Cover versions which are better than the original
Discussion
f
king hell! I have only just found out that Welshman Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown had died just before Xmas
Savoy Brown was first formed in the late 60s and predominantly an 'album' band who played rock and blues.
Kim carried on the band as the sole remaining member right to the last (ie 2022, he died on 17th Dec just a week after turning 75).
Loads of albums to the band and his credit over those many years.
Fortunately, some consolation he'd helped finish the last ever LP with him as part of Savoy Brown and it will be released this month on the 17th.
Kim was a ...Fantastic guitar player!
I still recall vividly walking with my girlfriend and mates into the 'Oranges and Lemons' Pub in 'St Clements (obviously!) Street' in Oxford in 1970 to hear 'Train to Nowhere' blasting out so loud that the floors shook. Was a great venue for music - then the 'Punks' took it over.
Anyway, back to the thread title
I found out something else today I never knew. Savoy Brown's LP 'Jack The Toad' has a track on it called 'Endless Sleep', I always thought Savoy Brown wrote this song.
Apparently not.
It was first released and written by Jody Reynolds in 1958. His song was rejected by record companies as being too depressing!
Then Marty Wildehad a hit with it in the 60s
but for me, nothing touches the Savoy Brown cover.
See the story at the bottom.
Jody Reynolds - Endless Sleep (1958)
Marty Wild - Endless Sleep (60s)
Savoy Brown - Endless Sleep - track from the Jack The Toad album (1973)
"Endless Sleep" is a "teenage tragedy" pop song written and originally recorded by rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds in 1958.
Reynolds wrote the song in 1956, after listening to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and first performed it soon afterwards at a performance in Yuma, Arizona. The song told the story of a teenager whose girlfriend had gone missing after a row:
The night was black, rain fallin' down
Looked for my baby, she's nowhere around
Traced her footsteps down to the shore
Afraid she's gone for ever more.
Although record companies initially rejected the song as too depressing, Reynolds eventually had a demo accepted by Demon Records in Los Angeles, who agreed that Reynolds record it provided that he changed the song's ending so that the protagonist saved the girl from drowning.
I looked at the sea and it seemed to say
You took your baby from me away
My heart cried out She's mine to keep
I saved my baby from an endless sleep.
The song was recorded with echo-drenched vocals, and with Al Casey and Howard Roberts on guitars. The record label credited the songwriting to Reynolds and the fictitious "Dolores Nance", in order to make it appear to have been written by a 'professional' songwriting team.
Reynolds' recording reached the number 5 position on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 7, 1958, sold over one million copies, and inspired a trend of "teen tragedy" songs.
The song was reissued in 1979 reaching number 66 on the UK singles chart.
A re-recorded version by Reynolds appears the 1984 Rhino compilation LP Teenage Tragedies.
Gotta order this now, the last ever Savoy Brown album out this month.
king hell! I have only just found out that Welshman Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown had died just before XmasSavoy Brown was first formed in the late 60s and predominantly an 'album' band who played rock and blues.
Kim carried on the band as the sole remaining member right to the last (ie 2022, he died on 17th Dec just a week after turning 75).
Loads of albums to the band and his credit over those many years.
Fortunately, some consolation he'd helped finish the last ever LP with him as part of Savoy Brown and it will be released this month on the 17th.
Kim was a ...Fantastic guitar player!
I still recall vividly walking with my girlfriend and mates into the 'Oranges and Lemons' Pub in 'St Clements (obviously!) Street' in Oxford in 1970 to hear 'Train to Nowhere' blasting out so loud that the floors shook. Was a great venue for music - then the 'Punks' took it over.
Anyway, back to the thread title
I found out something else today I never knew. Savoy Brown's LP 'Jack The Toad' has a track on it called 'Endless Sleep', I always thought Savoy Brown wrote this song.
Apparently not.
It was first released and written by Jody Reynolds in 1958. His song was rejected by record companies as being too depressing!
Then Marty Wildehad a hit with it in the 60s
but for me, nothing touches the Savoy Brown cover.
See the story at the bottom.
Jody Reynolds - Endless Sleep (1958)
Marty Wild - Endless Sleep (60s)
Savoy Brown - Endless Sleep - track from the Jack The Toad album (1973)
"Endless Sleep" is a "teenage tragedy" pop song written and originally recorded by rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds in 1958.
Reynolds wrote the song in 1956, after listening to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and first performed it soon afterwards at a performance in Yuma, Arizona. The song told the story of a teenager whose girlfriend had gone missing after a row:
The night was black, rain fallin' down
Looked for my baby, she's nowhere around
Traced her footsteps down to the shore
Afraid she's gone for ever more.
Although record companies initially rejected the song as too depressing, Reynolds eventually had a demo accepted by Demon Records in Los Angeles, who agreed that Reynolds record it provided that he changed the song's ending so that the protagonist saved the girl from drowning.
I looked at the sea and it seemed to say
You took your baby from me away
My heart cried out She's mine to keep
I saved my baby from an endless sleep.
The song was recorded with echo-drenched vocals, and with Al Casey and Howard Roberts on guitars. The record label credited the songwriting to Reynolds and the fictitious "Dolores Nance", in order to make it appear to have been written by a 'professional' songwriting team.
Reynolds' recording reached the number 5 position on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 7, 1958, sold over one million copies, and inspired a trend of "teen tragedy" songs.
The song was reissued in 1979 reaching number 66 on the UK singles chart.
A re-recorded version by Reynolds appears the 1984 Rhino compilation LP Teenage Tragedies.
Gotta order this now, the last ever Savoy Brown album out this month.
Edited by dandarez on Monday 6th February 22:29
Again, maybe not better, but when you are able to bring the members of Led Zeppelin to tears over your Stairway cover, you know you’ve done something right.
Stairway to Heaven by Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ_EFAmj08
Stairway to Heaven by Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ_EFAmj08
CanAm said:
Again, maybe not better, but when you are able to bring the members of Led Zeppelin to tears over your Stairway cover, you know you’ve done something right.
Stairway to Heaven by Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ_EFAmj08
The great thing about this is that Jason Bonham is playing with Heart, as well as Led Zep being there in the audience. So no pressure at all. Ann Wilson also has a fabulous voice for Rock - one of the most under-rated singers in the last 30 plus years.Stairway to Heaven by Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ_EFAmj08
Similarly, a cover of The Boxer with Paul Simon in the audience:
Nezquick said:
Funk said:
Penelope Stopit said:
Nezquick said:
This is really bad, I feel sickt, you weren't joking - it's terrible!https://youtu.be/VzEYQLANWgo Daughtery featuring Lizzy Hale doing journey's Separate ways.
Mumford and sons and various guests from old crow medicine show and a couple of other bands whose names i can't remember at Bristol.
Wagon wheel performed according to Jason Mumford at least with no rehearsal whatsoever and i could well believe it but it was a bunch of musicians having a good time so who cares?.
Wagon wheel performed according to Jason Mumford at least with no rehearsal whatsoever and i could well believe it but it was a bunch of musicians having a good time so who cares?.
Although McCartney is great, The Faces version of 'Maybe I'm amazed' is brilliant, IMO better than the original. It's on the album 'Long Player'. Which is a great album anyway.
Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
neilr said:
Although McCartney is great, The Faces version of 'Maybe I'm amazed' is brilliant, IMO better than the original. It's on the album 'Long Player'. Which is a great album anyway.
Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
And from 2011 ......Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
AdeTuono said:
Anything written by Bob Dylan but sung by someone else is better than the original 
CanAm said:
neilr said:
Although McCartney is great, The Faces version of 'Maybe I'm amazed' is brilliant, IMO better than the original. It's on the album 'Long Player'. Which is a great album anyway.
Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
And from 2011 ......Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
AdeTuono said:
Anything written by Bob Dylan but sung by someone else is better than the original
On a Beatles/McCartney theme, this is so much better...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh0w4YZeFrA&ab...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh0w4YZeFrA&ab...
Frimley111R said:
On a Beatles/McCartney theme, this is so much better...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh0w4YZeFrA&ab...
They've somehow managed to entirely remove the soul from the song.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh0w4YZeFrA&ab...
neilr said:
CanAm said:
neilr said:
Although McCartney is great, The Faces version of 'Maybe I'm amazed' is brilliant, IMO better than the original. It's on the album 'Long Player'. Which is a great album anyway.
Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
And from 2011 ......Most of the Dylan tracks that The Byrds covered were better than mumbling Bobs own versions IMO. Don't get me wrong, Bob is great, but the Byrds recorded those tracks better than him lol.
AdeTuono said:
Anything written by Bob Dylan but sung by someone else is better than the original
One of my favourite Fleetwood Mac tunes "The Chain"
Superb cover by The Highwomen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVLNB3d-2cA
Superb cover by The Highwomen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVLNB3d-2cA
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