This weekend marks the 55th anniversary of The Beatles second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. It is also the 56thanniversary of Kenny Lynch releasing his single, “Misery” making that song the first Beatles’ number to be covered by another artist
In their first few albums the Beatles covered songs from many of their key American influencers including Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins and the Isley Brothers (Twist and Shout). As the years passed, the Beatles became the most covered name in music, inspiring 2,710 covered recordings, more than four times the covers of second place Bob Dylan (608).
The most covered songs of all time
There are many lists floating around about most covered songs but this seems to be the most credible http://mentalfloss.com/article/20811/most-covered-songs-in-music-history
1) The Guinness Book of World Records credits “Yesterday” as having more than 1600 covers including versions by Joan Baez, Liberace, and Daffy Duck.
2) The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” has been redone by artists including Jimi Hendrix and Devo.
3) Eleanor Rigby has been covered by 131 artists including Aretha Franklin and Tony Bennet.
4) “Cry Me a River” was originally written for Ella Fitzgerald and released in 1955 by Julie London. It has been covered by Joe Cocker and Aerosmith.
5) The Beatles’ “And I Love Her” has been covered by Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson and Sarah Vaughan.
6) “Summertime” has been covered hundreds of times since Abbie Mitchell sang it in the 1935 opera “Porgy and Bess”.
7) Lennon’s masterpiece,” Imagine” has been reworked by Ray Charles, Queen and Lady Gaga.
8) Originally recorded by Judy Garland, “Over the Rainbow” has been covered by Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle and Eva Cassidy.
9) McCartney’s classic “Blackbird” has inspired versions from Phish and Bobby McFerrin.
10) Written by Burt Bacharach and originally sung by Dusty Springfield, “The Look of Love” has been covered by The Zombies, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone and Marvin Gaye.
The Beatles, Elvis and Frank
Just as The Beatles inspired countless artists, Elvis Presley had a profound influence on the Fab Four. John Lennon famously said, “Without Elvis, there would be no Beatles”. Elvis had mixed feeling about the British rockers. He appreciated some of their songs but resented their pushing him out of the limelight. Elvis eventually recorded covers of “Hey Jude”, “Get Back””, “Yesterday”, “Lady Madonna” and “Something”.
“Something “has been covered by over 150 artists including Smokey Robinson and Isaac Hayes. George Harrison said his favorite version was James Brown’s, which George kept in his home jukebox. Frank Sinatra called “Something” “the greatest love song of the past 50 years.” In Sinatra’s inimitable style he replaced the word “now” with “Jack”: “You stick around, Jack, it might show- I don’t know – No, I don’t know”. Harrison loved the change and used it when he sang “Something” on his two solo tours.
Like Elvis, Sinatra was probably unhappy that the Beatles had pushed his act to the sidelines. That didn’t stop Ringo from reaching out to Sinatra through an intermediary in 1968. Ringo wanted to surprise his Sinatra fan wife, Maureen with a special recording for her 22nd birthday. Sinatra was thrilled by the request and went into the studio to record a special version of “The Lady is a Tramp”. “The Lady Is A Champ” included revised lyrics such as “She married Ringo, and she could have had Paul/That’s why the lady is a champ”. The master tape was destroyed and the whereabouts of Maureen’s potentially valuable birthday gift remain a mystery (she passed away in 1994).
The Beatles Cover Version Hall of Shame.
While there have been many great Beatles covers throughout the years, there have been more than a few clunkers. If you do nothing else this weekend, check out the 10 worst Beatles covers http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/butchering_the_beatles_crowdsourcing_the_covers_so_bad_theyre_good.htmlYou can listen to “Day Tripper” by a 75 year-old Mae West and hear absolutely cringe-worthy recordings by Tiny Tim and Mrs. Miller (I had conveniently forgotten those two ever walked the planet).
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