Vassallo: The Art of Covering Songs

courtesy of The Beatles

Since the beginning of time artists have been covering other vocalists’ songs and in many instances have made bigger and more well-known hits from these.

A perfect example is the No. 1 blockbuster by Dean Martin’s “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime” which was recorded previously by the man himself, Frank Sinatra. Deano tried a new arrangement incorporating a full orchestra which worked beautifully!

The Beatles are best known for all the top hits that they authored, but in the early Beatles era they covered a number of great tunes. Two of these, “Please Mr. Postman” and “Twist and Shout,” are of those better known. The former was a number one hit by The Marvelettes in 1961 that also was a number one hit thirteen years later by The Carpenters. The Isley Brothers reached No. 17 with “Twist and Shout” in 1962 whereas Lennon & Company reached No. 2 with it in 1964.

Terry Stafford’s number three hit of “Suspicion” was an Elvis song that Stafford placed on the charts in 1964. Stafford was a huge fan of the King as most of us were in that period. The Carpenters, like the Beatles and others, covered a number of songs. “There’s A Kind of Hush” reached No. 12 by the duo in 1976. Herman’s Hermits version in 1967 made it to No. 4.

Occasionally, the cover will be an entirely new production of the original as was the case of James Taylor’s “Handy Man” which was as slowdown version of Jimmy Jones’ hit years earlier. Both were outstanding, but I preferred the 1977 remake by Taylor.

We could go on and on with other examples, however. Remember “Gloria” by Them? The Human Beinz covered this great song, the Cleveland band best known for 1968’s “Nobody But Me.” The Shadows of Knight reached No. 10 with “Gloria” in 1966. Van Morrison wrote this hit while with Them and originally released it as a B side!

The Shadows Of Knight – Gloria by scootaway

The next time you hear an incredible melody, there’s a good chance it’s been hummed sometime earlier possibly many years prior. Great songs are just like Broadway shows in that they never grow old, only differently to entertain new audiences.

Steve Vassallo is a HottyToddy.com contributor. Steve writes on Ole Miss athletics, Oxford business, politics and other subjects. He is an Ole Miss grad and former radio announcer for the basketball team. In addition, he is a certified economic and community developer and currently, a highly successful leader in the real estate business with Premier Properties of Oxford.You can contact Steve at sovassallo@gmail.com or call him at (985) 852-7745.