a few great covers (ii)

A while ago, I put out a post with five cover tunes. That was here.

Here are five more. The rules are the same.

1) Baby Let's Play House

The original by Arthur Gunter

The famous version by Elvis Presley

Rachel Sweet's cover version

I wanted to get at thenew wave-flavored cover by Rachel Sweet. But this represented a little bit of a philosophical challenge. Which do I present as the original? The "true" original by Arthur Gunter or the Elvis Presley recording that made the song famous? I decided to go with both.

2) What a Wonderful World

Louis Armstrong's famous version

Joey Ramone's cover

Louis Armstrong's recording is, of course, iconic. But I like Joey Ramone's cover better. It's from his posthumous solo album.

3) Tutti Frutti

Little Richard's original

MC5's cover

I became familiar with MC5's speedy cover of this when I was in college and Desmond included it on a mix tape.

4) The Devil Went Down to Georgia

The original

The cover (under a slightly different name)

The Toy Dolls always managed to inject humor into their act. Here they renamed a classic after a small port city in England. And they changed the instrument from a fiddle to a guitar.

5) I Hear You Knockin'

The original

The cover

This odd cover a Smiley Lewis classic was Edmunds' biggest chart success. Whih is odd considering that a lot of what he's done has been much better. At any rate, I have always found this "live" performance video odd. He strolls through the crowd carrying his guitar while the guitar track is already playing (and he knocks into one of the women). The dancers look like they're stoned. And what is with the guy in the yellow shirt and big brown bowtie? He is first visble in the background at about 8 or 9 seconds in. But he's at his best at 1:20. I mean, seriously, WTF?