton — talented as he is — performing a civil rights anthem?
Well, there’s a reason. He sang the song in 1970 before his solo breakthrough for a low-budget (and low-quality) sound-alike album that ripped off popular songs of the time.
So, it was basically a starving artist taking any work he could find. Still, though…
Curiously, Sir Elton isn’t covering the original version of the song. Instead, his version is ripping off a cover by Bob & Marcia.
That would make this a cover of a cover. What’s most amazing, though, is that this supposed sound-alike doesn’t really sound like either of the originals.
2. Ghost — Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles)
For those who don’t know them, Ghost is a Swedish band playing heavily ‘70s-influenced heavy metal and hard rock. They’re known (maybe more so than their music) for their theatrical live outfits flirting with satanic iconography.
Considering their classic metal and rock influences, it’s not that weird that Ghost would cover the Beatles. And their cover of “Here Comes the Sun” isn’t bad, per se.
It’s just a really weird song choice for them. Why is a band that usually sings about death, despair, and the devil covering George Harrison’s feel-good song?
Maybe even they wanted to break out of the doom and gloom for a change.
3. Britney Spears — I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll (The Arrows/Joan Jett)
Like Elton John’s song listed earlier, Britney Spears’ cover of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” is a cover of a cover. You’re probably more familiar with Joan Jett’s version of the song than the Arrows’ original.
Miss Spears’ rendition divided opinions upon its release. Some critics praised it (for some reason) but the song is also on many “worst cover of all time” lists.
It’s kind of hard not to side with the latter opinion. This strange early-2000s pop take on the song doesn’t either rock or roll.
And considering those are the two things the song proclaims to love… Look, it just doesn’t work.
4. Bradford Cox — My Sharona (The Knack)
Singer-songwriter Bradford Cox’s cover of “My Sharona” (performed under the stage name Atlas Sound) is an hour-long freestyle avant-garde take on the Knack’s original. It’s not very pleasant to listen to — but that’s by design.
You see, Cox probably never planned to record the song and only performed it once live. During a 2012 show, a drunken heckler in the audience repeatedly kept shouting at Cox to play “My Sharona.”
So he did. And he kept playing, and playing, and playing.
At some point, members of the band Carnivores and Frankie Broyles joined Cox on stage. The bizarre performance went on for nearly an hour and contained solos from every instrument.
Cos even invited the heckles to join him on the stage for a strip show. That’s one way to get back at a jerk in the crowd.
5. William Shatner — Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (The Beatles)
We already mentioned William Shatner’s strange spoken-word version of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” on our previous list. And while we don’t want to beat a dead horse, his cover of the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” deserves a separate mention.
The song starts normally enough, with a sample of the original. But around the 30-second mark, things get… Really bizarre.
As much as we’d love to describe this song, we just don’t have the words for it. You’ll just have to hear it to believe it.
In a way, Shatner did a fitting job. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is supposedly about a psychedelic experience, and his cover sure makes us feel like we’re on a bad trip.
6. Devo — (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
It’s a tall order to start covering one of the most legendary rock bands in the first place. But American art rock band Devo thought they were up to the challenge.
That’s how we got their cover of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” And it’s one hell of a song, alright.
The band’s loopy, minimalistic new wave sound really does not do the original any favors. If it didn’t have the lyrics, you’d be hard-pressed to recognize it as the same song.
But perhaps we’re being too harsh. Maybe Devo’s version of the Rolling Stones was simply ahead of its time.
We’re just not sure how far into the future we’d have to travel for this song’s time to come.
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