Songs and Cover Versions

[VoiceMan]

I think alot of this also is connected to which version you heard first. Working in radio for many years now has allowed me to hear all kinds of music, as I work in various formats. But my favorite versions of songs invariably remain the ones I heard first. For example: I think "Oh Pretty Woman" originated with Roy Orbison, but I actually first heard Van Halen's version. Same thing with "Dancing in The Street"....a number of people recorded it prior to Van Halen covering it...but my favorite has always been Van Halen's.

I too feel that "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" belongs to the Nylons. But, I was in a couple of Nylons cover groups in high school and college, so I have super soft spot for the Nylons anyway. I prefer their version of several songs over the original......"Drift Away"..."Kiss Him Goodbye"..."Chain Gang"...."Poison Ivy"...."Happy Together"...to name a few. Nothing against Sam Cooke, or The Turtles, or any of the original artists.

But again..I know with myself, much of my preference is based upon which version I heard first, and therefore got used to the most. :P A couple of exceptions I'm finding lately are Michael Buble's covers of the old Standards, i.e. "Sway" (the Dean Martin Classic) have become my favorite. But again....Buble's cover of Lou Rawls (who we lost last month unfortunately) "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" is wretched, in my opinion. :P Other exceptions I can think off off-hand..... Prince wrote and first recorded "Kiss", but I much much prefer the version "Art of Noize" did with Tom Jones.

Just my two cents worth....if it's worth that much. ;)