The Worst Cover Songs In Pop Music History
Cracked.com, that oft-overlooked bastion of music journalism, has revealed its picks for the worst cover songs of all time. This is a topic that interests us greatly.
20. "You Shook Me All Night Long" — Celine Dion and AnastasiaWe take issue with the inclusion of No Doubt's Talk Talk take (which you can hear along with the others by heading over). But Cracked's #1 pick, which they call "musical AIDS," makes this shit list truly ill-informed. Have they never heard of Ethan Chandler? Who else did they forget?
19. "Downtown Train" — Rod Stewart
18. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" — Guns N Roses
17. "Demolition Man" — Manfred Mann
16. "American Pie" — Madonna
15. "My Generation" — Hilary Duff
14. "It's My Life" — No Doubt
13. "Video Killed The Radio Star" — The Presidents of the United States of America
12. "Walk this Way" — Macy Gray
11. "Another Brick in the Wall" — Korn
10. "I'm A Believer" — Smash Mouth
09. "Satisfaction" — Britney Spears
08. "Sweet Child O Mine" — Sheryl Crowe
07. "Big Yellow Taxi" — Counting Crows
06. "911 Is a Joke" — Duran Duran
05. "Anarchy in the UK" — Motley Crue
04. "Behind Blue Eyes" — Limp Bizkit
03. "Feel Like Making Love" — Kid Rock
02. "Dock of the Bay" — Michael Bolton
01. "And It Stoned Me" — Bob Dylan
Posted at 1:06 PM in Shit List
Tags: Bob Dylan
only two don't fit... sheryl crow "sweet child o mine" wasn't bad or memorable enough to even make the list unless you have some personal hatred of sheryl crow... and i liked no doubt's "its my life" better than the original personally...
but what about Kelly Osbourne "Papa Don't Preach"
that was fucking worthless.
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The worst cover song of all time is "I Saw Him Standing There" by Tiffany. When she starts talk-singing "I saw him standing there, I saw him standing there," you are officially in Cover Song hell.
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How about Alient Ant Farm's Smooth Criminal?
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Every single track on Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (SOUNDTRACKArmageddon
It's a goldmine, I'm telling you!
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Every single track on Sergeant pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack (1977)
Bee Gees do "Sgt. Pepper"
Frampton does "Help from my friends
Donald Pleasance does I Want you (she's so heavy)
Aerosmith does Come Together (used in Armageddon)
etc.
It's a goldmine, I'm telling you!
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"My Perogative" by Britney Spears
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Robin Gibb does Oh! Darling
George Burns does Fixing a Hole
Alice Cooper does Because
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The Alien Ant Farm one should absolutely be on there, and even though it's new that Korn Unplugged version of "Creep" made me feel like I swallowed a wad of used toilet paper.
...I like singing along to the GnR "Knocking on Heaven's Door" though.
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No Dancing In The Street from Dave and Mick? The pastel video alone is in a class of it's own.
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My first thought was Kelly Osbourne "Papa Don't Preach." Anything by William Hung was my next thought.
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No Doubt's cover better than the original?!?!? I'm having sincere concerns about the intelligence of this sites readers.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3abzb6QNw4
far worse than that dylan cover, also nothing wrong with the pusa cover- their only complaint was that it was too mainstream
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"Blue Monday" by Orgy...makes me angry every time I hear it.
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Pat Boone...need I say more?
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Also, GNR should be on the list for not only the Spaghetti Incident but also their take on "Sympathy For The Devil," which was awful. "Knockin..." is not a bad cover.
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sorry, but when i read the headline sweet child of mine by cheryl crow was the first song that came into my head - i hate her covers
oh, and anyone ever heard "lay lady lay" by ministry?
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"He Stopped Loving Her Today" - by Trent Summar and the New Row Mob.
My dad gets angry and violent when he hears that one.
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Love will tear us apart by Paul Young - that's just sooooo wrong.
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I used to think Tori Amos' version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the worst cover song ever. Thanks to the lovely Ms. Lobstar at Copy, Right?, I know that the worst cover song ever committed to tape is most likely "People Are Strange" as recorded by little Eddie Furlong, circa 1992.
http://www.myspace.com/edwardfurlongforever
http://hypem.com/track/241099
http://www.houseofdiabolique.com/hall/eddie/eddie.html
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That Limp Bizkit Behind Blue Eyes cover should be #1 and GNR's knocking doesn't belong. That Presidents of the USA cover isn't all that offensive either.
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When A Man Loves A Woman by Michael Bolotin. The guy sounds impossibly constipated.
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Take Dylan and the Presidents off there, you bastard fiends!
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How about anything Sean Combs ever produced as Puff Daddy (i.e. "I'll Be Missing You").
Oh wait--those were "samples."
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motley crue covered anarchy in the UK? i can't think of a worse band to cover that song
...actually, i can't think of a worse band.
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britney's "satisfaction" should be number one. it's CRAZY BAD.
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Dolly Parton killing Stairway to Heaven, anyone?
She even threw in a banjo solo for god sake...
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I think the fact that not only does this list, but many of those who write in not know how to spell Sheryl Crow's name in the first place, show their lack of intelegence. Her version is fine there are many others to rag on over that. And No Doubt's version is good, people just get too attached to one version.
Lets think maybe of The White Stripes pathetic Tegan and Sara cover, Pink does amazing covers of Janis but someone had the stupidity to say that Jennifer Love Hewitt does a better version of Bobby McGee-PLEASE!!!! They kill people for less acts of stupidity.
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"lack of intelegence" = awesome
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Easy:
Rod Stewart covering Oasis' Cigarettes & Alcohol
Nice topic, I am sure I could come up with more, but that's pretty much the worst I've got on hand.
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You can hear that Rod Stewart cover here:
http://fuelfriends.blogspot.com/2007/03/worst-cover-songs-ever.html
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Sheryl Crow's cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine" wasn't that bad. Her cover of "D'yer Maker" was pretty fucking awful though. Aside from Steve Earle covering "Breed," I've never heard a Nirvana cover that made me smile. I think the worst of the bunch was probably Evanescence' cover of "Heart Shaped Box." Kid Rock and that douche from Nickelback should've left Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" alone also.
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Definitely agree on the atrociousness of Sheryl Crow's cover of "D'yer Maker." It was bad enough as is, but then she had to add the additional line: "You don't have to go/and that's the big no-no." Yeesh.
Also, Counting Crows' cover of "Big Yellow Taxi" should be higher on the list. It was a disservice to everyone.
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meh. im pretty damned satisfied with that list. but agree that the entire 'spaghetti incident' album should be one there.
rod stewart skewering tom waits was a real sin.
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"When the stars go blue" covered by The Corrs and Bono.
Or When it was covered by Tim McGraw.
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heh. I thought The White Stripes made the Tegan and Sarah song actually good.
Blue Monday by Orgy is so crunchy and delicious. I thought it was a fun interpretation of it, at least it was a new spin and not just a copy.
The Presidents' cover of Video was one of the highlights of their live show. What a fun band. I miss them.
I agree with the Counting Crows comment! What a way to take a really interesting song and suck the life out of it. It fits right in with the music you hear at the megaplex before the show.
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fortunately i haven't heard most of the top 20 but my personal pet peeve on covers is killing me softly by the fugees - the guy spitting or whatever he's doing is awful
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All those "Punk goes Pop, 80s, Metal, ect..." comps deserve a mention.
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"That Limp Bizkit Behind Blue Eyes cover should be #1"
Hell yes
Also, the People Are Strange cover is probably one the worst things I have ever heard, besides Limp Bizkit's cover of course. The Hillary Duff My Generation was pretty bad too though.
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I'd like to nominate "any song on a Kidz Bop album", please.
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"respect" by aretha franklin.
easily....
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I don't see how anyone can approve of the Sheryl Crow "Sweet Child O' Mine" cover... she sucked any sense of rock right out of it. It's pretty much on par with the Counting Crows "Big Yellow Taxi" in terms of making a song completely generic and worthless.
I'm thinking those 2 should be tied at #1, but then let's also not forget yet another Britney cover, "I Love Rock n Roll." Thank god she went crazy, now she can leave all the good stuff alone.
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Madonna should be *a lot* higher up.
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Polyphonic Spree covering Lithium.
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Hey presidents are cool. That cover is good.
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"American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz. A terrible song made worse. This song nearly ruined an entire year.
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Counting Crowes cover of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" So bad it almost ruins the original
dcTalk's cover of REM's "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
Joss Stone covering White Stripes "Fell in Love with a Girl"
Michael Jackson's cover of Beatles' "Come Together" (if you haven't heard it, it's so much worse than you'd imagine)
And as mentioned, either Limp Bizkit or Orgy deserves special recognition for taking an 80s song, playing it loud and with a slight snarl, and calling yourself a band. Throw Kid Rock and Alien Ant Farm on that bus and drive it off a cliff.
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I forgot to mention fall out boy's butchering of roxanne
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Where is A Perfect Circle's cover of Lennon's "Imagine"? Worst cover I've ever heard. Second is Limp Bizkit's "Behind Blue Eyes." Then probably Dolly Parton's cover of "Stairway."
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this list is shitty, nuff said
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No Doubt's cover isn't really so bad. Yes, the Talk Talk version is the superior one but No Doubt at least had fun with it. Also, I'm willing to give Duran Duran bonus points for attempting 911 is a Joke, even if the execution was predictably unsatisfying.
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I think in order for a cover to be truly dreadful, the original song has to at least have the possibility to be sacrosanct.
Even though I have no love for "American Pie", "My Generation", "Another Brick in the Wall", "Big Yellow Taxi", "Anarchy in the UK" or "Behind Blue Eyes", these songs have established themselves as
mainstream anthems and, in some sense, songs to live by.
Songs like "Demolition Man", "It's My Life", "Video Killed the Radio Star", "Walk This Way" "I'm a Believer" "911 Is a Joke" or "Feel Like Making Love", though all truly awful covers, cannot be considered the worst covers ever because the originals never made it to that sacrosanct level.
In their place should be anything Michael Bolton ever covered (agreeing with an earlier post), because the man had a true gift in turning great, soulful, meaningful songs into caterwauling crap. He is still a karaoke favorite for me, though.
May I also add:
"Chain of Fools" - Little Caesar (when hair metal thought it could be soulful)
"Blowin' in the Wind" - Peter, Paul & Mary (Boy, did they miss the point or what?)
"Tutti Frutti" - Pat Boone (I wonder if he knew the song is about butt sex)
"Alabama Song" - The Doors (no-talent ass clown)
"American Woman" - Lenny Kravitz (see above)
"If You Don't Know Me by Now" -Simply Red (Can anybody say antiseptic?)
"One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" - George Thorogood (Every song he plays sounds like the same freakin' song!)
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Disturbed's cover of Genesis' "Land of Confusion" really sucks butt. And didn't Phil Collins rape "A Groovy Kind of Love" on the Buster soundtrack?
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Has anyone ever heard Vanessa Carlton's cover of "Paint it Black"?
Seriously, check it out.
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Someone seriously thinks Aretha's cover of "Respect" should be on that list? Seriously? I mean, I also prefer Otis, but DAMN, Aretha on the same list as Madonna, Michael Bolton and Hilary Duff? Uh-uh. No.
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Someone seriously thinks Aretha's cover of "Respect" should be on that list? Seriously? I mean, I also prefer Otis, but DAMN, Aretha on the same list as Madonna, Michael Bolton and Hilary Duff? Uh-uh. No.
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Not sure if it was officially released but Averil Lavigne's version of Heavens Door is way worse than Dylan's... and of course, William Shatner covering Mr Tambourine Man has to be heard to be believed.
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Does anyone remember Vanilla Ice covering Queen and David Bowie?
Neither do they, apparently.
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I agree 100% with the individual who listed Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman". It's like an anti-song. There's no rhythm. The subtext is lost.
After all these years, I still can't wrap my head around it.
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This is a pretty good list. way better than most of the lists you guys post.
Three qualms though: Presidents do not belong on that list at all. Counting Crows' Big Yellow Taxi cover wasn't all that bad. I mean it wasnt great but you know. I wouldnt list it as worst ever. And finally, i don't like Kid Rock but i can't really fault him for that cover. I mean, it's pretty much the same song when he does it.
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Re Jagger/Bowie "Dancing in the Street": I never found it all that offensive, since it was played sort of for laughs and sounded OK. But Live Aid did yield one really wretched cover, later recorded in the studio: Thompson Twins' reading of the Beatles' "Revolution." That song actually has a pretty subtle, sarcastic subtext - an anti-anthem like "White Punks on Dope" - but they just played it as a big-drums party tune. So, so wrong.
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oh come on, the Presidents cover of "video killed the radio star" is awesome
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gnr's cover wasn't as bad as avril's. and anything panic at the disco cover is horrible.
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anything done by an australian idol contestant.
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There's two UK girl groups - Girls Aloud and Sugababes - who did a truly execrable version of 'Walk This Way'.
Ben Folds' version of 'Bitches Ain't Shit' - I know it's tongue in cheek, but it's still bloody awful.
I agree with whoever mentioned Britney's 'My Prerogative'. It was over-produced, pointless, hateful crap.
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"You Shook Me All Night Long" with Celine Dion and Anastacia can be seen in a live version from LV on Youtube. If you wanna feel physically ill, then check it out;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONt47Z0KZg
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I think the list is pretty good but it omits these 2 howlers:
Stevie Wonder's version of The Times They Are A Changin'. It's...garbage
And also the other cover version that (co-)riles me the most is Minnie Riperton and Julio Iglesias destroying The Doors' Light My Fire. Anyone who has ever been unfortunate enough to ever hear that version has my deepest sympathies. I'm still recovering 6 years later.
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Holy god, it's Lindsay Lohan's "I Want You to Want Me." It's like bad karaoke.
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Considering Whitney's "I Will Always Love You" is technically a cover (Dolly did the original), that should have ROCKETED it to #1.
Natalie Cole's "Pink Cadillac" isn't that great either.
And since we've mentioned GR, we can't forget "Live and Let Die".
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Ethan Chandler's version of "One" wasn't a cover, dudes. It was a remake.
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I wish they'd included The Cult and Zodiac Mindwarp's covers of "Born to Be Wild," both of which came out at around the same time, and both of which sucked ass.
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Jesus, how could you leave off Jessica Simpson's disastrous covers? Her version of These Boots Were Made for Wallking makes me want to stab my ears. Annd I hear her version of "You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record) is just awful
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shame on cracked for including PUSA on the list
why not dig sheryl crowe more for her "first cut" cover?
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OH! lest we forget the exies' cover of "once in a lifetime" stereogum posted a few months ago.
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http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/03/365_days_74_ton.html
Check the cover of "You're So Vain" here - I think this is what Dylan was aiming for...
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Mandy Moore "Moonshadow?"
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Lenny Kravitz's American Woman is the worst song ever recorded. Ever. I would rather travel back in time and work as a roadie on Tiffany's mall tour, than be subjected even to the first 30 seconds of that foul sonic turd.
By the way, what's worse: a bad cover of a good song, or a bad cover of an already bad song? Should we be including Kylie Minogue's cerebellum-melting classic, The Loco-Motion? Or is that exempted because the original (and previous covers) suck just as badly?
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Yeah, the presidents dont belong on there. How about APC cover of Imagine?
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One oversight is the Macy Gray/ODB cover of "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart". WOW.
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Oh--Also "Frontin'" by Jamie Cullum. Yikes.
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I don't know if it has been heard enough to make the list, but one song that comes to my mind is The Used and My Chemical Romance's cover of Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure."
That cover made me want to cry. Just when you think a song has suffered enough after being sampled by Vanilla Ice, you'll hear this garbage and want to throw up.
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All of this is nothing compared to Paul Young's butchering of Love will Tear us Apart...
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Firstly, Vanilla Ice never covered Queen & David Bowie's "Under Pressure", he used the oh so famous bass riff, but changed a note, so he claimed he owed them no royalties. for more info on that, have a squiz at "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Ice_Baby"
Guns N' Roses covers were fantastic, they perfectly demonstrated how a song can change it's genre and instrumentation, but still be fantastic. Plus how many of you could hit the same notes as Axl Rose does in Knockin', and how many of you could scream like he does in Live and Let Die? Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa0o4JsFeyA and prepare to be amazed.
If you want a TRULY tragic cover, try to find Avril Lavigne's live cover of Metallica's "Fuel"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlQEMkuJGFw -not recommended for those with suicidal tendencies.
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What about Mariah Carey's shitty version of Def Leppard's "Bringin' On the Heartbreak"?
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Dudes, APC's cover of "Imagine" was perfect. A cover song should only really be done if it can be redone in a way that still holds the same message as the original or if it is culturally relevant.
As for the worst covers. ANYTHING that Sheyrl Crow did was dreadful. She completely butchered "Refugee".
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Shinedown doing Lynryd's 'Simple Man' is terrible. I bet some American Idol contestants can play it better. I don't understand why radio stations play stuff like that.
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Jay and the Americans covering the Drifters "This magic moment"
Michael Bolton doing it to "When a Man Loves a Woman"
Pat Boone trying to cover Little Richards "Tutti Frutti"
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"Shinedown doing Lynryd's 'Simple Man' is terrible. I bet some American Idol contestants can play it better. I don't understand why radio stations play stuff like that."
Becuause radio stations are owned by a small handful of corporations (like shitadel, I mean Citadel), and they get paid by the records companies to play this drivel. Long gone are the days in the early 70's when FM was the mavericks and played the best cuts on the albums instead of playing the AM friendly editied versions. Now its all designed to get the bucks of pre teens. Thats why I haven't bought a CD in over 2 years. Nothing worth buying since its all crap on the radio.
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no, i must disagree
the all time worst cover is..drum roll please...
love will tear us apart by fall out boy.
ian curtis must've been rolling around in his grave
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Here in Australia, we have an artist who is considered a legend named John Farnham. For the life of me i can't understand why, I mean he was born in England for starters and has had some great songs that I'm sure other artists would have done a far better job of... So, I proudly claim John Farnham's cover of The Beatles "Help" as not only one of the worst ever cover's of all time, but also one the most insulting! Listen to it, if you want to feel you need to cringe at something... Get this into your heads people, The Counting Crows cover "Big Yellow Taxi" is f'ing awful and it's compounded by the fact it's the theme song to an equally shiddy movie! PUSA shouldnt be in there either...
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